Students’ perceptions of the entrepreneurial culture in Finnish higher education institutions

2021 ◽  
pp. 095042222110667
Author(s):  
Katja Lahikainen ◽  
Kati Peltonen ◽  
Elena Oikkonen ◽  
Timo Pihkala
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Entrepreneurial Universities ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Entrepreneurial Behaviour ◽  
Entrepreneurial Culture ◽  
Organisational Structures ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Finnish Higher Education

The purpose of this study is to add to the literature on entrepreneurial universities by investigating entrepreneurial culture (EC) in higher education institutions (HEIs). The authors investigate how students experience EC and which factors explain their perceptions of EC. The study is based on a survey of HEI students in Finland with 1277 responses. The results show that formal institutional support and institution-level activities have the strongest impact on the students’ experienced EC. According to the findings, formal institutional support has a greater impact on students’ perceptions of EC than student-driven activities. Furthermore, the results highlight that the encouragement of teachers has a greater influence on students’ perceptions of EC than peer students and student-driven activities. Accordingly, the paper’s theoretical contribution to the literature lies in its demonstration that institutional support, in addition to the encouragement of teachers, influences HEI students’ perceptions of EC. With regard to practical implications, the findings indicate that, if HEIs wish to build an EC and operate entrepreneurially, it is vital to support teachers’ entrepreneurial behaviour and thinking. In addition, equal emphasis needs to be placed on the observable artefacts and on clear, well-communicated organisational structures and processes.

Using enterprise social networks as a knowledge management tool in higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niall Corcoran ◽  
Aidan Duane
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Enterprise Social Networks ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The management of organisational knowledge and the promotion of staff knowledge sharing are largely neglected in higher education institutions. The purpose of this study is to examine how enterprise social networks can enable staff knowledge sharing in communities of practice in that context. Design/methodology/approach The study is framed as an Action Research project, covering three cycles over a 12-month period. During the Diagnosing phase, a conceptual model was developed for empirical testing. Data were collected through 30 semi-structured interviews and a number of focus groups. This was supplemented by content analysis and reflective journaling. Findings The findings support the conceptual model and provide insight into the antecedents necessary for the creation of an enterprise social network-enabled knowledge-sharing environment, the motivators for and barriers to participation, and the perceived organisational and individual benefits of increased staff knowledge-sharing activity. Research limitations/implications As the study has a higher education focus, all of the findings may not be generalizable to other types of organisation. Further development of the conceptual model and testing in other contextual settings will yield greater generalizability. Practical implications A number of findings have practical implications for the management of higher education institutions, such as the evidence of a divide between faculty and other staff. In general, the study findings provide an opportunity for educationalists to better understand the scope and impact of employing social media platforms for knowledge sharing. Originality/value This paper adds to the growing body of work on organisational implementations of social media, and should be of interest to practitioners and researchers undertaking similar projects.

Proposal for sustainability action archetypes for higher education institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Elíseo Fernandes Sanches ◽  
Matheus Leite Campos ◽  
Luiz Eduardo Gaio ◽  
Marcio Marcelo Belli
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Higher education institutions (HEIs) should assume their role as leaders in the search for a sustainable future. Consequently, such institutions need to incorporate sustainability into their activities. However, this needs to be done holistically and not with isolated and independent actions. Therefore, this study aims to develop a structure of sustainability action archetypes to help HEIs holistically incorporate sustainability in their strategies. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of the literature was conducted focusing on the subject of sustainability in HEIs. Findings A structure of sustainability action archetypes for HEIs was proposed. Further, based on scientific literature, examples of actions were presented within each archetype. Practical implications This study provides HEI administrators and other organizations with a practical structure to enable the systemic incorporation of sustainability objectives and actions into institutional activities. Originality/value This study adapts the tool “sustainable business model archetypes” for a new purpose. This tool was initially developed to classify innovations of sustainable business models.

A Set of Usability Heuristics and Design Recommendations for Higher Education Institutions' Websites

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-73
Author(s):  
Bhim Sain Singla ◽  
Himanshu Aggarwal
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Information Architecture ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Design Quality ◽  
Content Quality ◽  
Intention To Revisit ◽  
Practical Implications

Usability evaluation of a website is a key element in identifying the areas where the end-users might experience problems while interacting with it. The usability parameter has a great impact on the performance of a website, an organization's image, user satisfaction, and their intention to revisit the site. In the recent past, there has been a tremendous increase in the use of websites for seeking requisite information about admission to various courses offered by higher education institutions. There has been a lack of an effective and efficient set of heuristics that can be used to evaluate the usability of these education institution websites. The present study differs from earlier studies by providing a new set of 43 usability heuristics and categorizing them into eight distinct factors on the basis of their empirical validation. These eight identified factors exhibit strong psychometric properties and are ease of navigation, design quality, information architecture, credibility, functionality quality, content quality, simplicity, and learnability. The findings of this study are highly useful for the website designers and evaluators of higher education institutions' websites, who are concerned with evaluating and improving the usability of these websites. The findings of this study have theoretical as well as practical implications.

