Case Study Approach in Teaching Entrepreneurship: Contextual Relevance

1
Case Study Approach in Teaching Entrepreneurship
Contextual Relevance Effectiveness

• Theresa Lau
• K.F. Chan
• Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Dept. of Management Marketing
• Thomas W.Y. Man
• Hong Kong Institute of Education
• Department of Information Technology

2
Why Using Case Studies in Teaching
Entrepreneurship?

• Bringing undergraduate classes to life, sparking
  discussion about realistic business venture
• Providing a forum for discussion of controversial
  issues in entrepreneurship
• Developing students diagnostic skills
• Integrating functional disciplines
• Cultivating deep (vs.surface) learning, e.g.
• Developing intellectual imaginative powers
• Understanding judgments
• Problem-solving skills
• Ability to communicate

3
Defining Case Method Process

• It involves giving students a real historic
  business situation consisting of a detailed
  factual description of an issue faced by an
  organization together with the surrounding facts,
  circumstances, events, and management opinions
• Students analyze and discuss the case with the
  objective of determining an appropriate action
• Instructors (skilled discussion leader) ask
  challenging pertinent questions and stimulate the
  class into reaching the correct conclusions

4
Case Method Objectives

• Greater learning with active student involvement
• Increased coursework relevancy and applicability
• Exposing students to a chunk of reality

5
The Challenges of Teaching Entrepreneurship

• Integrative synthesis of accounting, marketing,
  management, strategy, etc.
• Both techniques application and concepts
  orientation required
• Teaching process
• Lecture provides conceptual inputs while case
  study method provides students with realistic
  application and practice
• Combination Approach
• Lecture ? case study ? lecture ? case study ?
  Lecture

6
Effectiveness of Case Method in Teaching
Entrepreneurship (1)

• A comprehensive case on business new venture in
  mainland China is constructed based on archive,
  field work and in-depth interview
• To make the case contextual relevant, it is
  designed to facilitate students understanding
  familiarity of the local environment.
• the motorcycle industry
• the mainland business environment

7
Effectiveness of Case Method in Teaching
Entrepreneurship (2)

• A Pre- Post- test of students perception on
  the following attributes before and after using
  the case study method
• Self Esteem
• Achievement
• Innovativeness
• Personal control

8
Effectiveness of Case Method in Teaching
Entrepreneurship (3)

• The subject
• A class of undergraduate final students taking
  entrepreneurship as an elective in a business
  program
• Number of students is 20
• Female and male is half to half
• Majority is local Hong Kong students
• Other background (e.g. age, education) is similar

9
Effectiveness of Case Method in Teaching
Entrepreneurship (4)
10
Effectiveness of Case Method in Teaching
Entrepreneurship (5)

• Using pair comparison analysis, it is found that
• Self-esteem is increased after case study
  (statistically significant at 95)
• Achievement orientation is increased after case
  study (statistically significant at 95)
• Innovativeness is increased after case study
  (statistically significant at 95)
• No statistical significance on personal control
  after case study

11
Interpretation (1)

• Students self esteem is increased because the
  incidents in the real case show that the founder/
  entrepreneur is just an ordinary person, not a
  superman!
• Self-image
• Self-confidence
• Determination to start-up
• Students achievement-orientation is increased
  because the case analysis reveals that besides
  profit incentive, business growth success,
  personal achievement are also the great drive for
  entrepreneurs

12
Interpretation (2)

• Students attribute on innovativeness is
  increased because the case study provides them
  with an opportunity to learn how entrepreneurs
  act and behave with innovation in business
  development process, including
• Creative business ideas
• Novel ways of operation
• Unique marketing techniques
• Students perception on personal control is
  unchanged due to fact that case study could not
  provide strong evidence on self control on
  business environment, particularly in the
  mainland context.
• Feeling of helplessness
• High level of external locus of control
• Vulnerable to environmental uncertainty

13
Conclusion

• Teaching Entrepreneurship by case study method
  can help enhance students perceived attributes
  on self-esteem, achievement-orientation
  innovativeness but not personal control
• Case context should be local in order to increase
  its effectiveness.
• Combination of lecture and case approach is more
  desirable