Abstract
Among the drivers of innovation and entrepreneurship in today’s knowledge-based economy, the role of universities received increased attention. Students were attributed a key role as they are both initiators and drivers in an entrepreneurial ecosystem. While the literature on scaling and managing entrepreneurship and innovation is growing rapidly, there are few studies on the experiences students encounter while becoming entrepreneurs. Hence, this study identifies experiences along academic journeys influencing students’ decision to engage in entrepreneurial activities. By the application of tools from domains of service design thinking (customer journey) and decision-making theory (theory of planned behavior), a qualitative research design was developed to conduct 18 in-depth interviews including three different stakeholder groups (entrepreneurs, participants, and organizers) within the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Graz University of Technology, Austria. The findings of this study include the identification and characterization of 113 experiences to develop a tool called ‘Touchpoint Contribution Chart’ with the aim to support designers of curricula, courses, entrepreneurial events and ultimately designers of any touchpoint to foster entrepreneurial commitment within an academic entrepreneurial ecosystem.
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Neubauer, J., Glinik, M., Fallast, M. (2023). Identification and Characterization of Entrepreneurship Related Touchpoints in Student Customer Journeys. In: Auer, M.E., Pachatz, W., Rüütmann, T. (eds) Learning in the Age of Digital and Green Transition. ICL 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 633. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26876-2_100
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