Share:


Competency models in business students and business owners: a cross-national case study of Czechia and Romania

    Jarmila Duháček Šebestová   Affiliation
    ; Radek Kowala   Affiliation
    ; Ana Iolanda Vodă   Affiliation
    ; Ana-Maria Bercu   Affiliation

Abstract

Purpose – The main goal is to compare and contrast the expectations of millennials, which skills will be needed for business in contrast to the entrepreneurial experience of the focus group of eight successful entrepreneurs from each country.


Research methodology – A cross-national case study is made, based on two focus groups per country (80 business students and eight entrepreneurs from the Czech Republic and Romania), qualitative research findings are presented.


Findings – Two competency models were evaluated, when the Romanian model is mostly motivation-oriented and the Czech model is performance-oriented.


Research limitations – Future studies should use an extended research sample and compare various methods for teaching entrepreneurship to students from different study areas and compare the impact of education on their mind-set before and after business courses finish.


Practical implications – The development of competency models in cooperation with experienced entrepreneurs would have the potential to increase students’ willingness to start up and prepare tailored business education. Possibility to create own generic models.


Originality/Value – The originality could be seen in comparison of two focus groups – students and entrepreneurs – which have not been done before from a conflict comparison point of view.

Keyword : competencies, millennials, entrepreneurship, employment

How to Cite
Duháček Šebestová, J., Kowala, R., Vodă, A. I., & Bercu, A.-M. (2022). Competency models in business students and business owners: a cross-national case study of Czechia and Romania. Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 20(1), 59–78. https://doi.org/10.3846/bmee.2022.15300
Published in Issue
Apr 13, 2022
Abstract Views
756
PDF Downloads
536
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Abraham, S. E., Karns, L. A., Shaw, K., & Mena, M. A. (2001). Managerial competencies and the managerial performance appraisal process. The Journal of Management Development, 20(9/10), 842–852. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710110410842

Ahmad, N. H., Ramayah, T., Wilson, C., & Kummerow, L. (2010). Is entrepreneurial competency and business success relationship contingent upon business environment? A study of Malaysian SMEs. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 16(3), 182–203. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552551011042780

Audretsch, D. B., Bönte, W., & Keilbach, M. (2008). Entrepreneurship capital and its impact on knowledge diffusion and economic performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 23(6), 687–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2008.01.006

Bacigalupo, M., Kampylis, P., Punie, Y., & Van den Brande, G. (2016). EntreComp: The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework. Publication Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

Barba-Sánchez, V., Atienza-Sahuquillo, C., McCracken, M., & Matlay, H. (2016). The development of entrepreneurship at school: The Spanish experience. Education + Training, 58(7/8). https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-01-2016-0021

Bartlett, Ch. A., & Ghoshal, A S. (1997). The myth of the generic manager: New personal competencies for new management roles. California Management Review, 40(1), 92–116. https://doi.org/10.2307/41165924

Bednář, V. (2012). Strategie vyjednávání. Grada.

Bell, D. N. F., & Blanchflower, D. G. (2011). Youth people and the great recession. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 27(2), 241–267. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grr011

Bercu, A., & Lupu, D. (2020). Entrepreneurial competencies as strategic tools. In J. Šebestová (Ed.), Developing entrepreneurial competencies for start-ups and small business (pp. 23–40). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2714-6.ch002

Bird, B. (1995). Toward a theory of entrepreneurial competency. In J. A. Katz & R. H. Brockhaus, Sr. (Eds.), Advances in entrepreneurship, firm emergence, and growth (Vol. 2, pp. 51–72). JAI Press.

Blenker, P., Trolle Elmholdt, S., Hedeboe Frederiksen, S., Korsgaard, S., & Wagner, K. (2014). Methods in entrepreneurship education research: a review and integrative framework. Education + Training, 56(8/9), 697–715. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2014-0066

Boldureanu, G., Măriuca Ionescu, A., Bercu, A., Bedrule-Grigoruță, M. V., & Boldureanu, D. (2020). Entrepreneurship education through successful entrepreneurial models in higher education institutions. Sustainability, 12(3), 1267. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031267

Boyatzis, R. E. (1982). The competent manager: A model for effective performance. John Wiley & Sons.

