RESEARCH Open Access greenhouses of Young Enterprise Switzerland€¦ · · 2017-08-29of “Young Enterprise Switzerland ... stress the point that“all entrepreneurs share the
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RESEARCH Open Access
Mini-companies as “greenhouses” ofeconomic competence: a longitudinal studyof “Young Enterprise Switzerland”Carsten Quesel1* , Guido Moeser2 and Susanne Burren3
* Correspondence:[email protected] of Teacher Education,University of Applied SciencesNorth-Western Switzerland, CampusBrugg-Windisch, Bahnhofstrasse 6,CH-5210 Windisch, SwitzerlandFull list of author information isavailable at the end of the article
Abstract
The paper investigates how Swiss students on the higher secondary level evaluatetheir participation in mini-companies. Theoretically, the study draws on the conceptof project-based learning (PBL). Data was collected in the first and the last stages ofthe projects and are analyzed by structural equation modelling (SEM). The analysisshows that the students display relatively stable attitudes regarding the developmentof specific business skills and regarding the impact of participation on the generaldevelopment of competencies.
Quesel et al. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research (2017) 7:11 Page 11 of 14
are formulated as universal statements concerning the entire group of students. Thus,
the expectations are more team-related than the personal stance taken concerning the
growth of business skills. Consequently, the expressed views on project outcomes have
stronger implications regarding collective efforts and collective success.
It must be taken into account though that measuring achievement by means of selection
for the national fair is a considerable simplification. Student participation in mini-
companies provides learning opportunities over almost a whole academic year, and there
may be achievements that cannot be calculated on the level of collective effects. This
includes the selection of project teams by a jury when considering the business plans, the
balance sheets, as well as marketing activities on the internet and at regional fairs. There-
fore, the insignificant effect that selection for the national fair has on the perceived valid-
ation of business skills implies that students’ self-image is partly independent of external
feedback. In this sense, learning progress cannot be reduced to competitive success.
In considering the explanatory power of the results, different caveats must be taken
into account. These caveats include the fact that the projects were limited to a period
of one academic year and that the actual study from t1 to t2 was limited to 8 months,
and the fact that student self-attributions cannot be related to career choices after
graduation from senior high school. Accordingly, future research should consider stu-
dents’ development after the end of their projects and analyze the choice of vocational
fields and university subjects. Furthermore, the analysis should also take traits like self-
efficacy and the general academic success of students into account. Lastly, in order to
address the problem of self-selection bias, it is desirable to make comparisons with stu-
dents who do not participate in such mini-company projects.
ConclusionSwiss students on the higher secondary level who participate in Young Enterprise
Switzerland’s company program show relatively stable attitudes toward the develop-
ment of specific business skills and the impact of participation on general competence
development. The students’ general expectations have a significant effect on their suc-
cess, measured by selection for the national fair and the final round of the national
competition. However, selection for the national fair does not significantly influence
the self-attributed growth of business skills. In this regard, students’ internal feedback
does not depend on the external feedback by the jury, who carefully scrutinize mini-
companies’ business plans, financial figures, and marketing activities. Thus, learners
take an individual perspective when it comes to their perceptions of their own business
skills, while they focus on the team-related effects of participation when it comes to
their perceptions of the development of competencies.
Authors’ contributionsCQ designed the study, participated in the data analysis and the interpretation of results and drafted the manuscript.GM performed the statistical analysis and participated in the interpretation of results. SB contributed to the theoreticalframework und to the interpretation of results. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Publisher’s NoteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Quesel et al. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research (2017) 7:11 Page 12 of 14
Author details1School of Teacher Education, University of Applied Sciences North-Western Switzerland, Campus Brugg-Windisch,Bahnhofstrasse 6, CH-5210 Windisch, Switzerland. 2Masem Research Institute GmbH, Unter den Eichen 5/G, D-65195Wiesbaden, Germany. 3School of Teacher Education, University of Applied Sciences North-Western Switzerland,Campus Brugg-Windisch, Bahnhofstrasse 6, CH-5210 Windisch, Switzerland.
Received: 19 September 2016 Accepted: 16 May 2017
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