EICAA Competence Framework (full version)

Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Competences Assessment Alliance (EICAA)

EICAA-Competence Framework

Deliverable 2.3 (WP2)

Version 3.0

Last update: 30/11/2022

This publication is a publication of Work Package 2 of project Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Competences Assessment Alliance (EICAA).

Document dissemination level: public.

Manuscript completed in October 2021. Revised in March 2022, June 2022, November 2022.

Authors: Ester Bernadó (TecnoCampus), Jaume Teodoro (TecnoCampus)

Contributors: Marta Carceller (TecnoCampus), Florian Bratzke (Univations), Katharina Nordhaus (Univations), Wouter Van Bockhaven (AMS), Lorenzo Franchi (AMS), Anita Zehrer (MCI), Gundula Glowka (MCI), Desiree Wieser (MCI), Bernd Ebersberger (University of Hohenheim), Louisa Mach (University of Hohenheim), Ábel Garamhegyi (University of Szeged), Szabolcs Prónay (University of Szeged), Taimur Khan (Adsata)

Contact information: ebernado@tecnocampus.cat

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1. Background

1.1. EICAA

The ability to act and think entrepreneurially is a crucial endowment in today’s knowledge-based society. Universities and enterprises take on important roles for fostering entrepreneurial competence development. To facilitate this, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has provided educators & trainers with a “reference methodology” that is based on a wide entrepreneurship definition (“creating value for others”) – the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp). However, an operational setting that allows to “capture” (wider) entrepreneurial competence profiles of learners has not been established yet. As a result, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and businesses lack a coherent instrumental basis to:

a) assess individual entrepreneurial competences (students, employees) and

b) accurately address specific competence development needs by education & training interventions as a response to the assessment results.

EICAA is devoted to bridge this gap and will create such instrumental basis integrated into a new digital platform. It is realised as inter-disciplinary 3-year University-Business collaboration (4 HEI, 4 enterprises, 1 research institute) and expected to unfold impact in five EU countries by reaching out to 15.000+ students, 30+ educators, and 150+ employees (EICAA primary target groups).

The first milestone of the project is the identification of the key entrepreneurial competences and its modelling into the “EICAA Competence Framework”. This aim is captured by Work Package 2 as described as follows.

1.2. Work Package 2 (WP2)

The goal of WP2 as described in the project proposal is: It is objective of this WP to compile information on most relevant and prominent conceptualisation of entrepreneurship education and to find means for further elaborations, incl. missing dimensions reflecting entrepreneurial realities better. Hence, work within this WP will not disregard existing frameworks (e.g. EntreComp) but rather integrate and enrich them into the EICAA Conceptual Framework As such, this WP will establish the theoretical foundations for entrepreneurial competence assessment and development of individuals in higher education and businesses as planned for inside the EICAA. Hence, the EICAA Competence Framework will provide the conceptual basis for the EICAA-CM & EICAA-IR. The deliverables of WP2 are shown in Table 1 as it was committed in the proposal. This document corresponds to deliverable 2.1.

1.3. Construction of the document

To achieve the goal of WP2, TecnoCampus team has led the research on extant literature and current initiatives on entrepreneurial competences development. Members from all partners contributed to the literature review. The results were shared in the transnational meeting held on September 8th and 9th , 2021. All EICAA partners participated in a workshop to discuss the findings of the literature review with respect to the existing European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework “EntreComp”, created in 2016 by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. This document summarises the literature review and the insights gathered during the meeting.

Table 1. Deliverables of WP2 in EICAA project

Deliverables of WP2 Title and description

2.1

Type: Document

Dissemination level: Confidential

Review of Conceptual Models of Entrepreneurship (Education)

The first deliverable of this WP is a review of conceptual models of entrepreneurship: from the traditional understanding of entrepreneurship, as collected in EntreComp, from newer and agile perspectives, such as effectuation and lean startup. The output will be a report shared and constructed with all the partners, from where to build the conceptual model that will set the foundations of EICAA.

2.2

Type: Discussion paper & Executive Summary Dissemination level: Pubic

Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of Existing Tools for Entrepreneurial Assessment and Inventory of Tools

The systematic literature review performed in this task will be published as discussion paper. To maximize impact and accessibility, the paper will be published in an open journal/access. The executive summary will be published at the web site of the project. It will contain a summary of the SLR and an inventory of assessment tools, with links to the websites or the resources where they are published whenever it is possible.

2.3

Type: Document Dissemination level: Public

EICAA Competence Framework

After the review of the conceptual models of entrepreneurship and the existing tools for entrepreneurial competence assessment, the partners will agree on the Competence Framework of EICAA. This will be done within a face-to-face (partner) meeting and will be conducted with a group thinking methodology. The output of this meeting will be a document with the Competence Framework that will be shared and further reviewed with all the partners. An executive summary will be also prepared for its dissemination in the web site of the project.

1.4. Structure of the document

This document is structured as follows. In the next chapter, we explain the methodology that has led to the design of the EICAA-CF. Then, we present the EICAA-CF by going through each of the competence areas, as well as each competence and thread. Since, we preserved the same structure as EntreComp, this is a proper way to introduce EICAA-CF and the changes introduced with respect to EntreComp.

2. Methodology

2.1. Objectives

The aim of this document is to present the EICAA-CF and briefly, its justification. This document is backed up by a systematic literature review performed on 139 articles, both academic papers and grey literature, on entrepreneurship. We also performed a comparison of EntreComp with six relevant frameworks on entrepreneurial competences.

We departed from the current structure and contents of EntreComp as we agreed in the project. EntreComp has 15 competences, each described by several threads (between 3 and 5), and a total of 442 learning outcomes. We aimed at comparing this structure with the insights found in the literature, by matching the competences found in the literature review and in the entrepreneurial competence frameworks with those in EntreComp. This leads to the design of EICAA- Competence Framework (EICAA-CF). The principles of this process are:

1. Preserve the structure (and visual layout) of EntreComp in areas-competences-threads.

2. Simplify the learning outcomes and threads, when this is possible.

3. Simplify the progression levels to four: Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert.

4. Add definitions to the competences and threads according to the literature.

5. Refine the contents of the threads and learning outcomes according to the literature.

6. Add new competences and threads if needed.

2.2. Methodology

The methodology to design the EICAA-CF is framed in phases “Solve” and “Validate” of Figure 1. In phase “Solve”, we use a deductive-inductive approach. We follow the path from competence area to competence to thread to learning outcomes. Then, for each thread, we match that thread with the insights obtained from the literature review. Then, we revise the learning outcomes associated to the threads in each of the four progression levels. After this review at the thread level, we revise the competence

Thus, the inductive process starts at the thread level:

1. For each thread, we read the learning outcomes and summarise them (or aggregate them) in the four levels of progression (Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert).

2. We compare the learning outcomes with the insights found in the literature.

3. We refine the learning outcomes for the four levels of progression, by matching the contents found in EntreComp and the findings from the literature

Then, after revising all the threads for a given competence, we look at the competence as a whole:

1. We revise the existing threads and its final formulation.

2. We revise whether two or more threads need to be combined.

3. We revise whether a new thread needs to be added to that competence.

4. We add the definition of that competence and revise its consistency with the hints and descriptors provided by EntreComp.

Once the competences have been revised, we look at the area level:

1. We revise whether a competence needs to be added or deleted, and provide justification for it. Some of the competences may be leveraged from the existing threads or they may just arise as new competences from the literature review.

The final result of phase “Solve” is a first version of the EICAA Competence Framework, as shown in Section 4. This framework is then deployed in a rubric system, which consists of the detailed deployment in several threads and four progression levels (Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert).

Phase “Validate” of our methodology entails the design of a rubric system and a survey, which are successfully refined and validated throughout several rounds of a Delphi process and two pre-test rounds with different sample sizes from students across Europe (N=72 and N=202) The online survey adopts a 5-point Likert scale for 79 items covering all entrepreneurial competences. Analyses like Reliability, Normality, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Average Variances Extracted are conducted using platforms like SPSS, AMOS, and R (Hair et al., 2013). The confirmatory analysis inform us about the validity of the framework structure. Based on this analysis, we revise the structure of the framework and design a final version of the framework, which is named EICAA-CF (Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Competence Alliance Assessment-Competence Framework).

To present the different versions of the EICAA-CF and its rubric system, the rest of the document is structured as follows. Section 3 summarises the literature according to the existing competences of EntreComp, and we suggest improvements to the existing competences or threads. Section 4 presents the structure of the EICAA-CF according to the analysis of Section 2. Next, Section 5 details the rubrics system of the EICAA-CF Section 6 summarises the process of validation of the competence framework, the changes that the validation process entails and the final competence framework. Finally, we present our conclusions.

Figure 1. Methodology for the Design of the EICAA Competence Framework.

3. Design of EICAA-CF

3.1. Competence area “Ideas and Opportunities”

The competence area Ideas and Opportunities is very complete in EntreComp. It basically covers the first stage in the new venture (or value-creating activity), where the entrepreneur is focused on the detection of opportunities, the generation of ideas, and the assessment of these ideas. Additionally, having a vision has been found very relevant in the literature, i.e., a vision for the new venture, a vision for the entrepreneur themselves (which can be related to the self-image) and a vision of growth. Last, ethical and sustainable thinking provides a wider view beyond the economic value of the venture, including societal impact and sustainability, and ability to manage the moral and ethical dilemmas of the entrepreneurial activity.

In the following section, we will revise each of the competences separately and we’ll provide some refinements of their threads and learning outcomes. One of these refinements is meant to emphasise the incremental nature of the detection of opportunities, generation of ideas and the evaluation of these ideas. Very often, the entrepreneur does not have all the information to evaluate and prioritise the best ideas among a set of potential alternatives. In these cases, the entrepreneur engages in an incremental process of evaluation of the potential ideas, by testing and experimenting and learning from it. Thus, beyond assessing the value of ideas, the entrepreneur can engage in a process of continuously gathering information and readjusting their ideas based on new learnings.

The addition of the competence “Design” is based on the assumption that designing is not equivalent to creativity. It is acknowledged that EntreComp has a design thread which is integral to the competence “Creativity”. However, by leveraging “Design” as one of the competences in this area, we aim at helping entrepreneurs develop the design mindset, which involves the ability to immerse with the customers, using creativity to provide value to customers, developing prototypes and testing these prototypes with or on the customers. It also includes the ability to co-create with customers and other stakeholders. As a matter of fact, two of the reviewed entrepreneurial competence frameworks also include the competence “Design” (Bird, 1995; Tittel & Terzidis, 2020).

To show our proposal for this competence area, we first present the list of competences for this area, with their threads, hints and descriptors. Table 2 presents this information.

To understand the changes and new additions of EICAA-CF, we used the following colour code:

• New additions or changes with respect to EntreComp are included in blue color.

• When we delete an element from EntreComp, we show it in orange.

Table 3 compares EntreComp with six other entrepreneurial competence frameworks that were identified in the literature review (see document with deliverable 2.1) with respect to this competence area.

1.1 Spotting opportunities

1.Ideas and O pportunities

1.2 Creativity

• Analyse the context/Scan the environment.

• Identify and recognise challenges. (Focus on challenges)

• Identify, create and seize opportunities

• Uncover needs (goes to Design)

• Act creatively (Be curious and open)

• Solve problems creatively (Define problems)

• Generate ideas

• Design value (goes to Design)

• Be innovative

• Imagine/Build a vision for the new venture and oneself

Use your imagination and abilities to identify opportunities for creating value

• Identify and seize opportunities to create value by exploring the social, cultural and economic landscape

• Identify needs and challenges that need to be met

• Establish new connections and bring together scattered elements of the landscape to create opportunities to create value

1.3. Vision

• Think strategically

• Guide action

Develop creative and purposeful ideas

• Develop several ideas and opportunities to create value, including better solutions to existing and new challenges

• Explore and experiment with innovative approaches

• Combine knowledge and resources to achieve valuable effects

• Imagine the future

Work towards your vision of the future

• Develop a vision to turn ideas into action

• Visualise future scenarios to help guide effort and action

1.4 Valuing ideas

1.5 Ethical and sustainable thinking

1.6 Design

• Recognise the value of ideas.

• Share and protect ideas. Make the most of ideas and opportunities

• Behave ethically

• Think sustainably

• Assess impact

• Be accountable

Assess the consequences and impact of ideas, opportunities and actions

• Judge what value is in social, cultural and economic terms

• Recognise the potential an idea has for creating value and identify suitable ways of making the most out of it

• Assess the consequences of ideas that bring value and the effect of entrepreneurial action on the target community, the market, society and the environment

• Reflect on how sustainable long-term social, cultural and economic goals are, and the course of action chosen

• Act responsibly

• Immerse with your users

• Identify needs

• Prototype and test

• Co-create

Design specific products or services

Note: In Blue: new additions or revisions. Orange: deleted threads or sentences.

• Immerse and engage with customers to understand their needs, problems and difficulties, from their perspective.

• Test and experiment with prototypes

• Co-create with users and stakeholders

Table 2. Competence area “Ideas and Opportunities” in EICAA-CF.

EntreComp Bird (1995/2019) Mitchelmore & Rowley (2010) Morris et al. (2013, p. 358) Rasmusen & Nybye (2013) Bolzani & Luppi (2020) Tittel & Terzidis (2020)

1.1 Spotting opportunities Recognising and acting on opportunity. Vigilance.

Identification and definition of a viable market niche. Environmental scanning. Recognising and envisioning taking advantage of opportunities. Formulating strategies for taking advantage of opportunities

1&2 Opportunity recognition & assessment

Value creation. Ideas and opportunities (see opportunities that can be transformed into value). Market: understanding of economy and market. Use different strategies to enter a private market or public are. Culture – analyse and reflect on cultural conditions –challenge established assumptions.

Recognising opportunities. Identify opportunities (I). Scan the environment (I).

1.2 Creativity

Idea generation. Development of products and services appropriate to the firms chosen market nice/product innovation

5 Creative problem solving/imaginativeness Applied knowledge (in new ways). New solutions when faced with challenges.

Creativity and lateral thinking. Innovation.

Generate ideas (I) Act in a creative way (P).

1.3. Vision Seeing the big picture/strategic zoom lens.

1.4 Valuing ideas

1.5 Ethical and sustainable thinking

4 Conveying a compelling vision Create visions Growth mindset. Develop a vision. (P) See the big picture. (S)

1&2 Opportunity recognition & assessment

9 Value creation Ethical values. Act ethically correct (P) Act with social responsibility (P) Designing specific products or services. Design products and services (S).

Integrity. Internal alignment of values, needs, and beliefs.

Note: In blue, competences that are gathered in other competence frameworks but not in EntreComp or not necessarily in the same sense as in EntreComp.

Table 3. Comparison of competence area “Ideas and Opportunities” in EntreComp with six other entrepreneurial competence frameworks.

3.1.1. Spotting opportunities

The next table lists the four threads of the competence “Spotting opportunities” as they appear in EntreComp and groups the adhered learning outcomes (e.g., I can find opportunities to help others) into four progression levels.

Spotting opportunities in EntreComp

SPOTTING OPPORTUNITIES in EntreComp

Thread as in EntreComp FOUNDATION

Identify, create and seize opportunities.