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2007). Emoční inteligence v praxi: všechno, co potřebujete vědět o úspěšném životě, vztazích a kariéře. Columbus.

Braunerhjelm, P. (2008). Entrepreneurship, knowledge and economic growth. Now Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1561/0300000013

Brightman, B. (2004). Why managers fail, and how organizations can rewrite the script. The Journal of Business Strategy, 25(2), 47–52. https://doi.org/10.1108/02756660410526416

Business Review. (2017). Analysis. Millennials in Romania: The driving (work) force. http://business-review.eu/news/analysis-millennials-in-romania-the-driving-workforce-147405

Cardenas-Gutierrez, A. R., Bernal-Guerrero, A., & Montoro-Fernandez, E. (2021). Construction and validation of the basic scale of entrepreneurial competencies for the secondary education level. A study conducted in Spain. PLoS ONE, 16(4), e0249903. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249903

Delloite. (2018a). First steps into the Labour Market International survey of students and graduates Central Europe 2018, Delloite. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ce/Documents/about-deloitte/ce-first-steps-into-the-labour-market-2018.pdf

Delloite. (2018b). The 2018 Deloitte millennial survey. https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennialsurvey.html

Dvouletý, O., Mühlböck, M., Warmuth, J., & Kittel, B. (2018). Scarred’ young entrepreneurs. Exploring young adults’ transition from former unemployment to self-employment. Journal of Youth Studies, 21(9), 1159–1181. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2018.1450971

Eken, I. (2017). Relationship between generations of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial traits [PhD Thesis]. http://athenaeum.uiw.edu/uiw_etds/36

Eurostat. (2019). Labour force survey. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/lfs/data/database

Ferreras-Garcia, R., Sales-Zaguirre, J., & Serradell-López, E. (2021). Developing entrepreneurial competencies in higher education: A structural model approach. Education + Training, 63(5), 720–743. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-09-2020-0257

Frederick, H., Kuratko, D. F., & Hodgetts, R. (2007). Entrepreneurship theory process practice. Thomson Learning.

Furnea, R. (2018). Four in ten Romanian millennials want to work in corporations. https://creativeromania.com/four-in-ten-romanian-millennials-want-to-work-in-corporations/

Gorman, G., Hanlon, D., & King, W. (1997). Some research perspectives on entrepreneurship education, enterprise education and education for small business management: A ten-year literature review. International Small Business Journal, 15(3), 56–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242697153004

Hofener, S. (2000). Recipe for success as a leader and manager. ITE Journal, 70(5), 28–30.

Iland, A. (2013). Soft Skills: Be professionally proactive (2nd ed.). Iland Business Pages.

Jogaratnam, G. (2002). Entrepreneurial orientation and environmental hostility: An assessment of small independent restaurant businesses. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 26(3), 258–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348002026003004

Kamau, J. N., Njau, M. M., & Wanyagi, J. (2014). Factors influencing work attitude among “Y” generation (a case of Africa Nazarene University). European Scientific Journal, 10(10), 636–642.

Klemp, G. O., Jr., & McClelland, D. C. (1986). What characterizes intelligent functioning among senior managers? In R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner (Eds.), Practical intelligence: Nature and origins of competence in the everyday world (pp. 31–50). Cambridge University Press.

Kanungo, R., & Misra, S. (1992). Managerial resourcefulness: A reconceptualization of management skills. Human Relations, 45(12), 1311–1333. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872679204501204

Lancaster, L., & Stillman, D. (2002). When generations collide: Who they are, why they clash, how to solve the generational puzzle at work. Harper Business.

Leech, N. L., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2009). A typology of mixed methods research designs. Quality & Quantity, 43(2), 265–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-007-9105-3

Lukeš, M., & Zouhar, J. (2016). The causes of early-stage entrepreneurial discontinuance. Prague Economic Papers, 25(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.18267/j.pep.534

Maize, R. (2017). 6 ways millennials have changed business practices. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/289574

Man, T. W. Y., & Lau, T. (2005). The context of entrepreneurship in Hong Kong: An investigation through the patterns of entrepreneurial competencies in contrasting industrial environments. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 12(4), 464–481. https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000510628162

Man, T., Lau, T., & Chan, K. F. (2002). The competitiveness of small and medium enterprises. A conceptualization with focus on entrepreneurial competencies. Journal of Business Venturing, 17, 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(00)00058-6

Markman, G. D. (2007). Entrepreneurs’ competencies. In J. R. Baum, M. Frese, & R. A. Baron (Eds.), The psychology of entrepreneurship (pp. 67–92). Earlbaum Associates Publishers.