Student preferences for slogans of higher-education institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-669
Author(s):  
Andriy Kovalenko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Prospective Students ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Student Preferences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Promotional Materials ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The slogans adopted by higher-education institutions usually target all college stakeholders without differentiation, even though these stakeholders may have quite different connections to the organization. The purpose of this paper is to understand whether there is a relationship between students’ cultural backgrounds and their preferences for slogans of higher-education institutions. Design/methodology/approach The study utilized a survey for data collection. In total, 295 participants answered questions about preferences for slogans appealing to purchase or product involvement, and individualistic or collectivist values. Findings The results suggest that participants from both collectivist and individualistic societies prefer slogans that appeal to the values pertinent to their respective cultures. Representatives of both groups preferred slogans referring to the benefits of education over slogans describing features of particular institutions. Practical implications Slogans with messages appealing to people from collectivist and individualistic messages cultures should be included in promotional materials and distributed among corresponding audiences. Slogans for prospective students should refer to the advantages of studying in a particular institution, while current students should be targeted with slogans that encourage dedicated studying in general. Originality/value The findings contribute to the understanding of factors increasing effectiveness of higher-education slogans. It is also one of the first studies of how students from India (Punjab and Kerala states) and the Philippines process promotional materials from western educational institutions.

scholarly journals An Exploration of Contingent Faculty Experiences at a Private, Liberal Arts College

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Erin Vicente
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Contingent Faculty ◽  
Full Time ◽  
College Level ◽  
Faculty Experiences

<p>Both internal and external factors have incited higher education institutions to reevaluate and restructure antiquated policies and practices that influence contingent faculty support systems and contingent faculty interpersonal relationships with their institutional community members. Higher education institutions now employ over a half million contingent faculty nationwide, with numbers of contingent faculty hiring continuing to grow (Maldonado &amp; Riman, 2009).</p><p>Currently, much of the research on contingent faculty stresses the use of contingent faculty and full-time faculty perceptions of contingent faculty at the community college level (Meixner, 2010; Tomanek, 2010; Wallin, 2004). Differences between full-time and contingent faculty are difficult to label because of the diversity of contingent faculty motivations (Gappa, Austin, &amp; Trice, 2005; Wagoner, 2007). Therefore, depending on how researchers conduct their study questions contingent faculty either seem satisfied, vulnerable and disenfranchised, or somewhere in the middle which produces a confusing picture of contingent faculty experiences (Wagoner, 2007; Waltman et al., 2012). This qualitative study explores contingent faculty experiences at a single institution through their own voice. Focus on an interpretative phenomenological approach allows for rich, descriptive storytelling that communicates the uniqueness and distinctiveness of the contingent faculty’s experiences, and their perceptions of how they identify and connect with their institutional support systems and institutional members. Such specificity also highlights the institution’s cultural values and norms. While some shared experiences were similar among contingent faculty, there were also experiences unique to the individual. Exploration of contingent faculty voice is imperative in driving institutional platforms that aid in creating positive institutional support systems for contingent faculty. </p>

Career dynamics in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 825-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yehuda Baruch ◽  
A. Uday Bhaskar ◽  
Bijaya Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
National Level ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Career Orientation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a career-orientation and employability-focused model in the Indian context in order to understand: factors influencing employability of graduates factors influencing expected salary gain. Design/methodology/approach The researchers adopted a quantitative method using a two-wave survey with a sample of MBA graduates from two prominent business schools in India. The total sample size for Wave I was 250, while for Wave II it was 161. The model was tested via hierarchical regression with MBA contribution as a moderator. Findings Results indicate the relevance of protean career orientation (PCO) to reaching career outcomes such as employability, with MBA contribution as a moderator. Practical implications The study provides a new perspective that would enhance graduates’ employability. This makes it relevant for both individuals and higher education institutions as it will help both individuals and higher education institutions to attain competitiveness at the national level. Originality/value The career theory was extended to the diverse socio-cultural and economic context of India, representing the BRICS economy.

Integration and Development of Generic Competencies into Malaysian Higher Education Context: Review of the Literature

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrnaz Fahimirad ◽  
Sedigheh Shakib Kotamjani
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Generic Competencies ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Review Study

The current review study has presented the challenges of developing and implementing generic competencies in the context of higher education institutions in general and Malaysian higher education in particular. The results of the study revealed that institutional support and commitments should be assigned to increase the awareness of generic competencies and give more value to these skills to affect teachers’ and students’ perception. Furthermore, implementing generic competencies efficiently need enthusiasm and self-motivation of both teachers and learners. However, due to lack of time teachers maintained that they fail to teach generic competencies to cover the course subjects at universities.<br>

The Entrepreneurial University and Business Incubation

2022 ◽  
pp. 22-41
Author(s):  
Simon Stephens ◽  
Emily O'Flynn ◽  
Karen Alexander ◽  
Anne Burke ◽  
Isobel Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Entrepreneurial University ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Entrepreneurial Universities ◽  
Business Incubation ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

The primary aim of this chapter is to review the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems, focusing on the activities of two key institutions: higher education institutions and business incubation centres (BICs). This chapter explores how best to manage the connection between business incubation centres and higher education institutions. It examines the activities of business incubation centres (BICs) as they relate to entrepreneurial universities and provides an overview of the key challenges associated with developing entrepreneurial universities. Findings are presented in the form of a conceptual framework that facilitates an improved understanding of the benefits of connecting the capabilities, activities, and outcomes associated with higher education and business incubation. The chapter offers a lens by which to consider the design of BICs as they relate to entrepreneurial universities and offers pathways to consider future research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document