Title: The alchemy of student entrepreneurs: towards a model of entrepreneurial maturity

Authors: Julien Marchand; Suresh Sood

Addresses: UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Quay Street, Haymarket, NSW 2000, Australia ' UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Quay Street, Haymarket, NSW 2000, Australia

Abstract: This paper establishes a seven-step theory of entrepreneurship centering on student as actual entrepreneur rather than building on a growing body of entrepreneurial intention research. Historically, a paucity of research fails to explore and discern differences between the student and archetypal entrepreneur (entrepreneur) owing to the popular narrative of entrepreneurs following the journey of college dropouts. From the perspective of this research, the student entrepreneurs are not students merely attending entrepreneurial classes but conduct either a business on/near campus or lead a campus enterprise (voluntary association) while simultaneously attending formal university award courses. The theory builds on depth interviews with students and entrepreneurs focusing on lived experiences as entrepreneurs. Interviews derive indicators and cues from case studies of entrepreneurs and foster elicitation of the cognitive skills and the unconscious drives of student entrepreneurs. Research findings guide implications for educators and managers inside and outside the classroom. Furthermore, the research contributes towards the development of a predictive instrument for the detection of would be student entrepreneurs following a departure from the traditional entrepreneur 'dropout' journey.

Keywords: entrepreneurship theory; student entrepreneurs; archetypal entrepreneurs; young entrepreneurs; depth interviews; voluntary associations; meetups; hackathons; cognitive map; storytelling; entrepreneurial maturity; entrepreneurial experience; cognitive skills; unconscious drives.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEIM.2014.062791

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2014 Vol.18 No.1, pp.75 - 92

Accepted: 04 Jan 2014
Published online: 18 Jul 2014 *

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