Discover – Explore

Relying on support from others

Finding/recognising opportunities

1. I can find opportunities to help others.

2. I can recognise opportunities to create value in my community and surroundings.

INTERMEDIATE

Experiment-Dare Building independence

Actively look for opportunities to create value

3. I can explain what makes an opportunity to create value.

4. I can proactively look for opportunities to create value, including out of necessity.

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce

Taking responsibility

Use of knowledge and understanding to make/create opportunities to create value

5. I can describe different analytical approaches to identify entrepreneurial opportunities.

6. I can use my knowledge and understanding of the context to make opportunities to create value.

Focus on challenges

Finding/recognising challenges that need solutions

1. I can find different examples of challenges that need solutions.

2. I can recognise challenges in my community and surroundings that I can contribute to solving.

Uncover needs

1. I can find examples of groups that have benefited from a solution to a given problem.

2. I can identify needs in my community/ surroundings that have not been met.

Analyse the context

1. I can tell the difference between different areas where value can be created (for example, at home, in the community, in the environment, or in the economy or society).

2. I can recognise the different roles the public, private and third sectors play in my region or country.

Redefine a challenge to find opportunities..

3. I can identify opportunities to solve problems in alternative ways.

4. I can redefine the description of a challenge, so that alternative opportunities address it may become apparent.

3. I can explain that different groups may have different needs.

4. I can establish which user group, and which needs, I want to tackle through creating value.

3. I can tell the difference between contexts for creating value (for example, communities and informal networks, existing organisations, the market).

4. I can identify my personal, social and professional opportunities for creating value, both in existing organisations or by setting up new ventures.

Challenge the mainstream. Judge the right time

5. I can take apart established practices and challenge mainstream thought to create opportunities and look at challenges in different ways.

6. I can judge the right time to take an opportunity to create value.

5. Carry out a needs analysis with relevant stakeholders.

6. I can identify challenges related to contrasting needs and interests of different stakeholders.

5. I can identify the boundaries of the system that are relevant to my (or my team's) value-creating activity.

6. I can analyse an existing valuecreation activity by looking at it as a whole and identifying opportunities to develop it further.

EXPERT

Expand-Transform

Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Judge an opportunity (evaluated among a set of alternatives)

Take advantage of an opportunity

7. I can judge opportunities for creating value and decide whether to follow these up at different levels of the system I am working in (for example, micro, meso or macro).

8. I can spot and quickly take advantage of an opportunity.

Make the most of opportunities. Competitive advantage.

7. I can cluster different opportunities or identify synergies among different opportunities to make the most out of them

8. I can define opportunities where I can maintain a competitive advantage.

7. I can produce a ‘roadmap’ which matches the needs with the actions needed to deal with them and helps me create value

8. I can design projects which aim to anticipate future needs

7. I can monitor relevant trends and see how they create threats and new opportunities to create value.

8. I can promote a culture within my organisation that is open to spotting the weak signals of change, leading to new opportunities for creating value.

As follows, we provide a critical review of the threads and learning outcomes:

• The first thread “Identify, create and seize opportunities” is very relevant. It is one of the key competences of the entrepreneur and it has received great attention and evidence in the literature.

• The thread “Analyse the context” can be seen as the process of actively scanning the environment in search for challenges and needs that turn into opportunities.

• Challenges and needs are not defined and might be misleading. Our understanding is that “challenges” refer to unsolved problems or difficulties that society is (or fragments of society are) facing (or is/are about to face), while “needs” are demands or necessities that can or are asked to be satisfied. In any case, the boundary between these two concepts is fuzzy in EntreComp.

• There is a large overlapping between the learning outcomes of the threads “Focus on challenges” and “Identify, create and seize opportunities.” For example, learning outcome 5 under thread “Focus on challenges” is written as: “I can take apart established practices and challenge mainstream thought to create opportunities and look at challenges in different ways ”. This statement could be simplified and/or subsumed under another statement in which the entrepreneur recognizes opportunities.

Spotting opportunities in the literature

SPOTTING OPPORTUNITIES

Thread Related competences listed in other frameworks

Identify, create and seize opportunities.

• Recognising and acting on opportunity. (Bird,1995; Bolzani & Luppi, 2020)

• Recognising and envisioning taking advantage of opportunities. (Mitchelmore & Rowley,2010)

• Formulating strategies for taking advantage of opportunities. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Opportunity recognition & assessment (Morris et al., 2013).

• Identify opportunities (I). (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Value creation. (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

• Ideas and opportunities (see opportunities that can be transformed into value). (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

Focus on challenges -

Uncover needs

• Identification and definition of a viable market niche. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Market: understanding of economy and market. Use different strategies to enter a private market or public are. (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

Insights from the literature

• Alertness (Kirzner, 2009).

• Opportunities are created or co-created (Sarasvathy & Venkataraman, 2011).

• Creative process of opportunities (Kor et al., 2007).

• Process view of opportunity recognition/identification – development and exploitation (Chell, 2013).

• Interaction of opportunities and “entrepreneurial agents” (Harper, 2008).

• Dynamic interaction with stakeholders (Garud & Karnoe, 2003).

• Acquire further information about a potential opportunity (Chell, 2013).

• Awareness of factors conducive to opportuniey exploitation – veridical perception, interpretation, discernment. (Chell, 2013).

• Recognition of social need/market trend (Chell, 2013).

Analyse the context

• Vigilance. (Bird, 1995)

• Environmental scanning. (Mitchelmore &

• Understanding the environment (knowledge about the world, locally and

Rowley,2010; Tittel & Terzidis,2020).

• Culture – analyse and reflect on cultural conditions – challenge established assumptions (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

Spotting opportunities in EICAA-CF

globally; analyse a context socially, culturally and economically; understanding of global issues and problems such as sustainability) (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013)

After the analysis of the literature review, the way in which EICAA-CF incorporates this competence is as follows:

• The threads are sorted following a linear logic, from scanning the context, to identifying challenges, to recognizing opportunities (although this is not necessarily linear in real practice, it helps understand and delimit the different concepts).

• Thread “Identify, create and seize opportunities” is maintained given its importance

• Thread “Focus on challenges” is maintained, while avoiding the potential overlapping with thread “Identify, create and seize opportunities.” It has been renamed as “Identify, recognise challenges”.

• The detection of “needs” has been relocated under competence Design. Many of these learning outcomes, such as identifying target groups and their needs can be assigned to this competence.

3.1.2. Creativity

Creativity in EntreComp CREATIVITY in EntreComp

Thread as in EntreComp

Be curious and open

FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

1. I am curious about new things.

2. I can explore new ways to make use of existing resources.

INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building independence

3. I can experiment with my skills and competences in situations that are new to me.

4. I can actively search for new solutions that meet my needs.

ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

5. I can actively search for new solutions that improve the valuecreating process.

6. I can combine my understanding of different contexts to transfer knowledge, ideas and solutions across different areas.

EXPERT Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Develop ideas

1. I can develop ideas that solve problems that are relevant to me and my surroundings.

2. Alone and as part of a team, I can develop ideas that create value for others.

3. I can experiment with different techniques to generate alternative solutions to problems, using available resources in an effective way.

4. I can test the value of my solutions with end users.

5. I can describe different techniques to test innovative ideas with end users.

6. I can set up processes to involve stakeholders in finding, developing and testing ideas.

7. I can tailor a variety of ways of involving stakeholders to suit the needs of my valuecreating activity.

8. I can design new processes to involve stakeholders in generating, developing and testing ideas that create value.

Define problems

1. I can approach openended problems (problems that can have many solutions) with curiosity.

2. I can explore open-ended problems in many ways so as to generate multiple solutions.

3. I can take part in group dynamics aimed at defining open-ended problems.

4. I can reshape open-ended problems to fit my skills.

5. I can describe and explain different approaches to shaping open-ended problems and different problem-solving strategies.

6. I can help others create value by encouraging experimentation and using creative techniques to approach problems and generate solutions.

7. I can initiate, develop, manage and complete a creative project.

8. I can use a mix of creative techniques to keep generating value over time

Design value

1. I can assemble objects that create value for me and others.

2. I can improve existing

3. I can identify the basic functions that a prototype should have to illustrate the value of my idea.

5. I can create (alone or with others) products or services that solve my problems and my needs.

7. I can apply different design approaches to create value through new products, processes or

Be innovative

products, services and processes so that they better meet my needs or those of my peers and the community.

1. I can find examples of innovative products, services and solutions.

2. I can describe how some innovations have transformed society

4. I can assemble, test and progressively refine prototypes that simulate the value I want to create.

3. I can tell the difference between types of innovations (for example, process versus product innovation and social innovation, incremental versus disruptive innovation).

4. I can judge if an idea, product or process is innovative or just new to me.

6. I can develop and deliver value in stages, launching with the core features of my (or my team's) idea and progressively adding more

5. I can describe how innovations diffuse in society, culture and the market.

6. I can describe different levels of innovation (for example, incremental, breakthrough or transformational) and their role in value-creating activities.

services.

8. I can design and put in place innovative processes to create value.

7. I can identify the steps needed to research the potential for an innovative idea in light of its development into an existing enterprise, a new venture or an opportunity for social change.

8. I can manage innovation processes that respond to emerging needs and make the most of opportunities as they become available.

As follows, we provide a critical review of the threads and learning outcomes of competence

“Creativity” as they appear in EntreComp:

• The central thread to the competence “Creativity” is “Develop ideas”.

• Thread “Define problems” might be overlapping with thread “Identify, recognise challenges” from competence “Spotting opportunities”, especially the learning outcomes that refer to reshaping or reframing the problem. This thread can be revised by emphasizing problem solving, as it is labelled in the literature.

• Thread “Be curious and open” is relevant in the two last learning outcomes: actively search for new solutions and combining understanding of different contexts to transfer knowledge across different areas.

• Thread “Be innovative” is important and related to designing and promoting innovations. The first levels are related to knowledge about innovations: describing existing innovations, different types of innovation…, while the last levels are related to managing innovations.

• Thread “Design value” is leveraged to a competence itself in EICAA-CF

Creativity in the literature

As it can be seen in the following table, competence “Creativity” is well covered in the literature.

Creativity in literature

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature

Be curious and open

• Act in a creative way (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020).

• Boldness, imagination, inconformity, and challenging the status quo.

• Create change. (Alvarez & Barney, 2005).

• Unpredictable, radical change (Lackéus, 2015).

• Creative role model (Morris et al., 2013).

• Being creative and oriented-to action at the same time (Lackéus et al., 2020).

Develop ideas

• Idea generation (Mitchelmore & Rowley (2010); Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Applied knowledge (in new ways). (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013)

• New solutions when faced with challenges. (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013)

• Creativity and lateral thinking. (Bolzani & Luppi,

• Suspend judgement; recognise patterns (Smith & Di Gregorio, 2002; cited in Ireland et al., 2003).

• Provision of novel, creative solutions to the identified needs or opportunities. (Morris et al., 2013).

• Generating the alternatives, beyond choosing between several alternatives (Sarasvathy, 2003; cited in Steyaert, 2007).

• Generation of novel and useful ideas for business ventures (Ward, 2004).

• Connecting unconnected ideas to produce novel and appropriate or useful outcomes (Morris et al,

Define problems

2020) 2013).

• Novel thoughts/actions (Lackéus, 2015).

• Creativity as a process: idea generation, idea structuring, idea promotion (Mumford et al., 2002).

• Social process: Relational and dialoguing process of organizational emergence (Bouwen & Steyaert, 1990). Creative enactment through the interplay of individual and creative forces (Johannisson, 1995).

• Creative problem solving/imaginativeness (Morris et al., 2013)

Design value -

Be innovative

• Innovation. (Bolzani & Luppi, 2020)

• Imagination and the capacity to envision possibilities (Chell, 2016).

• Goal-setting and problem-solving (Drayton, 2002).

• Interaction with customers, technologies, and other stakeholders (Kor et al., 2007)

• Developing new products, services, and/or business models that generate revenues that produce sufficient user benefits to bring about a fair return (Morris et al., 2013).

• Create change. (Alvarez & Barney, 2005; Lackéus, 2015).

• Seek to influence and create new demand through innovative products and services, advertising, and personal charisma. (Kor et al., 2007)

Context of Intrapreneurship

• High in social competence with a prevailing need for autonomy, freedom and independence, to escape from “organisational constraints limiting their potential”.

• Creation of a creativity culture that sustains, supports and fosters creativity in the organization.

• Challenge the status quo (Morris et al., 2013).

• Balance creativity with day-to-day operations (Hjorth, 2005).

• Promote “doers”, i.e., individuals taking the ideas into viable opportunities.

• Set up structures to foster creativity.

• Nurture open exchange of ideas and opinions across functional departments.

Creativity in EICAA-CF

The approach suggested for EICAA-CF is to reduce the threads to four:

• Act creatively: this is a reformulation of thread “Be curious and open”, which includes competences found in literature related to developing autonomy, challenging the status quo and promoting change.

• Solving problems in creative ways: this refers to approaching problems from different perspectives, being able to generate creative solutions to complex problems;

• Generating ideas: this is the process of being able to provide multiple and original solutions to a given problem or challenge;

• Being innovative: in the context of an organization, this refers to the organisation’s capabilities to design innovative products, services and solutions and foster a culture of innovation inside.

The thread “Design value” is converted into a new competence.

3.1.3. Vision

Vision in EntreComp VISION in EntreComp

Discover

Imagine

1.I can imagine a desirable future.

2.I can develop simple future scenarios where value is created for my community and surroundings.

3.I can develop (alone or with others) an inspiring vision for the future that involves others.

4.I can build future scenarios around my value-creating activity.

5.I can use my understanding of the context to identify different strategic visions for creating value.

6.I can discuss my (or my team's) strategic vision for creating value.

7.I can develop (alone or with others) and compare different future scenarios.

8.I can show different audiences the benefits of my vision during turbulent times

Think strategically

3.I can explain what a vision is and what purpose it serves

4.I am aware of what is needed to build a vision.

5.I can explain the role of a vision statement for strategic planning.

6.I can prepare a vision statement for my (or my team's) value-creating activity that guides internal deci-sionmaking throughout the whole process of creating value.

7.I can plan backwards from my vision to design the necessary strategy to achieve it.

8.I can encourage enthusiasm and a sense of belonging around a convincing vision.

Guide action

3. My vision for creating value drives me to make the effort to turn ideas into action.

4. I can decide what type of vision for creating value I would like to contribute to.

5. I can identify the changes needed to achieve my vision.

6. I can promote initiatives for change and transformation that contribute to my vision.

7. I can identify challenges related to my (or my team's) vision, while respecting the different levels of the system and the variety of stakeholders affected.

8. I can create (alone or with others) a ‘roadmap’ based on my vision for creating value.

Vision in the literature

The literature emphasizes the importance of vision to set the direction, strategy and goals of the new venture. There is also evidence of the vision of high-growth as a factor of successful entrepreneurs. Finally, the literature gives great relevance to the communication of the vision to get supporters to believe and engage in the new venture under conditions of uncertainty and limited resources. This aspect is gathered in EntreComp under competence “Mobilising others”, thread “Communicate effectively”. Thus, since communication of the vision is already covered in EntreComp, we don’t add it to any other thread to competence Vision. The next table summarises what we found in the reviewed literature related to this competence.

Vision in literature

Thread in EntreComp

Imagine

Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature

• Seeing the big picture/strategic zoom lens (Bird 1995/2019; Tittel&Terzidis, 2020)

• Conveying a compelling vision (Morris et al., 2013).

• Create visions (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

• Growth mindset (Bolzani & Luppi, 2020)

• Develop a vision. (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• See the big picture. (S)

• Imagining a vision of the future to get supporters.

• The entrepreneur sees themselves as an entrepreneur. Personal narratives (O’Connor, 2002)

• Vision of growth and long-term visions.

