Title: The making of an intercultural learning context for entrepreneuring

Authors: Leona Achtenhagen; Bengt Johannisson

Addresses: Department 'Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Organisation and Leadership' (ESOL), Jönköping International Business School, P.O. Box 1026, 55111 Jönköping, Sweden ' Jönköping International Business School, P.O. Box 1026, 55111 Jönköping, Sweden; School of Business and Economics, Linné University Växjö, SE-351 95 Växjö, Sweden

Abstract: Departing from the standpoint that internationalisation needs to become a more explicit part of assessing the quality of academic activity (i.e., education, research, and (business) community interaction), we elaborate upon how the intercultural composition of a student cohort could be leveraged as a road to the advancement of entrepreneurship education at the graduate level. We argue that the very heterogeneity of the students with respect to their socio-cultural background and personal experiences offers a rich potential for mutual social learning that reinforces formal education activities. Creating awareness of this collective resource opens up for self-organising processes among the students as they craft an entrepreneurial identity which guides them in their learning throughout the master programme.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education; Masters programme; intercultural learning; Sweden; socio-cultural background; personal experiences; social learning; self-organising processes; entrepreneurial identity; internationalisation; graduate level; higher education; culture.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEV.2013.051671

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2013 Vol.5 No.1, pp.48 - 67

Published online: 30 Jan 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article