Review Article

Competence Models as a Tool for Conceptualizing the Systematic Process of Entrepreneurship Competence Development

Table 5

Categorization of common and differing competencies between all five observed EE competence models.

CompetenciesModels

Identify, define, test (validate), and exploit opportunities (e.g., through trends or cultural, social, and economic conditions, personal resources)EU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Gain understanding of economic and financial concepts and apply it to assess the financial health of initiativesEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Ability to communicate effectively: constructive discussions; making stakeholders take responsibility, etc.; ability to use plan as a relationship management instrumentEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Take action and encourage others to do the sameEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Plan and organize: develop, execute, and stick to a project management planEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Work together with others (by independently contributing to a vision); managing interdependencyEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Expand your network effectively and meaningfully; can see all activities in terms of networks of know-howEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Be flexible and adapt to changes: use results of monitoring to adjust the vision, aims, priorities, and activities; communicate effectively regarding reasons for changes and adjustments; willingness to change in relation to existing perceptions and habitsEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Manage risk: use strategies to reduce risksEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Accept and support diversity in a team or organization; assess significance of own and others’ cultural background and valuesEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Develop sustainable business plans; describe business models, markets, and market conditions simply; can develop and defend a business plan and scaleEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Identify personal strengths and weaknesses (personal resources), help others to identify theirs; design personal and team development plans to overcome weaknesses and develop strengthsEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Develop effective time management for yourself (and the team)EU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Design value-creating processesEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Learn from experience: ability to learn from monitoring and evaluating processes and to apply this to the organization’s learning processesEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Using creativity in all phases of the project (ideation, planning, and executing); structure idea generation processes and use different forms of idea generation; illustrate subject knowledge and creativity through sketches, models, and prototypesEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Ability to see and act strategically according to the bigger picture (vision)EU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Awareness of societal structures, components, problems, and opportunities; understand cultural, social, and economic conditions in an international and global context; understand sources of complexity and uncertainty in a global contextEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Present results and projects to a specific target group; knowledge of presentation forms and tools; ability to defend a business plan and scaleEU, Nordic, Danish, UK, USA
Ability to manage resources (material and nonmaterial): identify needed resources and allocate them efficiently to achieve goalsEU, Nordic, Danish, UK
Analyze the context of opportunitiesEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Ability to create a budget for value-creating activitiesEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Take responsibility in value-creating activities and seizing opportunitiesEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Cope with uncertainty and ambiguityEU, Nordic, Danish, UK
Assess and evaluate riskEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Work independently, helping others to do the same; praise the initiative of others; autonomyEU, Nordic, Danish, UK
Define goals and design a strategy to achieve the goalsEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Team up: ability to encourage people to work together and build an organizationEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Use media effectively: define a communication strategy and improve support for the visionEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Define prioritiesEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Monitor your progress: develop performance indicators and create a data collection plan; analyze/evaluate own and others’ activities using relevant criteriaEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Awareness of globalization and consequencesEU, Nordic, Danish, USA
Maintain focus on interrupted tasks and projects over a long period; work persistentlyEU, Nordic, Danish, UK
Believe in your ability to make things happen (efficacy) and learn from failuresEU, Nordic, Danish, UK
Awareness of working life and career opportunities; can relate to entrepreneurial world regarding a wide range of different social and employment contexts; understand relevance of entrepreneurial behaviors to a wide range of self-employment, employment, and social contexts; having role models relevant to field of study and context; can compare and contrast with expectations of employment careerEU, Nordic, UK, USA
Stay drivenEU, Nordic, UK, USA
Be determined and motivated (using all outcomes as temporary solutions) to achieve goalsEU, Nordic, UK, USA
Be accountable (responsible to all stakeholders)EU, Nordic, UK, USA
Ability to find and manage funding; can identify financing needs and know where to go for resourcesEU, Danish, UK, USA
Understand taxation and make smart decisions accordinglyEU, Danish, UK, USA
Develop emotional intelligence and emotional awareness; can apply all key aspects of emotional intelligenceEU, Danish, UK, USA
Respecting and promoting ethical and sustainable behavior; analyze and evaluate ethical issues in relation to personal, scientific, and global phenomenaEU, Danish, USA
Be resilient and assured that an individual/organization can make difficult decisions and deal with failureEU, Nordic, UK
Ability to get support from outside the organization (information, know-how); understand sources of assistance and professional advice fully, including how to use themEU, UK, USA
Listen actively to and understand end users from a wide range of resourcesEU, UK, USA
Work using (academic) problem solvingEU, Nordic, USA
Ability to reflect on your own and help others to reflect on their achievements and temporary failures in order to developEU, Nordic, Danish
Use sensory concepts and creativity in relation to academic knowledgeEU, Nordic, Danish
Awareness of imagination and creativity in society; theories and concepts in innovation and entrepreneurshipEU, Nordic, Danish
Experiment with knowledge and academic subjects; experiment and improvise with subject knowledge and personal experiencesEU, Nordic, Danish
Knowledge of different types of projects, management, and leadership; having capacity for entrepreneurial leadershipEU, Danish, UK
Analyze and evaluate relationships between research-based knowledge and possible business models; understand the opportunities for using knowledge gained in higher education in a new venture contextEU, Danish, UK
Knowledge of methods to develop personal and professional academic resources; build know-howEU, Danish, UK
Selling (knowing that income comes from selling)EU, UK, USA
Owning developmentEU, UK, USA
Can see product/service as a set of benefits to the customerEU, UK, USA
Can apply entrepreneurial competencies to the stages of business growthEU, UK, USA
Can relate entrepreneurial competencies to the design of entrepreneurial organizations of different scales and contexts (public and private)EU, UK, USA
Can develop a product/service conceptEU, UK, USA
Can find, approach, and sustain good customersEU, UK, USA
Can appraise and learn from competitionEU, UK, USA
Can cost and apply priceEU, UK, USA
Can anticipate major business development and survival problemsEU, UK, USA
Can deal with all of the statutory and regulatory aspects of self-employmentEU, UK, USA
Can effectively use IT and the Internet in general in pursuit of building a business; having strong international web-based management capacityEU, UK, USA
Can describe and compare culturesNordic, USA
Translate needs, wants, and interests into goals, and help others to reflect on theirs (following aspirations)EU, UK
Protecting ideas, including intellectual property rights, describe strategies for how to do itEU, USA
Ability to use proper strategies to keep up individual and team’s motivationEU, USA
Assessing impact (choose right indicators, monitor, analyze, and reiterate)EU, USA

Note. Competence models in brackets (e.g., “(USA)”) indicate that the competency was described either vaguely or indirectly in the model. Source. UK model [39], USA model [34], Danish model [40], Nordic model [41], and EU model [37].