Think strategically

Guide action

• Seeing the big picture/strategic zoom lens (Bird 1995/2019; Tittel & Terzidis,2020)

• Vision includes strategic vision -how the company competes successfully in the market (Baum & Locke, 2004).

• Set the direction of the company, be visionary, strategic and goal-oriented (Man et al., 2002).

Communicated vision

• Growth mindset (Bolzani & Luppi, 2020)

• Draw people’s attention towards desired outcomes and thus, focus people’s efforts (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1996; cited in Frese & Gielnik, 2014).).

• Ability to convince others (e.g., employees) to engage in new ventures under conditions of uncertainty and limited resources.

• Inspires constituents’ confidence in an uncertain future and enables marshalling resources (Cogliser & Brigham, 2004).

• Persuade others to switch resources from known present outcomes to uncertain future outcomes (Cogliser & Brigham, 2004).

• Communicate the significantly high low-term rewards to stakeholders (Cogliser & Brigham, 2004).

• Communicate vision through speeches, pep talks, and written presentations (Baum & Locke, 2004).

• Disseminate stories: spreading symbolic narratives (real or fictious) to raise awareness about the firm and its market, and communicate the firm’s identity (Santos & Eisenhardt, 2009).

Vision in intrapreneurship

• Vision to get commitment of the organization to innovation, opportunity-focus and self-renewing (Cogliser & Brigham, 2004).

• Collective vision or corporate coherence.

3.1.4. Valuing ideas

Recognise the value of ideas.

FOUNDATION

Share and protect ideas.

Valuing ideas in EntreComp VALUING IDEAS in EntreComp Thread as in EntreComp

Explore Relying on support from others

Discover

1. I can find examples of ideas that have value for myself and others.

2. I can show how different groups, such as firms and institutions, create value in my community and surroundings.

3. I can tell the difference between social, cultural and economic value.

4. I can decide which type of value I want to act on and then choose the most appropriate pathway to do so.

5. I recognise the many forms of value that could be created through entrepreneurship, such as social, cultural or economic value.

6. I can break down a value chain into its different parts and identify how value is added in each part.

7. I can develop strategies to effectively make the most of opportunities to create value in my organisation or venture.

8. I can state the value of a new idea from different stakeholders' perspectives.

1. I can clarify that other people’s ideas can be used and acted on, while respecting their rights.

2. I can explain that ideas can be shared and circulated for the benefit of everyone or can be protected by certain rights, for example, copyrights or patents.

3. I can tell the difference between types of licences that can be used to share ideas and protect rights.

4. I can choose the most appropriate licence for the purpose of sharing and protecting the value created by my ideas.

5. I can choose the most appropriate licence for the purpose of sharing and protecting the value created by my ideas.

6. I can tell the difference between trademarks, registered design rights, patents, geographical indications, trade secrets, confidentiality agreements and copyright licences, including open, public-domain licences such as creative commons.

7. I can develop a tailored strategy on intellectual property rights that deals with geographic requirements.

8. I can develop a strategy on intellectual property rights that is tailored to the age of my portfolio.

Valuing ideas in the literature

Valuing the ideas is not explicitly addressed in the literature as a single competence. Rather, it is included in the competence of recognising opportunities. The next table summarises the insights obtained from the literature and matches them with the threads defined by EntreComp.

Valuing ideas in the literature

Thread in EntreComp Related competences in other frameworks Insights from the literature

Recognise the value of ideas

• 1&2 Opportunity recognition & assessment (Morris et al., 2013)

• Once an opportunity is discovered, a choice must be made whether or not to exploit the opportunity (Shane & Venkatraman, 2000).

• Devising and discovering markets and accurately evaluating alternative product opportunities and techniques (Kor et al., 2007).

• Acceptation of the viability of pursing the opportunity and commitment of resources (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Recognise and evaluate opportunities, but move quickly to develop competitive advantage to exploit them (Ireland et al., 2003).

• Perceived value in the desired end state influences the decision to start-up.

• Contents of the assessment: opportunities, risks and returns as well as the factors that contribute to potential profit or loss, the current resources and the competitors. (Kyndt & Baert, 2015).

• Five dimensions of assessment: economic, influence, harmony, social, enjoyment value.

• Data-driven decision making process; accumulation of confirming and disconfirming evidence (Learned, 1992). Share and protect ideas.

Valuing ideas in EICAA-CF

• Using strategies of protecting ideas as part of the strategy of growth. (McKelvie & Thesmar, 2009).

Competence “Valuing ideas” is relevant and necessary to assess and judge ideas and decide which ones are worth to be pursued. However, this process is often made in an iterative and incremental way, by designing experiments, collecting data and learning from it. This process is emphasized in the Expert level. Additionally, according to literature, there is the risk that the entrepreneur suffers from “analysis paralysis” when trying to assess the value of ideas. To avoid getting stuck, it is necessary to find a good balance between thinking and moving forward or “moving quickly” as Ireland et al. (2003) state. This aspect is emphasized in level “Advanced”.

Thread “Share and protect ideas” keeps the same essence as in EntreComp.

3.1.5. Ethical and sustainable thinking

Ethical and sustainable thinking in EntreComp

Thread

Behave ethically.

1. I can recognise behaviours that show integrity, honesty, responsibility, courage and commitment.

2. I can describe in my own words the importance of integrity and ethical values.

4. I can apply ethical thinking to consumption and production processes.

5. I am driven by honesty and integrity when taking decisions.

5. I can argue that ideas for creating value should be supported by ethics and values relating to gender, equality, fairness, social justice and environmental sustainability.

6. I can take responsibility for promoting ethical behaviour in my area of influence, (for example, by promoting gender balance highlighting inequalities and any lack of integrity).

7. I make it my priority to make sure that ethical behaviour is respected and promoted in my area of influence.

8. I take action against unethical behaviour

Think sustainably.

1. I can list examples of environmentally friendly behaviour that benefits a community.

2. I can recognise examples of environmentally friendly behaviour by companies that creates value for society as a whole.

3. I can identify practices that are not sustainable and their implications for the environment.

4. I can produce a clear problem statement when faced with practices that are not sustainable.

5. I can discuss the impact an organisation has on the environment (and vice versa).

6. I can discuss the relationship between society and technical developments, relating to their implications for the environment.

7. I can choose adequate methods for analysing environmental impact based on their advantages and disadvantages.

8. I can contribute to selfregulation discussions within my sector of operations.

Assess impact.

1. I can find and list examples of changes caused by human action in social, cultural, environmental or economic contexts.

2. I can tell the difference between the impact of a value-creating activity on the target community and the broader impact on society.

3. I can identify the impact that taking up opportunities will have on me and my team, on the target group and on the surrounding community.

4. I can identify stakeholders who are affected by the change brought about by my (or my team's) value-creating activity, including stakeholders who cannot speak up (for example, future generations, climate or nature).

5. I can analyse the implications of my valuecreating activity within the boundaries of the system I am working in.

6. I can define the purpose of the impact assessment, impact monitoring, and evaluation of impact.

7. I can choose ‘measure indicators’ to monitor and assess the impact of my value-creating activity.

8. I can carry out impact assessment, impact monitoring, and impact evaluation on my valuecreating activity.

Be accountable

4. I can tell the difference between accounting for use of re-sources and accounting for the impact of my valuecreating activity on stakeholders and the environment.

5. I can tell the difference between input, output, outcomes and impact.

6. I can discuss a range of accountability methods for both functional and strategic accountability.

7. I can use the accountability methods that hold me responsible to our internal and external stakeholders.

8. I can design ways to be accountable to all of our stakeholders.

Ethical and sustainable thinking in the literature

Ethical and sustainable thinking in literature

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature

Behave ethically

• Integrity. (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Internal alignment of values, needs, and beliefs. (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Ethical values. (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

• Act ethically correct (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Operate in conditions of “moral uncertainty”.

• Find time and perspective for focused ethical reflection.

• Aware of ethical issues (financial gain, relationships, action-oriented, few time for reflection, promotion and innovation ethics).

• Need for an ethics of change. (Hannafey, 2003).

• Intentional posture refers to the entrepreneur’s intrapsychic congruence and interpersonal synergy. Successful entrepreneurs have greater internal alignment of values, needs, and beliefs, than less successful entrepreneurs (Bird 1995/2019).

• Manage dilemmas related to entering into instrumental relationships.

• Building and managing instrumental relationships.

• Relationship dilemmas are identified by Hannafey (2003) as some of the most challenging and complex ethical problems faced by individual entrepreneurs.

• Ethical concerns, perspectives, and behaviors of entrepreneurs can change over time as their organizations grow and develop (Hannafey, 2003).

• Ethical issues that are identified regarding the individual entrepreneur: focus on financial gain, relationships (built-in bias towards instrumental relationships), action-oriented and/or few time for reflection, promotion and innovation ethics (communicating-disclosing information, influencemanipulation-coercion), ethics of change.

• Social awareness

• Role conflict dilemmas.

• A sense of changing stages and new dilemmas that emerge with the growth of the firm, in which the entrepreneur needs to be aware of, reflect and act. Think sustainably -Assess impact - -

Be accountable Act with social responsibility (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

Ethical and sustainable thinking in EICAA-CF

• The ethics dimension (e.g., individuals who attend to the natural or social environment) with the detection of opportunities in this area (Shepherd & Patzelt, 2011).

The reviewed literature did not focus explicitly on competences related to thinking sustainably nor impact assessment. The reason might be that these competences are analysed in specific articles or journals that we didn’t reach in our review. On the contrary, ethical behaviour is partly covered in some articles of our review, with a fruitful discussion on the ethical thinking and behaviour of entrepreneurs compared to managers. In summary, the four threads of the competence are considered relevant to be included in EICAA-CF. The following table summarises our proposal for the inclusion of the competence in EICAA-CF.

3.1.6. Design

In design-driven entrepreneurship and other approaches, people (clients and other stakeholders) are at the centre of the creative process (Brown, 2009). This design strategy is known as Human Centered Design (HCD) and it is common in design thinking and lean startup. HCD demands an active participation of the client and stakeholders in the process of discovering the opportunity, designing the solution and delivering/implementing the product or service. The ability to empathize is essential in the research phase to discover the opportunity with the customer/user and other stakeholders. In the design phase, the solution search process is carried out with the active participation of the client/user based on a co-creation strategy that demands the ability to give and receive feedback. Finally, in the implementation phase, the entrepreneur experiments with real clients, designing a minimum viable product that requires active listening. Empathy, the ability to give and receive feedback and active listening are key skills in this type of methodologies (Blank & Dorf, 2012; Ries, 2011). Some of these issues are covered in EntreComp in competence “working with others”, while “mobilising others” focuses more on communication and persuasion.

Competence “Design” in the literature

The competence Design only appears explicitly mentioned in Bird’s (1995/2019) and in Tittel and Terzidis’ (2020) frameworks, under the name “Designing specific products or services” and “Designing the specific business organisation”. However, it appears in the literature under multiple approaches, particularly in practitioner approaches of entrepreneurship. The next table summarises the main findings.

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks

Design value Designing specific products or services (Bird, 1995/2019; Tittel & Terzidis, 2020).

Insights from the literature

• Customer orientation (Capaldo et al., 2004).

• Ability to build relationships with current and prospective customers and thus, related to the entrepreneurs’ social skills (Frasté & Van Gils, 2007).

• Customer development, consisting of four phases: customer discovery, customer validation, customer creation, and company creation. (Blank & Dorf, 2012).

• In effectuation, design is the individual’s intent to shape the environment or her actions attempting to control an environmental outcome (Read et al., 2009).

We structured competence “Design” in four threads: “Immerse with your users”, “Identify needs”, “Prototype and test” and “Co-create”. Immersing with users is related to the strategies of interacting with the users and empathising with them to understand and define their needs and challenges. Thus, the identification of these needs is the result of these interactions. In EntreComp, “Identify needs” is a thread of competence “Spotting opportunities”. By bringing this thread into the new competence “Design”, we emphasize the active process of interacting with the users to identify needs. Prototyping and testing are also part of this process, which often happens in an iterative and incremental way. In EntreComp, prototyping is partially covered in thread “Design value”, which belongs to competence “Creativity”. Finally, we also included “co-creation”, which goes beyond immersing with users, by making users and other stakeholders to become active participants of the creation process of products, services or solutions.

3.2. Competence area “Resources”

The competence area “Resources” in EntreComp gathers a set of attitudes, knowledge and skills that are necessary to develop the value-creating idea. These resources are personal resources, such as selfawareness, self-efficacy and motivation, knowledge (basically financial and economic literacy), communication skills (under mobilising others), and the capacity to acquire and manage resources (material and non-material).

When we look at the competences of other entrepreneurial competence frameworks, almost all the listed competences related to this area are included in EntreComp, as it can be observed in Table 5 Self-efficacy is very relevant and listed in all competence frameworks. It has also received great attention in the literature. Motivation and perseverance are related to drive, or the capacity to bring the ideas into the implementation of the new venture. Some authors whose works were considered in the literature review have emphasized two crucial skills of the entrepreneur: the ability to recognize opportunities, and the drive to convert these opportunities into a new venture. Thus, in EntreComp the latter set of competences are related to perseverance, tenacity, resilience, which is certainly very crucial to start-up. Adaptability and flexibility are other key competences related to the entrepreneur’s personal resources, although they appear under competence area “Into Action” in EntreComp.

EntreComp does not mention digital competences in the framework. There is only one thread under competence “mobilizing others” that refer to the use of media to communicate with others. Given today’s rapid developments in the digital field, we believe that entrepreneurs should possess digital competences to start-up their new ventures, regardless of the domain in which they are operating. Thus, by looking at how digital competences are being addressed in other competence frameworks, our suggestion is to include the digital competence in EICAA-CF, which contains the basic skills any professional should possess nowadays and that entrepreneurs should have to start-up successfully in today’s digital world.

Another refinement introduced in this area refers to knowledge. The literature has found that previous knowledge and experience of the entrepreneur is very relevant for the new venture, in all stages of the new venture. For example, it has been observed that previous knowledge is crucial to the detection of opportunities in a given market. EntreComp includes the thread “Financial and economic literacy” as one of the important resources of the entrepreneur. However, the literature reveals that other sources of knowledge are relevant, such as knowledge about markets, commerce, sales, and the particular industry where the new venture operates.

The competence “Mobilising others” is basically related to the communication skills necessary to persuade and engage others. The title might be a bit confusing with respect to “Working with others”, which is a competence under competence area “Into Action”. Beyond that, the competence “Mobilising others” is transversal to all the different activities of the new venture, from idea generation, where the entrepreneur needs to communicate with customers, to growth-related activities, such as negotiating with potential investors.

EntreComp conveys the idea of the entrepreneur having the competences to transform ideas and opportunities into action my mobilising resources. In fact, the entire competence area “Resources” is somewhat transversal to the other two areas. We might consider this competence area as a functional connector between the other two areas.

2.1 Self-awareness and selfefficacy

2. Resources

2.2 Motivation and perseverance

• Follow your aspirations

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

• Believe in your ability.

• Shape your future.

• Maintain focus (be determined)

• Stay motivated and passionate (stay driven)

• Persevere/Tenacity/Don’t give up.

• Be resilient.

Believe in yourself and keep developing

Descriptors

• Reflect on your needs, aspirations and wants in the short, medium and long term

• Identify and assess your individual and group strengths and weaknesses

• Believe in your ability to influence the course of events, despite uncertainty, setbacks and temporary failures

2.3 Mobilising resources

• Assess resources to extract value

• Acquire resources

• Make the most of your time

• Get support and build a network.

