Entrepreneurial competence in agriculture : characterization, identification, development and the role of the work environment

In the last few decades, primary agricultural production in the Netherlands has been significantly influenced by firm expansion, innovation and diversification. These developments suggest that, increasingly, farmers and growers require entrepreneurial competence to continuously recognize and pursue new business opportunities. Though entrepreneurial competence is seen as a potentially promising concept, current research efforts i) have paid little attention to firms already in existence (like in agriculture), ii) provide few methodological starting points for studying entrepreneurial competence on the individual level, iii) and have paid little attention to social and task-related influences on entrepreneurial competence development. The objective of this thesis is to analyse how entrepreneurial competence can be characterized and identified, how it develops and how it can be fostered in small agricultural firms. In order to do so, entrepreneurial competence was studied using a comprehensive approach to competence, which implies that a multi-method methodology was adopted. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used in four empirical studies which included a total of 500 participants. A first characterization was made by researching self-awareness and beliefs about improvability of general, but context-appropriate, descriptions of entrepreneurial competencies. The results show an almost consistent underestimation of entrepreneurial competencies and reveal that entrepreneurial competencies are seen as subject to at least some development. Conceptions of entrepreneurial competencies are not uniform within workplaces: elements of what is developed and can be developed further are partly idiosyncratic. Secondly, entrepreneurial competence was identified in more detail based on item-level descriptions which empirically define a competence domain. It was revealed that three domains constitute the heart of entrepreneurial competence, namely analysing, pursuing and networking. Thirdly, results obtained through comparing highand low-performing firms, focusing on the task itself and using concrete work activities as descriptors for competence, suggest that the relationship between entrepreneurial performance and competence is not only influenced by business goals but also by the owner-managers’ awareness. It is proposed that entrepreneurial performance is correlated with the development of competence associated with the beginning of the entrepreneurial process. Furthermore, the results suggest interdependence between existing competence and competence development within competence domains (horizontal development), and between competence domains (vertical development). Finally, four factors in the small-business work environment were identified as being crucial in the entrepreneurial learning process. In order of importance, these were: support and guidance, external interaction, internal communication and task characteristics, though differences in type of business opportunities represent slightly different dynamics. The results suggest a two-layered interaction between learner and work environment. Entrepreneurial learning of the owner-manager is influenced by the work environment, which is in turn shaped/defined by the owner-manager. The results of this thesis provide professionals active in sector development and (vocational) education with clear steppingstones for developing competence-based curricula and learning-oriented assessments, as well as general ideas for developing learning environments that better reflect small-business dynamics.