The Experiential Essence of Entrepreneurial Cognition:

How Understanding Entrepreneurial Thinking

Enhances Teaching & Practice

Norris Krueger, PhD –

Entrepreneurship Northwest

July 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exmwSxv7XJI

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See a difference/

We know how to teach individuals (and organizations and communities)

to think more entrepreneurially, to truly make a difference; we now

understand why and how.

Overview

Important new theory & evidence Replicable models of entrepreneurial

learning Antecedents & consequences of

entrepreneurial learning Implications for teaching, practice,

public policy

Important new theory & evidence

Critical review: entrepreneurial cognition entrepreneurial learning

processes

Exciting new multi-disciplinary opportunities e.g. neuro-entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial Thinking: A primer?

Intentions: From intent to “informed” intent?

Basic model:

Entrepreneurial Intentions

Perceived Social Norms

Personal Desirability

Perceived Self-Efficacy

Perceived Collective Efficacy

Perceived Desirability

Perceived Feasibility

INTENTIONS

Precipitating Event

PERCEPTION of OPPORTUNITY

Action

Entrepreneurial Learning: from Novice to Expert!

Knowledge Content? or Structure?

Perceived Barriers? Pattern recognition?

Deep Beliefs (role identity?) Importance of understanding

entrepreneurial emotion

Understanding cognitive change...

Two Ways to Learn

Behavioristic- fill the bucket

-define the buckets

Constructivistic- light the fire (or fan it!)

- assume knowledge structures evolve(often discontinuously)

Novice ExpertEntrepreneurial

Mindset

Critical Developmental Experiences

Change in what we know (content)

Change in how we know it (knowledge structures)

Change in Deep Beliefs

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Key Mechanisms

What truly induces transformative learning?

Key developmental experiences?

What do entrepreneurship classes actually do?

HOW do we support? (ecosystem?)

Transformative Learning

• There is excellent theory to support– Constructivism– Mental prototyping, role identity– Cognitive developmental psych– Cognitive & social neuroscience

• There is excellent empirical evidence– Even in entrepreneurial settings! – Changes in key mental prototypes• And a lot more data about to be released• 2011: ISEEO, GUESSS; 2012: Neergaard

Keys to Transformative Learning

• “Book Throwing”– Constructivist versus Behaviorist– Entrep educators have always been

constructivistic (cue Voltaire)• Neuro-entrepreneurship?*

– Neuroplasticity– Emotions– Deep beliefs (Neo, take the...)

• Centrality of Action * if curious http://www.slideshare.net/norriskrueger/icsb-

2010-neuroentrepreneurship

Accelerating Learning

• Problem-Based Learning (“authentic” questions)

• Two overlapping themes:• IMMERSION – Action before thinking• MENTORING – Learn the right lessons

– Expert mentors– Peer mentors

– Or THREE? Ecosystem that supports all of this?

– Social infrastructure; cognitive infrastructure– http://bit/ly/EcoSys

So what IS this “entrepreneurial mindset” anyway??

• Thoughts? Which are the hardest to change? – (More important for here... what can we measure?)

Seeing opportunities• Seeing self as entrepreneur (role identity)• Strategic thinking• Dot-connecting / pattern recognition• Effectual thinking (bricolage, improv)• Optimist (attributional)• Metacognition• Counterfactual thinking• Bias for action (vs. FoF!)• Value creation as sine qua non (Market-pull?)

Replicable models of entrepreneurial learning

Key entrepreneurial training methods maximize entrepreneurial learning deep, transformative learning

Existing practices that demonstrably grow entrepreneurial thinking

Concrete examples: program level course level

Existing Best Practices

that demonstrably grow entrepreneurial thinking... Action learning

e.g., Living cases Problem-based learning Counterfactual thinking Explicit script building Active reflection (collaborative)

But….

Not just universities

It is the entire ecosystem

Follow the entrepreneurs

Help them!

Immersion/Mentoring

Chalmers/Gothenburg NU Singapore The Foundry (Utah) http://business.utah.edu/node/1203/ TechStars (www.techstars.org) Startup Weekend

www.startupweekend.org Lean Startup

http://www.slideshare.net/sblank/successful-entrepreneurship-1

Critical Implications

For teaching? For training?

For practice?

For public policy?

(and... for research?)

Implications: Teaching

Need to be constructivistic Need to understand entrepreneurial

thinking Need to understand expert thinking Need to address deep beliefs Instructor MUST understand – or

share- the expert mindset.

Implications: Public Policy

Entrepreneurial Potential = F(quantity and quality of potential entrepreneurs)

Promote educational activities that nurture expert entrepreneurial thinking .

Support similar mechanisms for growing an entrepreneurial community

Program leaders MUST understand – or share- the expert mindset.

Implications: for Entrepreneurs

Work toward expert thinking – lifelong process?

Understand their own deep beliefs Good entrepreneurs are good at dot-

connecting; great entrepreneurs... Make sure your advisors understand

the “Entrepreneur Mind”(tm).

To those who want to really make a difference:

We know how to teach individuals (and organizations and communities) to think more entrepreneurially.

We now understand why and how.

How can we translate these insights into helping communities worldwide?

If you want to get involved in projects – research or applied:

Norris Krueger: norris.krueger@gmail.com @entrep_thinking Facebook LinkedIn

Implications: Research Focus on expert entrepreneurial

thinking Focus on emotions Focus on cognitive change Focus on deep cognitive change Take advantage of:

Multi-disciplinary approaches New tools – theory & method

Take advantage of... us

Research Agenda: Antecedents & Consequences Antecedents

Impact of teaching/training methods Impact of instructor characteristics (e.g.,

mental models) Impact of context (including students) Developmental experiences?

Research Agenda: Antecedents & Consequences

Consequences Change in intent (Informed intent?) Change in knowledge content? Change in knowledge structure? Change in deep beliefs? How will we know?

Better dot-connecting? Amygdala lights up differently?