Stay focused and don't give up

• Motivate yourself and others.

• Be prepared to be patient and keep trying to achieve your long-term individual or group aims

• Be resilient under pressure, adversity, and temporary failure

2.4 Financial and economic literacy

• Understand economic and financial concepts.

• Budget.

• Find funding.

• Understand taxation.

• Enterprising literacy.

Gather and manage the resources you need

Develop financial and economic know how

• Get and manage the material, non-material and digital resources needed to turn ideas into action

• Make the most of limited resources

• Get and manage the competences needed at any stage, including technical, legal, tax and digital competences

• Estimate the cost of turning an idea into a value-creating activity

• Plan, put in place and evaluate financial decisions over time

• Manage financing to make sure my value-creating activity can last over the long term

• Use knowledge of enterprise functions to effectively operate the new venture.

2.5. Mobilizing others

• Inspire and get inspired.

• Persuade and negotiate.

• Communicate effectively.

• Use media effectively.

Inspire, enthuse and get others on board

• Inspire and enthuse relevant stakeholders

• Get the support needed to achieve valuable out-comes

• Demonstrate effective communication, persuasion, negotiation and leadership 3.

2.6. Digital competence

• General digital competences at work

• Digital competences for the new venture

• Information and data literacy

• Safety & cybersecurity

Note: In blue, new additions or revisions

Use of digital technologies to manage the new venture efficiently

• Use of technology for working, collaboration and content creation.

• Use of technology for the efficient management of operations in the new venture

• Information and data literacy

• Implement strategies for data security and privacy.

Table 4. Competence area “Resources” in EICAA-CF.

EntreComp Bird (1995/2019) Mitchelmore & Rowley (2010) Morris et al. (2013, p. 358) Rasmusen & Nybye (2013) Bolzani & Luppi (2020) Tittel & Terzidis (2020)

2.1 Selfawareness and self-efficacy

Self-confidence. Recognising one’s own limitations.

12 Self efficacy Belief in own abilities. Accept failure. Self-assessment (empowerment scale). Coping strategy (selfknowledge, orientation towards learning, planning for the future).

Recognise your own limitations (P).

2.2 Motivation and perseverance

Achievement/Task motivation. Drive. Persistence. Total commitment to their venture.

Commitment competencies.

2.3 Mobilizing resources Acquisition and development of resources required to operate the firm.

2.4 Financial and economic literacy

Need for control of material (financial) outcomes. Knowledge of finance/cash management. Knowledge of accounting.

2.5. Mobilizing others Motivating organisation members. Creating and utilizing networks. Assertiveness.

Financial and budgeting skills.

5 Tenacity/ perseverance

11 Resilience

Perseverance.

The ability to motivate others (individual and in groups). Written communication skills. Oral communication skills.

Other knowledge Knowledge of engineering. Previous involvement with start-ups.

7 Resource leveraging Economy: analyse economic problems, seek financing, participate in strategic meetings with investors.

Acquire resources (O).

Maneuver in the industry. (S) Develop a finance and budget plan. (S)

Communication (written, verbal and digital).

Negotiation and persuasion. General communication. Presentation.

Communicate. (R) Motivate organisation members. (R) Negotiate. (R) Persuade. (R) Pitch your ideas. (R)

Table 5 Comparison of EntreComp’s competence area “Resources” with six other entrepreneurial competence frameworks.

Knowledge of marketing and sales. Expertise.

Managerial experience. Familiarity with industry. Technical skills. Industry skills. Familiarity with the market.

Other psychological traits

Information seeking. Need for control. Utilitarian view.

Temporal/cognitive complexity. Intuition.

Flexibility. Field independence.

Problem solving

Adaptability.

Problem solving attitude. Solve problems (P)

Note: In blue, competences that are gathered in other competence frameworks but not in EntreComp or not necessarily in the same sense as in EntreComp

EntreComp Bird (1995/2019) Mitchelmore & Rowley (2010) Morris et al. (2013, p. 358) Rasmusen & Nybye (2013)

Bolzani & Luppi (2020)

Tittel & Terzidis (2020)

3.2.1. Self-awareness and self-efficacy

Self-awareness and self-efficacy in EntreComp

SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-EFFICACY in EntreComp Thread as in EntreComp FOUNDATION Discover

Follow your aspirations.

1. I can identify my needs, wants, interests and goals.

2. I can describe my needs, wants, interests and goals.

3. I can commit to fulfilling my needs, wants, interests and goals.

4. I can reflect on my individual and group needs, wants, interests and aspirations in relation to opportunities and future prospects.

Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

1. I can identify things I am good at and things I am not good at.

3. I can judge my strengths and weak-nesses and those of others in relation to opportunities for creating value.

4. I am driven by the desire to use my strengths and abilities to make the most of opportunities to create value.

Believe in your ability.

1. I believe in my ability to do what I am asked successfully.

2. I believe in my ability to achieve what I intend to.

5. I can translate my needs, wants, interests and aspirations into goals that help me reach them.

6. I can help others to reflect on their needs, wants, interests and aspirations and how they can turn these into goals

5. I can team up with others to compensate for our weaknesses and add to our strengths.

6. I can help others identify their strengths and weaknesses.

3. I can judge the control I have over my achievements (compared with any control from outside influences).

4. I believe I can influence people and situations for the better

Shape your future.

1. I can list different types of jobs and their key functions.

2. I can describe which qualities and abilities are needed for different jobs, and which of these qualities and abilities I have.

3. I can describe my skills and competences relating to career options, including self- employment.

4. I can use my skills and competences to change my career path, as a result of new opportunities or from necessity.

5. I believe in my ability to carry out what I have imagined and planned, despite obstacles, limited re-sources and resistance from others.

6. I believe in my ability to understand and take the good out of experiences that others may label as failures.

5. I can discuss how a realistic understanding and evaluation of my personal attitudes, skills and knowledge can influence my decision-making, relationships with other people and quality of life.

6. I can choose professional development

7. I can design professional development strategies for my team and organisation based on a clear understanding our strengths and weaknesses, in relation to both current and future opportunities to create value.

8. I can design strategies to overcome my (or my team’s or organisation’s) weaknesses and to develop our strengths in

opportunities with my team and organisation based on a clear understanding our strengths and weaknesses.

Self-awareness and self-efficacy in the literature

anticipating future needs.

Self-efficacy refers the ability to maintain a sense of self-confidence regarding one’s ability to accomplish a particular task or attain a level of performance (Morris et al., 2013). The term selfefficacy was early studied by Albert Bandura (1997), who defined the term as the individuals’ conscious belief in their own ability to bring about the desired results in the performance of a particular task. Self-efficacy is considered as an important determinant of human behaviour; individuals tend to avoid tasks about which they have low self-efficacy and conversely, are drawn toward tasks about which they believe they have high self-efficacy (Forbes, 2005).

In the context of entrepreneurship, the term entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) is defined as the individual's belief in his/her capability to perform tasks and roles aimed at entrepreneurial outcomes (Chen et al., 1998). It is a factor that greatly influences the decision to start-up and the aspiration levels (vision of growth, for example), goal commitment, task persistence and work attitudes (Gist, 1987). It influences the perception of control of their own tasks and the tasks performed by others.

However, self-efficacy and self-confidence might be confusing terms. Chell (2013) distinguishes between these terms as follows:

• Self-efficacy is equivalent to self-belief, self-awareness and ability to exert influence and create change

• Self-confidence is related to trust in own judgement.

As a summary of the insights from the literature review, we emphasise:

• The dynamic nature of the dialogue between one’s perception (of past experiences and perceived competence in relation with the entrepreneurial tasks) and the interaction with the environment.

• The competence not only entails identifying strengths and weaknesses, but also the ability to prioritise based on this, search training and support, if needed, to develop oneself.

• There is balance between self-efficacy and over-trust/over-confidence. Herein, the concept of justified confidence refers to a realistic confidence of the own’s abilities.

• Other related competences in the literature are the locus of control, and the ability to act autonomously (agency)

In studying the psychological traits of the entrepreneurs, Frese and Gielnik (2014) classify these competences and other related ones in two groups: personality need of achievement, loss of control, autonomy, generalised self-efficacy, innovativeness, stress tolerance and risk taking and motivational/affective antecedents passion, positive/negative affect, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial orientation. The next table summarises the findings of the competence frameworks and the literature review.

The general self-efficacy scale developed by Shwarzer & Jerusalem (1995) measures the belief that one can perform a novel or difficult tasks, or cope with adversity, in various domains of human functioning. The scale has ten items as show in the table below. Item 3 may be related to the thread “Follow your aspirations”, which we might locate under thread “Stay driven”.

Self-awareness and self-efficacy in the literature

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature review

Follow your aspirations.

• Commitment competences (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Self-efficacy is related to success through perseverance and search for challenges, personal initiative, higher hope for success, long-term perspective, active search for information and thus better knowledge (Chen et al. 1998; cited in Gianesini et al., 2018).

Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

• Self-confidence (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Recognising one’s own limitations (Bird, 1995/2019).

• Self-assessment (empowerment scale). (Bolzani & Luppi, 2020).

• Recognise your own limitations (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020).

• Proactive process of learning in readiness for start-up, by looking outward beyond inward. He states that: “It is a dual, interactive process, where the individual develops a clear appreciation of their own strengths and weaknesses and those of their potential business in relation to the wider environment. (Cope, 2005).

• Learning perspective: about oneself, the business, the environment and networks, management and the nature and management of relationships. (Cope, 2005) -this might belong to competence Learning-

• Trust in one-self; self-knowledge; justified selfconfidence. Self-knowledge understood as the identification of their strengths and also weaknesses, and prioritization of aspects they need to work on by themselves and which ones they need support from others (Kyndt & Baert, 2015).

Believe in your ability.

• Self efficacy (Morris et al., 2013).

• Belief in own abilities (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

• Coping strategy (self-knowledge, orientation towards learning, planning for the future). (Bolzani & Luppi, 2020).

• Accept failure (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

• Entrepreneurs’ perceived ability to master the necessary resources for a start-up is significantly related to their self-efficacy (Erikson, 2002).

• It is context-specific (Cope, 2005).

• Role of interactions (social networks, external advisors) (Forbes, 2005).

• Avoid over-confidence, and excess of optimism (Hayward et al., 2006; Landier & Tesmar, 2009).

• Two factors: perceived control over adversity and perceived responsibility regarding the outcome of adversity (Markman et al., 2005).

• faith and belief in their own possibility (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

• Locus of control (included in EntreComp in one of the statements): The extension to which the individual feels in charge (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007).

• Optimism: The belief that events will generally result in favorable outcomes . It has been positively linked to opportunity recognition. (Baron, 2006)

Shape your future.

Other

• Ability to define their own destiny and act in an entrepreneurial way (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

Other related competences found in literature:

• locus of control,

• autonomy,

• need for achievement,

• stress tolerance (Frese & Gielnik, 2014).

• ability to act independent of others. Independence refers to the ability to decide and determine for oneself what to do (gathered in “Taking the initiative”)

A recent review of entrepreneurial self-efficacy presents a summary of different scales of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (Newman et al., 2019). Many of these scales are structured in subdimensions where the individual is asked on different aspects of ESE, such as in innovation, finance, teamwork, product development, start-up processes, leadership and creativity (Barakat et al., 2014).

1. I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough

2. If someone opposes me, I can find the means and ways to get what I want.

3. It is easy for me to stick to my aims and accomplish my goals.

4. I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events.

5. Thanks to my resourcefulness, I know how to handle unforeseen situations.

6. I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.

7. I can remain calm when facing difficulties because I can rely on my coping abilities.

8. When I am confronted with a problem, I can usually find several solutions.

9. If I am in trouble, I can usually think of a solution

10. I can usually handle whatever comes my way.

Self-awareness and self-efficacy in EICAA-CF

Based on the analysis of literature around this competence, the approach taken in EICAA-CF is to maintain the same threads as in EntreComp, given the importance that self-awareness and self-efficacy have on the decision to start-up, while adding the following considerations:

• Thread “Follow one’s aspirations” is related to the vision of the entrepreneur. Somewhat, it connects the vision of the entrepreneur with the ability to pursuing these visions. This ability is also sustained by “Motivation and Perseverance”, which is the main focus of the next competence in the “Resources” competence area.

• Threads “Identify your strengths and weaknesses” and “Believe in your ability” are central to the competence.

• We suggest to include a dynamic perspective related to the continuous assessment of the strengths and weaknesses based on the interaction with the environment (past experiences).

• We refine the concept of self-efficacy to have a greater emphasis on entrepreneurial selfefficacy.

• We add the awareness of the entrepreneur and ability to judge potential biases in their own judgement of self-efficacy, such as over-confidence or over-optimism.

• Thread “Shape your future” is related to the ability to identify the skills needed for a particular job or task and develop strategies to develop them. Although the name of the thread could be better understood with a name such as “Develop your skills”, we prefer to keep the same name as in EntreComp.

3.2.2. Motivation and perseverance

Motivation and perseverance in EntreComp

MOTIVATION AND PERSEVERANCE in EntreComp

Thread as in EntreComp FOUNDATION Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

Stay driven

1. I am driven by the possibility to do or contribute to something that is good for me or for others.

2. I am motivated by the idea of creating value for myself and others.

3. I can anticipate the feeling of achieving my goals and this motivates me.

4. I can regulate my own behaviour to stay driven and achieve the benefits of turning ideas into action.

Be determined

1. I see tasks as challenges to do my best.

3. I can set challenges to motivate myself.

5. I drive my effort by using my desire for

7. I can create the right climate to motivate my team (for example, by

Table 6. Items of the General Self-Efficacy (GSE) scale by Shwarzer & Jerusalem (1995).

Focus on what keeps you motivated.

2. I am motivated by challenges.

4. I am willing to put effort in and use resources to overcome challenges and achieve my (or my team's) goals.

achievement and belief in my ability to achieve.

6. I can coach others to stay motivated, encouraging them to commit to what they want to achieve.

celebrating successes, by learning from failures and by encouraging innovative ways to tackle problems).

8. I consider all outcomes as temporary solutions appropriate to their time and context, and so am motivated to make sure they develop in a continuous cycle of improvement and innovation.

1. I can recognize different ways of motivating myself and others to create value.

3. I can reflect on the social incentives associated with having a sense of initiative and creating value for myself and others.

4. I can tell the difference between personal and external factors that motivate me or others when creating value.

5. I can use strategies to stay motivated (for example, set goals, monitor perfor-mance and evaluate my progress).

6. I can use strategies to keep my team motivated and focused on creating value.

7. I can design effective ways to attract talented people and keep them motivated.

8. I can reward initiative, effort, and achievement appropriately within my team and organisation.

Be resilient.

1. I show passion and willingness to achieve my goals.

2. I am determined and persevere when trying to achieve my (or my team's) goals.

Don’t give up.

1. I do not give up and I can keep going even when facing difficulties.

2. I am not afraid of working hard to achieve my goals.

3. I can over-come simple adverse circumstances. I can judge when it is not worth continuing with an idea.

4. I can persevere in the face of adversities when trying to achieve my goals.

3. I can delay achieving my goals in order to gain greater value, thanks to prolonged effort.

4. I can maintain effort and interest, despite setbacks.

Motivation and perseverance in the literature

5. I can devise strategies to overcome standard adverse circum-stances.

6. I can cope with unexpected change, setbacks and failures (for example, job loss).

5. .I can celebrate short-term achievements, in order to stay motivated.