Matthews, Ch. H., & Brueggemann, R. (2015). Innovation and entrepreneurship: A competency framework. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315813622

McKenna, S. (2004). Predispositions and context in the development of managerial skills. The Journal of Management Development, 23(7/8), 664–677. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710410546669

Mishra, L. (2016). Focus group discussion in qualitative research. Techno Learn, 6(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.5958/2249-5223.2016.00001.2

Mitchelmore, S., & Rowley, J. (2010). Entrepreneurial competencies: a literature review and development agenda. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 16(2), 92–111. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552551011026995

Moen, O. (1999). The relationship between firm size, competitive advantages and export performance revisited. International Small Business Journal, 18(1), 53–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242699181003

OECD, & European Union. (2019). The missing entrepreneurs 2019: Policies for inclusive entrepreneurship. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/3ed84801-en

Penchev, P., & Salopaju, A. (2011). Entrepreneurial competencies needed by managers in their work [Master thesis]. Jönköping University. http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:419847/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Perciun, R., & Balan, M. (2013). Youth labour market: Characteristics specific issues. Internal Auditing & Risk Management, 30, 31–42.

Pickett, L. (1998). Competencies and managerial effectiveness: Putting competencies to work. Public Personnel Management, 27(1), 103–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/009102609802700110

Popescu, C., & Raluca, Gh. (2020). Developing a model for entrepreneurship competencies. In J. Šebestová (Ed.), Developing entrepreneurial competencies for start-ups and small business (pp. 1–22). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2714-6.ch001

Schneider, K., & Albornoz, C. (2018). Theoretical model of fundamental entrepreneurial competencies. Science Journal of Education, 6(1), 8–16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20180601.12

Šebestová, J., & Rylková, Ž. (2011). Competencies and innovation within learning organization. The Journal Economics and Management, 16(1), 954–960.

Šebestová, J., & Lejková, M. (2020). Business competencies within unstable business environments (pp. 41–58). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2714-6.ch003

Šebestová, J., Bercu, A., & Voda, I. (2019). Attracting a new workforce for SMEs: Millennial’s challenge. In R. Šperka, P. Suchánek, J. Šebestová, Ž. Rylková, K. Matušínská, J. Mazurek, Š. Čemerková, & R. Dolák (Eds.), 2nd International Conference on Decision Making for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises DEMSME 2019 (pp. 226–234). Silesian University in Opava, School of Business Administration in Karviná, Karviná.

Šebestová, J., Rylková, Ž., Krejčí, P., & Lejková, M. (2018). Different strategic goals in the same business environment: Competent entrepreneurs or just luck? In New trends in management: Regional and cross-border perspectives (pp. 71–82). London Scientific.

Stamule, S., & Todea, S. (2017). Millennials between consumer ethnocentrism and attitudes towards local campaigns. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, 11(1), 720–729. https://doi.org/10.1515/picbe-2017-0076

Stokes, D., Wilson, N., & Mador, M. (2010). Entrepreneurship. South-Western Cengage Learning, United States.

Twenge, J. M., Campbell, W. K., & Freeman, E. C. (2012). Generational differences in the life goals of young adults, the concern for others, and civic orientation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(5), 1045–1062. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027408

Visser, H. (2018). Understanding how millennial hospitality employees deal with emotional labour. Research in Hospitality Management, 8(1), 63–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2018.1501957

Vodă, A. I., Bercu, A. M., & Sebestova, J. (2021). Is a higher minimum wage associated with a higher youth employment rate A panel data analysis. European Journal of International Management, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2021.118569

Von Graevenitz, G., Harhoff, D., & Weber, R. (2010). The effects of entrepreneurship education. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 76(1), 90–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2010.02.015

Weber, R. (2011). Evaluating entrepreneurship education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8349-3654-7