Promoting Entrepreneurial Mindsets at Universities: A Case Study in the South of Spain

Abstract

This study analyses an entrepreneurial learning initiative developed in the south of Spain through a partnership approach between a high-level educational institution - the University of Huelva, located in a rural area of the south of Spain - and the business community. Using a case-study approach and taking the institutional economic theory as a theoretical framework, the influence of the initiative on stimulating the students' entrepreneurial mindsets is examined. The main findings reveal that, in areas with low levels of entrepreneurial activity such as some rural areas of the south of Spain, additional actions to promote entrepreneurship would be necessary. This research also has several practical implications for policy makers in terms of designing governmental initiatives to promote entrepreneurship education and, consequently, entrepreneurial mindsets.

Keywords: case study, European universities, entrepreneurial mindsets, institutional economy theory, Spain, entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial learning, university-industry relations, industrial collaboration