6. I can inspire others to work hard on their goals by showing passion and a strong sense of ownership.

7. I can make sure that my team or organisation stay positive when making difficult decisions and dealing with failure.

7. I can stay focused on my vision and goals, despite challenges.

Motivation and perseverance are related to the personality traits of the entrepreneur, although in EntreComp they are stated as behaviours, such as “stay driven” or “be determined”. Together with the competence “Self-efficacy and self-awareness”, these competences are the ones most related to the entrepreneurs’ traits (psychological traits) that are extensively covered in the literature. However, if we look at the literature that refers to the psychological traits of the entrepreneur, there are other traits that could be considered, such as: emotional intelligence, coping strategy (connected with resilience), need of achievement, locus of control, drive/motivation, passion, proactiveness, flexibility/adaptability or mental flexibility, risk-taking or risk-propensity, need of autonomy, tolerance of ambiguity, stress

tolerance, and intuition. Many of these competences are covered by some of the learning outcomes within the threads. The remaining ones are listed at the end of the next table.

Motivation and perseverance

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature review

Stay driven

Motivation to contribute value; need of achievement; regulate own behaviour (need for achievement and regulating behaviour)

• Drive. (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Total commitment to their venture (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Commitment competencies (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Need of achievement: Individual’s need to strive hard to attain success (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007).

• Drive/motivation: drive to see venture through to fruition (Chandler & Jansen, 1992).

• Drive to See Venture Through to Fruition and Firm Growth: The creation of a new business is a permanent challenge where success depends mainly on the persistence of entrepreneurs. These latter encounter major obstacles with uncertain results, and their ability to resist and to manage adversity predicts their personal effectiveness and their performance (Baron & Markman, 2003).

• Proactiveness: Operationalised as ”I do”. Action-oriented, Initiator, Proactive. (Sánchez, 2011; Murnieks, 2007) –listed in Lakéus (2015, p. 12) as Attitude. Tendency to initiate and maintain actions that directly alter the surrounding environment (Bateman & Crant, 1993; cited in Sánchez, 2013). “First mover advantage” This is gathered under competence “Taking the initiative”.

• Commitment competencies: competencies that drive the entrepreneur to move ahead with the business; willing to work hard (Frasté & Van Gils, 2007).

• This thread can be consistent with the construct “Consistency of interest” (see also below under “focus on what keeps you motivated”).

Be determined Motivation to put effort; overcome challenges; need of achievement; motivate others; right climate; positive perception of outcomes.

• Passion: operationalised as ”I want”. Related to need for achievement. (Fisher et al.,2008). (Lackéus, 2015, p.12)

• Passion: consciously accessible, intense positive feelings experienced by engagement in entrepreneurial activities associated with roles that are meaningful and salient to the self-identity of the entrepreneur. (Cardon et al., 2009).

• Passion: 1) the content of “passion” is an intense positive emotion 2) whose empirical referents or objects usually involve venture-related opportunities, tasks, or activities and 3) that has a motivational effect that stimulates entrepreneurs to overcome obstacles and remain engaged. (Cardon et al., 2009).

• Commitment, stamina, energy, effort, motivation, achievement motivation, passion (Timmons et al., 1985; Boyd and Vozikis, 1994; Baum et al., 2001; Baum & Locke, 2004a; cited in Chell, 2013). Focus on what keeps you motivated.

(motivation)

• Achievement/Ta sk motivation. (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Coping-strategy: Self-knowledge, orientation towards learning, and planning for future scale (Kyndt & Baert, 2015) (self-assessed and alterassessed) (Bolzani & Luppi, 2020)

• Adapting and coping: Adapts and responds well to change. Manages pressure effectively and copes well with setbacks – Emotional stability (Great Eight Model, cited in Gianesini et al., 2018, p.19)

• Consistency of interest: ability to stay focused and passionate over a long period of time by performing particular task without changing interest or goals (Salisu et al., 2020; cited in Martínez-Martínez & Ventura, 2020). It is important for entrepreneurship in that the creation of the venture implies complex, multiple, and competing objectives whose scope requires a maintained focus over longs periods of time. (Martínez-Martínez & Ventura, 2020).The items that are included in this scale are:

o I often set a goal but latter choose to pursue a different one.

o New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.

o I become interested in new pursuits every few months.

o My interests change from year to year.

o I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.

o I have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete. Be resilient.

• Resilience

• Resilience: ability to cope with stresses and disturbances such that one remains well, recovers, or even thrives in the face of adversity (Gianesini et

Resilience: persistence in front of drawbacks

al., 2018)

• Ability to endure and cope with difficulties – Resilience (Chell, 2013, p.13).

• Stress tolerance: Resistance to stress. Don’t give up.

Persistence/ tenacity

• Persistence (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Tenacity/ perseverance (Morris et al., 2013)

• Perseverance (Bolzani & Luppi, 2020)

• Perseverance: One’s tendency to persist and endure in the face of adversity (Eisenberger, 1992, as cited in Markman et al., 2005).

• Perseverance: Ability to sustain goal-directed action and energy when confronting difficulties and obstacles that impede goal achievement (Morris et al., 2013).

• Perseverance/tenacity: Ability to sustain goal-directed action and energy when confronting difficulties and obstacles that impede goal achievement (Gianesini et al., 2018)

• Persistence: defined as the continuation of effortful action despite failures, impediments, or threats, either real or imagined (Gimeno et al., 1997; cited in Cardon et al., 2009).

• Perseverance influences individuals’ courses of action, the level of effort they put forth while pursuing their endeavours, the length of their endurance and their resilience in the face of setbacks and repeated failures (cf. Eisenberger & Leonard, 1980). Perseverance also influences how much stress individuals can endure while they cope with setbacks, and the level of accomplishments they eventually realize (Bandura, 1997).

• Related to Perseverance of effort (Martínez-Martínez & Ventura, 2020), with items such as:

o I have achieved a goal that took years of work.

o I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge.

o I finish whatever I begin.

o Setbacks don’t discourage me.

o I am a hard worker.

o I am diligent. Other related competences

•

• Emotional intelligence: It is included as a learning outcome in EntreComp, under competence “working with others”, under thread “Listen actively”.

• Risk-taking/risk-propensity: individual cognitive style with respect to taking risks. Actively seeking risky assignments and having greater propensity to take risks. It is considered in EntreComp, under competence “Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk” in “Into action”.

• Need of autonomy: Represents one’s strive to be independent and having control. Avoiding restrictions, rules, procedures and strong need for independence and autonomy (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007, p. 88). -in Taking the initiative-

• Tolerance of ambiguity: Describes one’s ability to make decision with incomplete information. Making decision in the situation of high uncertainty (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007, p. 88). It is considered in EntreComp, under competence “Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk” in “Into action”.

• Mental flexibility: Ability to switch back and forth between heuristic and systematic processing as the need arises, and perhaps even rapid processing (as indexed by reaction time) may all play a role. (Baron & Ward, 2004, p.569)-partially covered in competence “Coping with uncertainty” in competence area “Into Action”.

• Intuition: Schumpeter suggests that entrepreneurial success depends on ‘intuition, the capacity of seeing things in a way which afterwards proves to be true, even though it cannot be established at the moment and of grasping the essential fact, discarding the unessential, even though one can give no account ofthe principles by which this is done’ (Schumpeter, 1934, p. 85).

• Enterprising and performing: the entrepreneur focuses on results and achieving personal work objectives. It works best when work is related closely to results and the impact of personal efforts is obvious. It shows an understanding of business, commerce, and finance. Entrepreneurs seek opportunities for self-development and career advancement (The Great Eight model by Bartram, 2005; cited in Gianesini et al., 2018).

Motivation and perseverance in EICAA-CF

Our approach to EICAA-CF is the following:

• Threads “Stay driven”, “Be determined” and “Focus on what keeps you motivated” overlap and are difficult to distinguish.

• To our understanding, “Stay driven” means, according to EntreComp, being motivated to provide value to others and oneself and the ability of regulating one’s behaviour to fulfil the goals.

• “Be determined” is very much related to “Stay driven” and seems to emphasize a stronger commitment or drive in defining their own challenges and the ability to put effort.

• Thread “Focus on what keeps you motivated” overlaps partially with the previous thread. Their learning outcomes are described by “motivating myself and others to create value”, “use strategies to stay motivated” and help others staying motivated.

• Given these overlaps, we suggest to group these threads in two factors: one more related to motivation and the other one related to the ability of maintaining focus.

• The new thread related to motivation refers to the ability of being motivated towards creating value. We suggest adding the word “passion”, because of the great amount of literature that study this construct. Thus, the new refined thread would be named “Stay motivated and passionate”.

• The second factor gathers the capability of the individual of staying focused, which has been also named in the literature as “Consistency of interest” as described above. The new thread could be called “Maintain focus”.

• We maintain thread “Don’t give up” related to perseverance and “Be resilient” related to resilience. Since there was a high overlapping in EntreComp, we rephrase some learning outcomes. Herein, we understand by “perseverance” the ability to sustain goal-directed action despite difficulties, while “resilience” is the ability to cope with adverse circumstances and staying emotionally healthy and positive.

3.2.3. Mobilising resources

EntreComp FOUNDATION Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

Manage resources (material and non-material).

1. I can recognise that resources are not unlimited.

2. I can appreciate the importance of sharing resources with others.

INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building independence

3. I can experiment with different combinations of resources to turn my ideas into action.

4. I can get and manage the necessary resources to turn my idea into action.

ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

5. I can develop a plan for dealing with limited resources when setting up my value-creating activity.

6. I can get together the necessary resources to develop my valuecreating activity.

Use resources responsibly.

1. I value my possessions and use them responsibly.

2. I can describe how resources last longer through reuse, repair and recycling.

3. I can discuss the principles of circular economy and resource efficiency.

4. I use re-sources responsibly and efficiently (for example, energy, materials in the supply chain or manufacturing process, public

5. I take into account the non-material cost of using resources when taking decisions about my valuecreating activities.

6. I can choose and put in place effective resourcemanagement procedures (for

EXPERT Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

7. I can allocate enough resources to each step of my (or my team's) action plan and for the value- creating activity (for example, time, finances, and my team’s skills, knowledge and experience).

8. I can judge the key resources needed to support an innovative idea or opportunity to develop an existing business, launch a new venture, or initiate a social enterprise.

7. I can identify the opportunities that use resources efficiently and the circular economy brings to my organisation.

8. I can design and put in place innovative ways to lower the overall impact of my valuecreating activity on the environment, the

Make the most of your time.

1. I can recognise different uses for my time (for example, studying, playing, resting).

2. I value my time as a scarce resource.

spaces).

3. I can discuss the need for investing time in different valuecreating activities.

4. I can use my time effectively to achieve my goals.

Get support.

1. I can look for help when I am having difficulty achieving what I have decided to do.

2. I can identify sources of help for my valuecreating activity (for example, teachers, peers, mentors).

Mobilising resources in the literature

3. I can describe the concepts of division of labour and job specialisation.

4. I can find and list public and private services to support my value-creating activity (for example, incubator, social enterprise advisors, start-up angels, chamber of commerce).

example, lifecycle analysis, solid waste).

5. I can manage my time effectively, using techniques and tools that help make me (or my team) productive.

6. I can help others manage their time effectively.

5. I can find digital solutions (for example, free, paid for, or opensource) that can help me manage my valuecreating activities efficiently.

6. I can find support to help me take advantage of an opportunity to create value (for example, advisor or consultancy services, peer or mentor support).

community and society, and measure the improvement.

7. I can put in place effective timemanagement procedures.

8. I can develop effective time- management procedures that meet the specific needs of my value-creating activity.

7. I can effectively delegate tasks within and outside my organisation to make the most value (for example, outsourcing, partnering, acquisitions, crowdsourcing).

8. I can develop a network of flexible and responsive providers from outside the organisation who support my valuecreating activity

The greatest emphasis in the literature regarding resources is on acquiring resources, especially the availability of financial capital. It seems a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to start-up. Additionally, managing resources strategically is seen crucial. This is emphasised in the later stage of the start-up or in existing organisations, where the commitment of resources to new ventures is essential to their success. Another related competence mentioned in the literature is the ability of driving the new venture with limited resources, and optimising their use. Concepts like building the minimum viable product in lean start-up or calculating the affordable loss are related to this sense of committing the least amount of resources to avoid high financial risks when there are still many uncertainties.

Thus, according to literature there are the following key aspects:

• Make the most of limited resources: ability to access resources and extract value from them (Martínez-Martínez & Ventura, 2020); For example, the lean startup methodology cautions that frugality must be exercised in initial tests of the venture idea, before the commitment of any major resources (Khanna et al., 2016). In effectuation, entrepreneurs should rely only on resources that are willing to lose; while stakeholders can exchange the commitment of resources in exchange for shaping the direction of the new venture (Dew et al., 2009).

• The ability to acquire the necessary (financial) resources: leverage resources at hand, bootstrapping and guerrilla actions (Morris et al., 2013). This includes the ability to recombine and seek new ways of obtaining resources when these are limited (Martínez-Martínez & Venture, 2020). Emphasis on persuasion and negotiation to communicate the need of allocating resources to new ventures is also useful (Lee et al., 2001).

• Manage resources strategically: e.g., following a method based on structuring a resource portfolio and bundling resources to enact capabilities (Ireland et al., 2003).

In EntreComp, the idea of using resources responsibly is linked to concepts related to the environment, circular economy, etc. This could be already included in a thread “Think sustainably” that belongs to

the ethical competence. EntreComp adds time management and getting support from others, which will be also kept in EICAA-CF.

EntreComp’s threads mix the ability of getting resources and managing resources. We will analyse these two dimensions separately for better clarification. We also observed that “finding funding” is included in competence “Financial and economic literacy”.

The next table summarises what we found in the literature.

Mobilising resources in the literature

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature review

Manage resources (material and non-material).

Acquire resources

This thread is both getting and managing resources.

Acquiring resources remains a bit hidden.

• Acquisition and development of resources required to operate the firm. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Resource leveraging/bootstrapping (Morris et al., 2013)

• Acquire resources (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020).

• The availability of financial capital is key to start a new business. Several studies argue that financial constraints are a major factor limiting entrepreneurship (Ho & Wong, 2007) and, on the other side, access to capital promotes entrepreneurship (De Mel et al., 2008; cited in Frese & Gielnik., 2014).

• Baum & Locke (2004) state that successful entrepreneurs must know “how to search for and acquire financial and human resources, even while confronting new markets, resource shortages, and extreme uncertainty”.

• The ability of an individual who has little to no resources to exploit a given opportunity depends on skills such as knowing how to leverage resources at hand, bootstrapping and guerrilla actions. (Morris et al., 2013).

• It is said that the quality of the human and social capital influences the amount of financial capital that is expected to obtain (Ireland et al., 2003).

• The ability of an individual who has little to no resources to exploit a given opportunity depends on skills such as knowing how to leverage resources at hand, bootstrapping and guerrilla actions. (Morris et al., 2013).

Methods for acquireing financial resources:

- Financial bootstrapping

- Equity investment - Sponsorship Manage resources (material and non-material). Manage resources

This is linked to circular economy concepts. It could be related with the “ethical and sustainable” thread.

• Economy: analyse economic problems, seek financing, participate in strategic meetings with investors. (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

• The failure in managing resources strategically prevents the venture to grow. (Kor et al., 2007).

• Operating with scarcity of resources (Chell, 2013).

• Types of resources: financial capital, human capital, social capital, cultural capital, venture capital (Ireland, 2003; Light & Dana, 2013; Read et al., 2009).

