Conference Session

The Nature of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Session 4

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sarah E. Zappe, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

faculty to publish educational research. Her research interests primarily involve creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Page 24.337.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2014 Creative Go-Getters: Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Activities in Engineering UndergraduatesAbstract:The purpose of this study is to examine characteristics of incoming engineering students aspossible predictors of later participation in entrepreneurial activities. Four characteristics wereexamined: 1) locomotion, 2) self-evaluation, 3) creative self-efficacy and 4

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Research Technical Session 7

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip M. Reeves, The Pennsylvania State University; Sarah E. Zappe, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Elizabeth C. Kisenwether, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; D. Jake Follmer, The Pennsylvania State University; Jessica Menold, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

multiple entrepreneurial situations including idea generation, problemsolving, and opportunity recognition. While educators are still working on the best method ofdeveloping and measuring creativity, it is possible to gauge an individual’s creative self-efficacy,which Tierney and Farmer defined as ‘the belief that one has the ability to produce creativeoutcomes’ (p . 1138)7. For this study, permission was granted to use Tierney & Farmer’s Creative Self-EfficacyMeasure7. The measure contains three items (with a Cronbach’s alpha, internal consistencyreliability, coefficient of α=.574) on a 7 point Likert scale (1= very strongly disagree through 7=very strongly agree). The scale has been used in numerous research studies and

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division Opening General Session 2

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qu Jin, Stanford University; Shannon Katherine Gilmartin, Stanford University; Sheri D. Sheppard, Stanford University; Helen L. Chen, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

Pursuit (7 items) and Flexible Goal Adjustment (3 items). Anexample item from the sub-scale of Tenacious Goal Pursuit is “The harder a goal is to achieve,the more appeal it has to me”, and an example from the sub-scale of Flexible Goal Adjustment is“I adapt quite easily to changes in plans or circumstances.” The items were measured on a five-point Likert scale with responses ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always).Self-Efficacy OptimismSelf-efficacy has been shown in previous studies to be important to entrepreneurial intent 12,19,20.The scale of Self-Efficacy Optimism includes six items that were selected from theQuestionnaire for the Assessment of Personal Optimism and Social Optimism-Extended (POSO-E) 21. Self-Efficacy Optimism

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division Opening General Session 2

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Janna Rodriguez, Stanford University; Helen L. Chen, Stanford University; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University; Qu Jin, Stanford University; Samantha Ruth Brunhaver, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

, Schmidt,and Brenner12 posited that a person’s interest in a given activity is based on two concepts: 1)self-efficacy or beliefs about one’s own personal capabilities; and 2) outcome expectations orbeliefs about the outcomes of engaging in a particular course of action.Entrepreneurial intention, was chosen because intentions are a critical predictor of any plannedbehavior, including entrepreneurship. Intention clarifies what are the triggers of opportunityscanning, such as where sources of ideas for a business venture come from, and how a ventureultimately becomes a reality11. Starting a business is an intentional act and strong intentions tostart a business are likely to result in an eventual attempt11.We propose that alumni who have shown both

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Education Session 3

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nathalie Duval-Couetil, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Elizabeth C. Kisenwether, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Joe Tranquillo, Bucknell University; Jacob Dean Wheadon, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

generally available to students of any major. Academic minors Page 24.265.4and certificate programs comprised about three-quarters of the sample; the other programs werecategorized as fellows or scholars programs, residential programs, concentrations,specializations, and tracks.There is evidence that exposing engineering students to entrepreneurship has a positive impacton the intention to become an entrepreneur, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and better preparesthem for the contemporary workplace (Lüthje & Franke, 2004; Souitaris, Zerbinati, & Al-Laham,2007). Duval, Shartrand, & Reed-Rhoads (in press) found that senior-level engineering

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Programs and Courses Session 5

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yan Xu, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Hua Li, Texas A&M University, Kingsville; Kai Jin, Texas A&M University, Kingsville

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

that few students-even those who have had some priorexposure to engineering-know what engineers do, and this affects their commitment to theengineering major5. Changes in the economy and workforce needs have led many engineeringschools to consider offering entrepreneurship education to their students. Connecting the fieldsof engineering with business and entrepreneurship in higher education has yielded a wide rangeof innovative and useful outcomes, products, and organizations. A previous study exploredengineering students’ levels of interest and involvement in entrepreneurship, their perceptions ofits impact on self-efficacy, and the characteristics of students who participate7. Students who hadtaken one or more entrepreneurship courses showed