• Manage resources strategically: manage resources strategically, following a method based on structuring a resource portfolio and bundling resources to enact capabilities. Avoid tendency to allocate resources to wellestablished operations. (Ireland et al., 2003).

• Difference between effectuation and other approaches: rather than asking investors and founders to invest as much as possible to maximise the potential future returns, effectuation uses the available resources under the control of investors and founders, with the limit of what an individual can afford to lose. “small steps” investments. Use resources responsibly.

Make the most of your time. Time management

Get support. This includes a -

• Develop a network who support the value-creating activity is seen very important for social capital (Martínez-

learning outcome on digital solutions.

Knowledge about…

Intrapreneurship

3.2.4. Financial and economic literacy

Financial and economic literacy in EntreComp

Thread as in EntreComp FOUNDATION

Understand economic and financial concepts.

Budget.

Martínez & Ventura)

Different types of resources (Read et al., 2009):

• Financial capital

• Human capital

• Social capital

• Cultural capital

• Venture capital

• The perception of available resources in a firm influences the entrepreneurial orientation of a company, through the perceptions and visions of their employees (Kor et al., 2007).

• Entrepreneurial employees often need to use their own and others’ ‘slack’ resources to act on opportunities to create new kinds of value. Skill resources are time and resources not used (or under-used) in day-to-day operations that can be allocated opportunistically in small-scale experimentation by entrepreneurial employees (Lackéus et al., 2020).

• To secure the resources needed to create a prototype or conduct an experiment. creatively see what can be done with the resources one already has access to (Lackéus et al., 2020).

Financial and economic literacy in EntreComp

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

1. I can recall basic terminology and symbols related to money.

2. I can explain simple economic concepts (for example, supply and demand, market price, trade).

1. I can judge what to use my money for.

2. I can draw up a simple household budget in a responsible manner.

INTERMEDIATE

Experiment-Dare Building independence

3. I can use the concept of opportunity costs and comparative advantage to explain why exchanges happen between individuals, regions and nations.

4. I can read income statements and balance sheets.

3. I can draw up a budget for a valuecreating activity.

4. I can judge the cashflow needs of a value-creating activity.

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce

Taking responsibility

5. I can explain the difference between a balance sheet and a profit-and-loss account.

6. I can build financial indica-tors (for exam-ple, return on investment).

5. I can apply the financial planning and forecasting concepts that I need to turn ideas into action (for example, profit or not for profit).

6. I can judge the cash-flow needs of a complex project.

EXPERT

Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

7. I can use financial indicators to assess the financial health of a value-creating activity.

8. I can use financial indicators to compare the financial health of my value-creating activity with that of competitors.

7. I can judge the cashflow needs of an organisation that handles many valuecreating activities that depend on each other.

8. I can create a plan for the financial and economic long-term sustainability of my (or my team's) valuecreating activity.

Find funding.

1. I can identify the main types of income for families, businesses, nonprofit

3. I can explain that value-creating activities can take different forms (a business, a social enter-prise, a non-

5. I can choose the most appropriate sources of funding to start up or expand a value- creating activity.

7. I can raise funds and secure revenue from different sources, and manage the diversity of those sources.

8. I can judge an

Understand taxation.

organisations and the state.

2. I can describe the main role of banks in the economy and society.

profit organisation and so on) and can have different structures of ownership (individual company, limited company, cooperative and so on).

4. I can identify public and private sources of funding for my valuecreating activity (for example, prizes, crowd-funding, and shares).

6. I can apply for public or private business support programmes, financing schemes, public subsidies or calls for tender.

opportunity as a possible investor.

1. I can outline the purpose of taxation.

2. I can explain how taxation finances the activities of a country and its part in providing public goods and services.

3. I can estimate the main accountancy and tax obligations I need to fulfil to meet the tax requirements for my activities.

Financial and economic literacy in the literature

Financial and economic literacy in the literature

4. I can estimate how my financial decisions (investments, buying assets, goods and so on) affect my tax.

5. I can make financial decisions based on current taxation schemes.

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature review

Understand economic and financial concepts

• Need for control of material (financial) outcomes. (Bird 1995/2019)

• Knowledge of finance/cash management.

(Bird 1995/2019)

• Knowledge of accounting.

(Bird 1995/2019)

• Maneuver in the industry.

(Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

Budget

• Financial and budgeting skills. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Develop a finance and budget plan (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

6. I can make financial decisions based on taxation schemes of different countries and territories.

The main contribution of the SLR regarding this competence refers to the use of business and financial metrics.

The main insight from the literature is the understanding of finance plan as an iterative process (design driven financial sheets)

Find funding -Understand taxation -

Other managerial and business skills

• Functional business skills such as marketing and sales, finance and cash management, strategic planning, and accounting (Freel, 1999; Hofer & Charan, 1984; Smith and Morse, 2005; cited in Morris et al., 2013)

• General managerial skills such as goal setting, planning, organizing and motivating people, coordination of work, allocation of resources, leadership and delegation (Chandler & Jansen, 1992)

• Technical-legal and financial knowledge to manage global service projects (Capaldo et al., 2004).

• Learning about small business management: Learning about how to run and control the business effectively, including important procedures and systems such as recruiting, salary and reward structures, and financial monitoring. (Cope, 2005).

Financial and economic literacy in EICAA-CF

Basically, this competence remains the same as in EntreComp. However, there are some aspects to consider:

• Competence “Mobilising resources” bears the meaning that the entrepreneur acquires all kinds of resources needed to run the new venture. However, “find funding” is located under “Economic and financial literacy”.

• The remaining competence “Financial and economic literacy” refers to knowledge regarding sources of funding, taxation, and how to estimate a budget plan.

• In the literature, there are other sources of knowledge which are important to develop the new venture, such as knowledge about the market, operations, human resources… which are not collected under a category “business literacy” or “enterprising literacy”.

• The current competence could be broadened with a thread related to “enterprising literacy.”

• The knowledge about how to formalize the start-up and the partners agreement among the team and potential investors is located under thread “Enterprising literacy”.

3.2.5. Mobilising others

Mobilising others in EntreComp

Mobilising others in EntreComp Thread as in EntreComp FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

Inspire and get inspired

1. I show enthusiasm for challenges.

2. I am actively involved in creating value for others.

Persuade 1. I can persuade others by providing a number of arguments.

3. I do not get discouraged by difficulties.

4. I can lead by example.

5. I can get endorsement from others to support my value-creating activity.

6. I can inspire others, despite challenging circumstances.

7. I can maintain momentum with my team, partners and stakeholders when involved in a challenging situation.

8. I can form coalitions to turn ideas into action.

Communicate effectively

1. I can communicate my ideas clearly to others.

2. I can communicate my team's ideas to others persuasively by using different methods (for example posters, videos, role-play).

3. I can persuade others by providing evidence for my arguments.

4. I can persuade others by appealing to their emotions I can pitch effectively in front of potential investors or donors.

3. I can communicate imaginative design solutions.

4. I can communicate the value of my (or my team's) idea to stakeholders from different backgrounds effectively.

5. I can overcome resistance from those who will be affected by my (or my (team's) vision, innovative approach, and valuecreating activity.

6. I can create a call to action that gets internal stakeholders on board, such as co-workers, partners, employees or senior managers.

5. I can communicate the vision for my (or my team's) venture in a way that inspires and persuades external groups, such as funders, partner organisations, volunteers, new members and affiliate supporters.

6. I can produce narratives and scenarios that motivate, inspire and direct people.

7. I can negotiate support for ideas for creating value

Use media effectively

1. I can provide examples of inspiring communication campaigns.

2. I can discuss how different media can be used to reach audiences in different ways.

3. I can use various methods, including social media, to communicate value-creating ideas effectively.

4. I can use media appropriately, showing that I am aware of my audience and purpose.

5. I can influence opinions in relation to my value- creating activity, through a planned approach to social media.

6. I can design effective social- media campaigns to mobilize people in relation to my (or my team’s) valuecreating activity.

7. I can take part in constructive discussions with the community that my idea is targeted at.

8. I can get all relevant stakeholders to take responsibility to act on an opportunity for value creation.

7. I can define a communication strategy to mobilize people in relation to my (or my team’s) valuecreating activity.

8. I can sustain and increase the support for my vision.

Mobilising others in the literature

Competence “Mobilising others” in EntreComp basically refers to the communication skills displayed by the entrepreneur to get others on board, through persuasion, inspiration, communication… Thus, it does not include social skills (like the ability of having good relationships with others or empathy). The title might be a bit misleading, and can be confused with “Mobilising resources” or with “Working with others”

Communication already includes the communication of the ideas, the solutions, the values of those ideas, the vision, building narrative and scenarios. This is quite a complete approach to communication.

Mobilising others

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature review Inspire and get inspired

• Motivating organisation members. (Bird, 1995/2019)

• The ability to motivate others (individual and in groups) (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Motivate organisation members. (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• The entrepreneurs are those who can successfully inspire others to follow their business conceptions while the non-entrepreneurial employees are those who become inspired to follow others. (Harper, 2008)

• Inspire, encourage, and motivate employees (McGee et al., 2009).

• “Inspiration + perspiration”: educational activities should address both the up-front activities in which inspiration is important (such as envisioning success and identifying a new product or service idea), as well as the perspiration dimensions of venturing. (McGee et al., 2009).

• This has been operationalised by Morris et al. (2013) as “I find that I am able to inspire others with my plans for the future”, within competence “Conveying a compelling vision/seeing the future”.

• Get inspired by role models (Nowinski & Yacine, 2019).

Persuade

Communicate effectively

• Negotiation and persuasion.(Bolzani & Luppi, 2013; Tittel & Terzidis, 2020).

• Communicate. (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Pitch your ideas. (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Persuasiveness; social skill, leadership: Ability to convince others of value of opportunity (Jack & Anderson, 2002; McClelland, 1987; Witt, 1998).

• Communicate your vision: The ability to conceive an image of a future organizational state and to articulate that image in a manner that empowers followers to enact it” (Morris et al., 2013).

• Ability to convince others (employees) to engage in new “ventures” under conditions of uncertainty and limited resources.

• In narrative theoretical perspectives, this is also referred as vision stories (O’Connor, 2002).

• Disseminate stories: spreading symbolic narratives (real or fictitious) to raise awareness about the firm and its market, and communicate the firm’s identity (Santos & Eisenhardt, 2009).

• Communicate the vision through speeches, pep talks, and written presentations (Baum & Locke, 2004).

• Even before they have formally established the organization, entrepreneurs have helped launch narratives that will structure the later developments of their organizations (Grégoire et al., 2011).

• Interacting & Presenting (Great Eight) (Gianesini et al., 2018).

• Entrepreneurial leaders are able to communicate the value of opportunities and how exploiting them contributes to the firm’s overall goals as well as to individuals’ goals.

Use media effectively

Other: Interpersonal skills

• Creating and utilizing networks. (Bird 1995/2019)

•

• Networking skills are tackled in EntreComp under competence “working with others”.

• Lackéus (2015) refers to interpersonal skills as those that involve customers and other stakeholders in the process of finding the solution to an opportunity, and this goes beyond the simple commercial interaction with clients.

• Interpersonal skills (Chandler & Jansen, 1992; Colombo & Grilli, 2005; Orser & Riding, 2003; cited in Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010),such as ability to clearly communicate objectives; ability to build an environment of trust; ability to motivate; ability to involve people; ability to organize people, delegating when necessary.

• Leet et al. (2016), cited in Gianesini et al. (2018), emphasise six types of entrepreneurial competences. One of them is what they

Leadership

Feedback

Mobilising others in EICAA

call relationship competencies operationalised under aspects as: hiring trainable candidates, build trust and healthy relationships with employees, communicating and leading to good corporate culture

• Competences regarding social relations: leadership, relational skills, teamwork, communication, motivation, organization, delegation and management; (Montes-Martínez & RamírezMontoya, 2020).

• Relationship competences (Man et al., 2002; cited in Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Leadership in entrepreneurship refers to the ability to influence others to strategically manage resources so that the best problemsolution fit is achieved in the search for the opportunity and the best supply-demand match is reached in the search of a competitive advantage (Ireland et al., 2003).Bird's (1995/2019)competency analysis -which was based on the review of findings by different authors- also indicates the relevance of leadership in entrepreneurship in an environment characterized by uncertainty. A good leadership demands good communication skills.

• In the OvEnt Inventory, however leadership is more connected to commitment and ability to lead and make others to commit, relating the ‘me and others’ theme of the conceptual/relationship group. (Komarkova et al., 2015).

• Give and receive feedback from stakeholders (customers, colleagues, mentors) could be related to the communication competences that are described under this competence.

• Expose the idea to get feedback and help from others (Lackéus et al., 2020).

• In Lean startup, users and customers are considered passive stakeholders whose feedback and opinions have implications for the final product offered (Mansoori & Lackéus, 2020)

• Individuals, rather than allowing themselves to be stereotyped as ‘consumers,’ ‘customers,’ or ‘users,’ can think of themselves as active participants in the process of creation

• Feedback is included in competence “Learning through experience”, under threads “reflect” and “learn from experience”.

Mobilising others in EntreComp refers the ability to involve others (stakeholders) in the entrepreneurial project/value creating activity in a way that generates participation and adherence to the initiative. This term is associated with interpersonal skills (Hood & Young, 1993; Vesper & McMullan, 1988; cited in Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010) which are defined as a set of habits and behaviours aimed at achieving the necessary interaction for the development of the venture.

To describe the competence “Mobilising others”, EntreComp relies on four threads (and their respective learning outcomes), two of them being closely related to inspiring and persuading others. However, inspiring others partially overlaps with the thread motivation in competence Motivation and perseverance. To add, the thread “Communicate effectively” is related to the general competence of communication by different means and formats. Finally, “Use media effectively” refers to the communication through social media and building networks. However, “Networking” is covered with the competence “Working with others”.

Despite some redundancies on the level of threads and their respective learning outcomes along the progression model, we suggest to present this competence as it is defined in EntreComp. The only changes suggested refer to the reduction of eight levels of progression to four, as it has been suggested for all competences discussed in this document.

3.2.6. Digital Literacy or Digital skills

Digital skills in EntreComp

EntreComp does not have a separate competence where digital skills or digital literacy are addressed. Instead, digital aspects are scattered across several competences and threads. There is a thread within competence “Mobilising others” that is named “Use media literacy”, which refers to the use of media, and social networks to communicate with others. Additionally, one of the descriptors of competence “Mobilising Resources” addresses the digital resources as follows: “Get and manage the material, nonmaterial and digital resources needed to turn ideas into action.” Also, in the same competence, another descriptor mentions: “Get and manage the competences needed at any stage, including technical, legal, tax and digital competences (for example through suitable partnerships, networking, outsourcing and crowd-sourcing).” This is translated into one of the learning outcomes of thread “Get support”, under competence “Mobilising others”, which states: “I can find digital solutions (for example, free, paid for, or open-source) that can help me manage my value- creating activities efficiently.” Digital tools also appear in competence “Working with others”, thread “team-up”, learning outcome “I can contribute to creating value by teaming up with distributed communities through digital technologies.”

Given today’s digital transformation of society and the work, it is vital that the entrepreneur has the digital skills necessary for the new venture, regardless of the domain in which they operate. We believe that the current statements where digital technologies are mentioned are not sufficiently addressed in EntreComp. The next section reviews literature on digital competences and later, we suggest the inclusion of Digital Competence in EICAA-CF

Digital skills in the literature

In the report on 21st century skills (P21 framework for 21st century learning, 2009), we find ICT literacy as depicted in the next table.

ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) LITERACY

• Apply Technology Effectively

• Use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate and communicate information

• Use digital technologies (computers, PDAs, media players, GPS, etc.), communication/networking tools and social networks appropriately to access, manage, integrate, evaluate and create information to successfully function in a knowledge economy

• Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information technologies.

The DQ Institute (2019) has developed a full framework of digital competences based on other reviewed frameworks, being DigComp 2.1 one of them. The resulting framework has 24 competences, structured in eight areas: digital identity, digital use, digital safety, digital security, digital emotional intelligence, digital communication, digital literacy and digital rights.

1 Digital Identity: The ability to build a wholesome online and offline identity. Guiding Principle: Respect for oneself

2 Digital Use: The ability to use technology in a balanced, healthy, and civic way. Guiding Principle: Respect for time and the environment

3 Digital Communication: The ability to communicate and collaborate with others using technology. Guiding Principle: Respect for reputation and relationships

4 Digital Literacy: The ability to find, read, evaluate, synthesize, create, adapt, and share information, media, and technology. Guiding Principle: Respect for knowledge

5 Digital Rights: The ability to understand and uphold human rights and legal rights when using technology. Guiding Principle: Respect for rights

6 Digital Safety: The ability to understand, mitigate and manage various cyber-risks through safe, responsible, and ethical use of technology. Guiding Principle: Respect for life

7 Digital Security: The ability to detect, avoid, and manage different levels of cyber threats to protect data, devices, networks, and systems. Guiding Principle: Respect for property

8 Digital Emotional Intelligence: The ability to recognize, navigate, and express emotions in one’s digital intra- and inter-personal interactions. Guiding Principle: Respect for others

Based on the literature review and the brief analysis presented here, we suggest to add a digital competence in EICAA-CF, which considers the following threads: general digital competences at work; digital competences linked to the entrepreneurial activity, information and data literacy; safety and security.

Figure 2. Structure of the digital competences in DigComp 2.1.

Table 7. Eight areas of digital competence in DigComp 2.1.

3.3. Competence area “Into Action”

The competence area “Into action” gathers five competences in EntreComp:

1) taking the initiative (starting action),

2) planning and management,

3) coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk,

4) working with others, and

5) learning through experience.

These competences are related to the development of the new venture; while the competences subsumed under the “Ideas and Opportunities” competence area are more relevant for the seed or early ideation of the new venture. Thus, this third competence area gathers competences that are needed to initiate and sustain the action through planning and management, working with others, and learning by doing. Evidently, challenges that are related to coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk also need to be managed and overcome along the entrepreneurial realisation process. Competence area “Resources” are somewhat the glue that connects the early stage of ideas and opportunities with the action.

Building onto the above, our suggestion for EICAA-CF is, however, to distinguish between competences related to:

a) planning and management of the new venture (i.e., setting goals, planning and organizing, prioritizing and building business plans), and

b) managing the process of the new venture, considering that the new venture changes from the early stages until maturity, and these changes need to be identified and managed when necessary.

Thus, we approach the new venture from a process perspective as well, according to the findings of the literature review. Also, connected with the transitions of the new venture, our research identified the need of managing the relationships, which leads to a new thread “Manage instrumental relationships” under competence “Working with others”.

Another suggestion is to include a thread “Experiment and test” in competence “Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk”, due to the difficulty of assessing risk beforehand in situations of high uncertainty. By adding this thread, we emphasize the dynamic and learning nature of uncertainty management.

3.1 Taking the initiative

3.2 Planning and management

• Take responsibility

• Work independently

• Take action.

• Define goals

• Plan and organise conscientiously

• Define and develop sustainable business plans

Go for it

•

3. Into Action

3.3 Process management

Prioritize, organize and follow-up

• Initiate processes that create value

• Take up challenges

• Act and work independently to achieve goals, stick to intentions and carry out planned tasks

• Set long-, medium- and short-term goals

• Define priorities and action plans

• Define sustainable business plans.

3.4 Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk

• Monitor progress

• Be flexible and adaptable to changes

• Redirect your strategy

• Manage transitions

• Work agile

• Cope with uncertainty and ambiguity.

• Calculate risk.

• Manage risk.

• Test & experiment

Manage the process of the new venture

• Establish mechanisms to monitor progress of the new venture.

• Adapt to changes and be able to decide whether to persevere or redirect the strategy.

• Manage transitions of the new venture.

• Work agile to adapt to changes of the new venture.

3.5 Working with others

• Accept diversity (people’s differences)

• Develop emotional intelligence.

• Listen actively.

• Team up.

• Work together.

• Expand your network

• Manage instrumental relationships.

Make decisions dealing with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk

• Make decisions when the result of that decision is uncertain, when the information available is partial or ambiguous, or when there is a risk of unintended outcomes

• Within the value-creating process, include structured ways of testing ideas and prototypes from the early stages, to reduce risks of failing

• Handle fast-moving situations promptly and flexibly

• Design experiments and tests to gather information to minimize risk.

Team up, collaborate and network

• Work together and co-operate with others to develop ideas and turn them into action

• Network

• Solve conflicts and face up to competition positively when necessary

• Manage instrumental relationships

3.6 Learning through experience

• Reflect

• Learn to learn.

Learn by doing

• Use any initiative for value creation as a learning opportunity

• Learn with others, including peers and mentors

• Reflect and learn from both success and failure (your own and other people’s) Note: In blue, new additions or revisions.

• Learn from experience.

Table 8. Competence area “Into action” in EICAA-CF

EntreComp Bird (1995/2019) Mitchelmore & Rowley (2010) Morris et al. (2013,

3.1 Taking the initiative

The ability to implement strategy (develop programmes, budget, procedures, evaluate performance).

3 Risk management/ mitigation Initiation of long-term activities on their own, based on reflection.

Bolzani & Luppi (2020)

Tittel & Terzidis (2020)

Define your goals (P) Take initiative (P)

3.2 Planning and management

Clear business goals. Designing the specific business organisation. Maneuvering in the industry. Comprehensive and detailed planning. Aware of business timing.

Goal setting skills. Development of the management system for the long term functioning of the organisation (manage growth-related transitions effectively). Business operational skills. Business plan preparation. Management skills. Organisational skills. Mental ability to coordinate activities.

3.3 Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk

Tolerance of ambiguity.

3 Risk management/ mitigation

10 Maintain focus yet adapt

Control (O)

Coordinate (O)

Develop the organisation (O)

Organise processes (O) Administrate (S)

Develop a finance and budget plan. (S) Develop a marketing strategy. (S)

Develop innovative products and services.

(S)

Develop strategies. (S) Implement ideas and tasks. (S)

Plan processes. (S) Prepare a business plan.

(S)

Prepare a competitive analysis. (S)

Set business goals. (S)

Handle ambiguity. Risk management. Deal with complex information (P). Make appropriate decisions (P). Seek and analyse unstructured information (P). Take actions to

Table 9. Comparison of EntreComp area “Into Action” with six entrepreneurial competence frameworks.

p. 358) Rasmusen & Nybye (2013)

3.4 Working

Recognising the importance of business relationships. Monitoring the work of others.

Embracing competency of others.

Form emotionally positive instrumental relationships. Managing the overlapping family and business systems. Managing transitions in relationships.

Team building and collaboration. Managing role conflict. Assertiveness.

Delegation skills. Hiring skills. Human relation skills. Leadership skills. Interpersonal skills. The ability to manage customers.

Deal-making skills.

13 Building and using networks Cooperation. Emotional intelligence. Interaction (interpersonal communication competence scale). Group work and team management. Conflict resolution.

overcome risk (P). Take risks (P).

Create empathy (P)

Delegate tasks (I) Develop a team (O)

Manage human resources. (S)

Monitor the work of others. (S)

Cooperate and collaborate (R)

Deal with social customs. (R)

Exchange knowledge. (R)

Lead your team. (R) Manage customers. (R) Train your team. (R) Use and develop networks. (R)

Work in a team. (R)

3.5.

Experiential learning. Learn to learn (P)

Others

Culture Development of the organisational culture management.

Communication Written communication skills. Oral communication skills.

Thinking skills

Quality Concern for high quality of work.

Time orientation Present-future time orientation.

Decision making skills. Analytical skills. Logical thinking skills.

8 Guerrilla skills

Communication (written, verbal and digital).

General communication. Presentation.

Develop an organisational culture.(O)

Think conceptually. (P) Think logically. (P)

EntreComp Bird (1995/2019) Mitchelmore & Rowley (2010) Morris et al. (2013, p. 358) Rasmusen & Nybye (2013)

Bolzani & Luppi (2020)

Tittel & Terzidis (2020)

with others

Learning through experience

Managing transitions Role negotiation. Role transition flexibility.

Managing growth Manage growth transactions effectively.

Sales Sell your products and services.

Note: In blue, competences that are gathered in other competence frameworks but not in EntreComp or not necessarily in the same sense as in EntreComp.

EntreComp Bird (1995/2019) Mitchelmore & Rowley (2010) Morris et al. (2013, p. 358)

Rasmusen & Nybye (2013)

Bolzani & Luppi (2020)

Tittel & Terzidis (2020)

(S).

3.3.1. Taking the initiative

Taking the initiative in EntreComp

Taking the initiative in EntreComp Thread FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

1. I can carry out the tasks I am given responsibly.

2. I am comfortable in taking responsibility in shared activities.

INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building independence

3. I can take individual and group responsibility to carry out simple tasks in valuecreating activities.

4. I can take individual and group responsibility in value-creating activities.

ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

EXPERT Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth Take responsibility

5. I can delegate responsibility appropriately.

6. I can encourage others to take responsibility in value-creating activities.

7. I take responsibility in complex value-creating activities.

8. I can take responsibility in seizing new opportunities and when facing unprecedented challenges in valuecreating activities.

Work independently

1. I show some independence in carrying out tasks I am given.

2. I can work independently in simple valuecreating activities.

3. I can initiate simple valuecreating activities.

4. I am driven by the possibility of being able to initiate value-creating activities independently.

5. I can initiate valuecreating activities alone and with others.

6. I can help others work independently.

7. I praise initiative taken by others and reward it appropriately within my team and organisation

Take action

1. I can have a go at solving problems that affect my surroundings.

2. I show initiative in dealing with problems that affect my community.

3. I actively face challenges, solve problems and seize opportunities to create value.

5. I take action on new ideas and opportunities, which will add value to a new or existing valuecreating venture.

6. I value others taking the initiative in solving problems and creating value.

7. I can encourage others to take the initiative in solving problems and creating value within my team and organisation.

Taking the initiative in the literature

This competence is related to the trait or tendency of the entrepreneur to take action. It has three threads in EntreComp: taking responsibility, initiating action and work independently. Working independently and proactiveness are correlated with entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The following table summarises the findings from the literature review related to this competence.

Taking the initiative in the literature

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature review

Take responsibility

• The ability to implement strategy (develop programmes, budget, procedures, evaluate performance). (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

Work independently -

Take action

• Initiation of long-term activities on their own, based on reflection. (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

• Take initiative (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Need of autonomy: Represents one’s strive to be independent and having control. Avoiding restrictions, rules, procedures and strong need for independence and autonomy (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007, p. 88).

• Personal initiative relates to active performance characterized by self-starting, proactive, and persistent action (Frese & Gielnik, 2014).

• Proactiveness: Proactive personality refers to the tendency to initiate and maintain actions that directly alter the surrounding context (Bateman & Crant 1993; cited in Sánchez, 2013).

• Proactiveness: Operationalised as ”I do”. Action-oriented, Initiator, Proactive. (Sánchez, 2011, Murnieks, 2007) –listed in Lakéus (2015, p. 12) as Attitude.

• Tendency to initiate and maintain actions that directly alter the surrounding environment (Bateman & Crant, 1993). “First mover advantage”. This can be related to competence “Taking the initiative”.

• The ability to act (taking the initiative) is associated with personal autonomy. This association is expressed in the literature with concepts such as self-management (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007), self-starting (Frese et al., 1996) or proactivity (Frese et al., 1996; Kraus et al , 2005; Crant, 1996).

• The SLR relates the locus of control as a way to explain proactiveness to challenges.

Taking the initiative in EICAA-CF

This competence appears already well covered in EntreComp, as the literature review does not offer many additional insights to it. The only changes that we suggest are related to the subsumption of the progression levels, as we have done in all the other competences of EICAA-CF. The statements given along progression levels, even when they are reduced to only four, are not really very different in complexity. However, it is important to mention that this is a crucial competence of entrepreneurs. Many authors mention that orientation to action is what triggers the ideas and opportunities into new ventures. According to McMullen and Shepherd (2006), “the essence of entrepreneurship is action.”

Competence “Taking the initiative” has three threads in EntreComp:

• Take responsibility means to assume their own’s responsibility for taking action on valuecreating activities. It also has a learning outcome that refers to delegation, which is related to the encouraging others take responsibility. Thus, it is related to assuming responsibility on a given task (“I am in charge of…”).

• Work independently refers to working with autonomy and independence. It represents one’s strive to be independent and having control. Herein, we could add another consideration, which might apply in intrapreneurship contexts, related to the ability to work independently beyond the constraints of the organization, as it was observed in the literature. This helps the intrapreneur to detect and pursue opportunities despite organizational constraints and barriers.

• Take action refers to proactivity, the drive to start the new venture.

A similar term to taking responsibility, being accountable, is included in thread “Ethical and sustainable thinking”. The differences between these two terms are subtle.

3.3.2. Planning and management Planning

management in EntreComp

Planning

Define goals.

1. I can clarify what my goals are in a simple valuecreating activity.

2. I can identify alternative goals to create value in a simple context.

3. I can describe my goals for the future in line with my strengths, ambitions, interests and achievements.

4. I can set short-term goals that I can act on.

5. I can define longterm goals arising from the vision for my (or my team's) value-creating activity.

6. I can match shortterm, mid-term and long-term goals to the vision for my (or my team's) value-creating activity.

7. I can design a strategy to achieve goals in line with my (or my team's) vision.

8. I can manage the balance between the need for creativity and for control so that my organisation’s capacity to changes. achieve its goals is protected and nurtured.

Plan and organise.

1. I can carry out a simple plan for value-creating activities.

2. I can deal with a range of simple tasks at the same time without feeling uncomfortable.

3. I can create an action plan which identifies the necessary steps to achieve my goals.

4. I can allow for the possibility of changes to my plans.

5. I can summarise the basics of project management.

6. I can apply the basics of project management in managing a valuecreating activity

7. I can develop and stick to a detailed project management plan, adjusting to changing circumstances to make sure goals are reached.

8. I can design managerial procedures to effectively deliver value in

Develop sustainable business plans.

3. I can develop a business model for my idea.

4. I can define the key elements that make up the business model necessary to deliver the value I have identified.

challenging circumstances.

Define priorities

1. I can recall the order of steps that was needed in a simple valuecreating activity I took part in.

2. I can identify the basic steps that are needed in a valuecreating activity.

3. I can prioritise the basic steps in a value-creating activity.

4. I can set my own priorities and act on them.

5. I can develop a business plan based on the model, describing how to achieve the value identified.

6. I can organise my value-creating activities using planning methods such as business and marketing plans.

5. I can define the priorities to meet my (or my team’s) vision.

6. I can stay focused on the priorities set, despite changing circumstances.

7. I can keep my planning methods updated and adapt them to changing circumstances.

8. I can adapt my valuecreating activity’s business model to face new challenges.

7. I can define priorities in uncertain circumstances, with partial or ambiguous information.

Monitor your progress.

1. I can recognise how much progress I have made on a task.

2. I can monitor whether a task is going to plan.

3. I can identify different types of data that are necessary for monitoring the progress of a simple valuecreating activity.

4. I can set basic milestones and observation indicators to monitor the progress of my value-creating activity.

5. I can describe different methods for performance and impact monitoring.

6. I can define what data is needed to monitor how effective my valuecreating activities are and an appropriate way to collect them.

7. I can develop the performance indicators I (or my team) need to monitor progress towards a successful outcome in changing circumstances.

8. I can design and put in place a data-collection plan to monitor whether my venture is achieving its aims.

Be flexible and adapt to changes.

1. I am open to changes.

2. I can confront and deal with changes in a constructive way.

3. I can change my plans based on the needs of my team.

4. I can adapt my plans to achieve my goals in light of changes that are outside my control.

5. I can embrace change that brings new opportunities for value creation

6. I can anticipate and include change along the valuecreating pro-cess.

7. I can use the results of monitoring to adjust vision, aims, priorities, resource planning, action steps or any other aspect of the value- creating process.

8. I can communicate effectively to the organisation the reason for changes and adjustments.

Planning and management in the literature

Planning and management in the literature

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature review

Define Goals

• Clear business goals (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Goal setting skills (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Define your goals (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020).

• Set business goals. (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020).

• Goal setting is one of the competences found in the literature. For example, Bird (1995/2019) mentions the importance of strategic focus as the entrepreneur’s orientation towards goals and methods of doing business.

Plan and organise.

• Designing the specific business organisation. (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Maneuvering in the industry (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Comprehensive and detailed planning (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Aware of business timing (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Development of the management system for the long-term functioning of the organisation (manage growthrelated transitions effectively). (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Business operational skills (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Business plan preparation. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Management skills. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Organisational skills. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Mental ability to coordinate activities. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Control (Tittlel & Terzidis, 2020).

• Coordinate (ibid)

• Develop the organization (ibid)

• Administrate (ibid)

• Organise processes (O) (ibid)

• Develop a finance and budget plan. (S) (ibid)

• Develop a marketing strategy. (S) (ibid)

• Develop innovative products and services. (S) (ibid)

• Develop strategies. (S) (ibid)

• Implement ideas and tasks. (S) (ibid)

• Plan processes. (S) (ibid)

• Prepare a competitive analysis. (S) (ibid)

•

• General business functions as selling, producing, bookkeeping, supervising employees, coordinating logistics, arranging financing, and pricing, among others (Barringer & Ireland 2011; cited in Morris et al., 2013).

• This includes skills such as: goal setting, planning, organizing and motivating people, coordination of work, allocation of resources, leadership and delegation (Chandler & Jansen, 1992; Colombo & Grilli, 2005; Orser & Riding, 2003; Lee et al. 2016; Baum & Locke, 2004; cited in Morris et al., 2013).

• Also in Morris et al. (2013), functional business skills such as marketing and sales, finance and cash management, strategic planning, and accounting.

• Administration management, social network management, competition management, entrepreneurial management, logistic process management. The typologies of situations can be classified in each of the five processes identified which refer to a whole set of general objectives (administration efficiency, relationships with the stakeholders, new business opportunities, operation management and strategic objectives). (Capaldo et al., 2004).

• Ability to develop programs, budgets, procedures, evaluate performance, and perform other tasks essential to implementing strategy (Wheelen & Hunger, 1989; cited in Chandler & Jansen, 1992).

• Individuals managerial skills enjoy high levels of responsibility with strong and authority; they seek positions involving delegation and motivation (Schein 1987). (Chandler & Jansen, 1992).

Develop sustainable business plans.

• Prepare a business plan. (S) (ibid)

• Ability to develop programs, budgets, procedures, evaluate performance, and perform other tasks essential to implementing strategy (Wheelen & Hunger, 1989; cited in Chandler & Jansen, 1992).

Define priorities -Monitor your progress. -

-

• This thread can be related to the concept of mental flexibility (cognitive ability).

• Building experiments and learning from them (e.g., build-measure-learn cycle in lean startup). (Ries, 2011; Blank & Dorf, 2012). Be flexible and adapt to changes.

• Flexibility is understood in Reymen et al. (2015) as the capacity of shifting from two logics (prediction of the future-control of the future or causal-effectual logic).

• Mansoori and Lackéus (2020) also acknowledge that entrepreneurship is a dynamic process that requires flexibility and constant adaptation (Bruyat & Julien 2001; cited in Mansoori & Láckeus, 2020). Related to lean startup methods or design thinking (agile planning, experimenting and pivoting)

-

• Project management strategy in highly complex environments based on dividing the problem into small pieces, without losing the overview. After doing this, each problem is solved in quick cycles (sprints) and iterative processes (trial and error) where customers are involved and feedback is obtained (Ries, 2011; Blank & Dorf, 2012). Concepts such as co-creation arise from this type of approach.

• Classical planning competencies are suitable for accountability; in a nascent initiative, execution comes before planning. Experimental, trial-and-error, and quick decision-making methods are imposed. Running ahead of analysis is recommended to overcome “paralysis by analysis”, in words of the author. (Lackéus, 2015).

• Quick decision making, risk management, heuristic thinking and trial and error methods (Petty et al., 1994; Markman & Baron, 2003). Entrepreneurship as a process

• Development of the management system for the long-term functioning of the organisation (manage growthrelated transitions effectively). (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

• Different competences are required at different phases of the new venture (Komarkova et al., 2015):

o Exploration: Creativity

o Evaluation: Planning, Financial Literacy

o Exploitation: Resource Marshalling, Managing uncertainty/ambiguity, Teamwork.

• Some studies found planning to be relatively less effective in young, small ventures, due to the large degree of uncertainty (Brinckmann et al., 2010; cited in Reymen et al., 2015).

• Role transition flexibility (Bird 1995/2019).

Planning and management in EICAA

Planning and management in EntreComp is composed of the following threads:

- Define goals: given a vision, develop a set of goals (short-term, mid-term and long-term). In the context of an organization, manage the balance between creativity and control.

- Plan and organise: Given a set of goals, define an action plan to achieve them.

- Develop a business model and business plan, including other aspects like marketing plans, although it is not mentioned with much detail.

- Define priorities.

- Monitor progress.

- Be flexible and adapt to changes

This is a complex competence that mixes two aspects: the ability of the entrepreneur to plan and manage themselves and the ability to plan and manage the new venture. Normally, the learning outcomes of the first progression levels refer to the personal management, while the higher levels are related to the new venture. However, threads “Plan and organise” and “Define priorities” refer mainly to the self-management of the entrepreneur, while “Develop sustainable business plans” refer to the ability to set a business model and a business plan for the new venture. This makes the competence a bit confusing unless one delves into the description of the learning outcomes.

One way of addressing this to make it more understandable could be to separate the self-management and self-organisation competences from the management and organisation of the new venture. However, since they are very intertwined, another approach is to leave them as they are and reword some of the expressions and the names of the threads to improve comprehension.

Organisational skills do not appear explicitly mentioned beyond those of “defining priorities”. For example, organising the work of others appears in competence “Working with others”. Delegation skills appear in thread “Taking responsibility”, under competence “Taking the initiative” and in thread “Get support”, under competence “Mobilising Resources”.

Moreover, the literature reviewed shows a focus on the approach to entrepreneurship as a process. Under this perspective, the new venture undergoes a process from the early start-up until maturity, and the entrepreneur needs to monitor progress, learn and adapt when necessary. Additionally, work can be planned in short increments to be able to adapt easily to the changes in the market, the competitors, available funding or stakeholders. Thus, agile planning can be used along the development of the new venture, as new information is available. Finally, an important component of the perspective of entrepreneurship as a process is the management of the transitions, which implies the awareness that the new venture suffers changes that require different skills and the development of the required skills necessary for every stage.

The changing relationships along the development of the new venture, which implies managing transitions in relationships (e.g., family and friends who might get involved in the early stages of the new venture, investors, team members, etc.) is also part of the process view of entrepreneurship. EICAA locates this aspect under competence "Working with others”.

Given all these requirements, we believe that we should split competence Planning and management into two competencies. The first one, which keeps the name “Planning and Management” entails a more traditional approach to planning, as it is conveyed by the threads of defining goals and priorities, planning and organising, and defining sustainable business plans. The second competence gathers the competences related to entrepreneurship as a dynamic process and thus, it includes working agile, monitoring progress, adapting, and managing transitions.

Therefore, competence “Planning and management” in EICAA contains the following threads:

1. Define goals: the first two levels stay as personal goals and the last two as the definition of goals related to the new venture.

2. Plan and organize conscientiously: the capacity to draw a plan to achieve the intended goals for the new venture.

3. Define priorities is related to prioritizing the necessary steps to achieve the intended goal. In EntreComp, it is partially overlapping with competence “Motivation and perseverance”, thread “Persevere”. Particularly, learning outcome stated in EntreComp as “I can stay focused on the priorities set, despite changing circumstances” is similar to “Maintain effort and interest towards goals, despite adversities”. Thus, we suggest a simple thread with simple statements that do not overlap nor add complexity. The first levels refer to personal priorities and the last levels are related to the new venture.

4. Develop sustainable business plans: this is the competence related to defining a business model and a business plan.

The following section introduces competence “Process management”.

3.3.3. Process management Process management in EICAA

As it is explained in the previous section, this is a new competence added in EICAA-CF to take into consideration the dynamic and process view of entrepreneurship. In EntreComp, the competence is not included as a competence per se, but has some threads which reflect the adaptation and flexibility necessary to manage the new venture.

Basically, in EICAA-CF, the threads belonging to this competence are:

1. Monitor your progress: this thread is rephrased a bit in order to stress the importance of defining indicators and measuring them in systematic ways, in line with methodologies as lean startup or design thinking.

2. Be flexible and adapt to changes: this thread has two levels related to the entrepreneurs’ flexibility and the last two related to the new venture.

3. Redirect your strategy: this thread is connected with being flexible but emphasises the importance of having ownership of the process of the new venture. This is one of the dimensions that was emphasised in the literature; particularly in the work by Mansoori and Lackéus (2020), where it is defined as the entrepreneurs’ agency over the entrepreneurial process, especially in relation to new information, failures and surprises. It has been identified in several methodologies:

o Effectuation: “Humans are notoriously bad in predicting and forecasting. Focusing on synthesis and action allows for being more adaptive to new conditions. Therefore, as contingencies arise and new stakeholders come on board, the set of imagined, possible directions expand. This begs for certain degrees of flexibility.” (p.801)

o Lean startup: “A viable and scalable business model can be achieved if insights gathered through experiments are used to rapidly test and revise important elements of the venture idea. Therefore, these insights are bound to give way to iterations and pivots.” (p.801).

o Design thinking: “Implementing hypothesis testing and iteration loops as early as possible in the process provide a higher degree of redirection power. Continued learning and the iterations reduce risks and improve success rates in the innovation process.” (p.801).

Given these insights found in the literature, EICAA-CF could approach the thread “being flexible and adaptable” and a thread “redirect your strategy” separately. The latter is also based

on mental flexibility and embracing change, applied to making changes to the new venture according to the learnings acquired along the process in information gathering activities.

4. Manage transitions: this thread considers the awareness and management of the transitions of the entrepreneur, their competences and identity, and those of the team along the process of the new venture. Cope (2005) states that entrepreneurs learn to adapt their role and develop new behavior in order to negotiate the management and growth of their businesses.

5. Work agile: this thread is aimed at expliciting working with agile methodologies, fast iterations, and the ability to switch between classical management and agile management when needed. We believe that this adds a modern perspective to the EICAA-CF, which is in line with working with small increments and adapting as new information arises along the process.

3.3.4. Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk

Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk in EntreComp

Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk in EntreComp Thread FOUNDATION Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

Cope with uncertainty and ambiguity.

1. I am not afraid of making mistakes while trying new things.

2. I explore my own ways to achieve things.

3. I can discuss the role that information plays in reducing uncertainty, ambiguity and risk.

4. I can actively look for, compare and contrast different sources of information that help me reduce ambiguity, uncertainty, and risks in making decisions.

5. I can find ways of making decisions when the information is incomplete.

6. I can pull together different viewpoints to take informed decisions when the degree of uncertainty is high

Driving transformation, innovation and growth

7. I can make decisions evaluating the different elements in a situation that is uncertain and ambiguous.

8. I can set up appropriate strategies for collecting and monitoring data, which help me take decisions based on sound evidence.

Calculate risk.

1. I can identify examples of risks in my surroundings.

2. I can describe risks related to a simple value-creating activity in which I take part.

3. I can tell the difference between acceptable and unacceptable risks.

4. I can weigh up the risks and benefits of selfemployment with alternative career options, and make choices that reflect my preferences.

5. I can apply the concept of affordable losses to make decisions when creating value.

6. I can compare value-creating activities based on a risk assessment.

7. I can assess the risks my venture is exposed to as conditions change.

8. I can evaluate high-risk long-term investments using a structured approach.

Manage risk

3. I can critically evaluate the risks associated with an idea that creates value, taking into account a variety

5. I can demonstrate that I can make decisions by weighing up both the risks and the expected benefits

7. I can use strategies to reduce the risks that may arise during the value-creating process.

8. I can come up with strategies to reduce the

of factors

4. I can critically evaluate the risks related to the formal set-up of a value-creating venture in the area in which I work.

Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk in the literature

of a valuecreating activity.

6. I can outline a risk management plan for guiding my (or my team's) choices while developing my value-creating activity.

Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk in the literature

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks

risk of my valuecreating initiative becoming obsolete.

• Tolerance of ambiguity. (Bird 1995/2019)

Insights from the literature review Cope with uncertainty and ambiguity.

• Tolerance of ambiguity: describes one’s ability to make decision with incomplete information. Making decision in the situation of high uncertainty (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007, p. 88).

• The entrepreneur's behaviour in an uncertain situation depends on their analytical ability to calculate risk as well as on his attitude when facing uncertainty.

• Risk propensity is a trait of entrepreneurs and it also depends on previous experience or indepth knowledge of the subject (Gifford, 2003; cited in Caliendo et al., 2009).

• Individuals with high self-efficacy in a particular domain are more resistant to situations dominated by complexity and uncertainty. (Gist & Mitchell, 1992). Calculate risk. -

• Perception of risk: entrepreneurs tend to be overconfident, use minimal information, plan with a view to success by ignoring past difficulties or problems that may have a bearing on the current scenario, and have greater belief in their ability to control performance in situations where chance and luck may have a significant part to play. Hence, where any of these factors play a part, entrepreneurs perceive lower levels of risk. (Chell, 2013).

• Perceptions of risk also may be important, since individuals who perceive high levels of risk in many situations may be reluctant to view almost any idea as a bona fide opportunity (Baron, 2006).

Manage risk

• Maintain focus yet adapt. (Morris et al., 2013).

• Handle ambiguity (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013).

• Risk management (Bolzani &

• The challenges of the entrepreneur go through managing the ambiguity of the market that is given by the constant evolution regarding the needs of the client and the movements of the competitors (Schindehutte et al., 2006).

• The entrepreneurship/innovation methods

Luppi, 2020).

• Deal with complex information (P). (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Make appropriate decisions (P). (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Seek and analyse unstructured information (P). (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Take actions to overcome risk (P).

• Take risks (P). (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

analysed (lean startup and design thinking) are largely based on offering guidelines for managing uncertainty. These are based on assuming the entrepreneurial process as a design process (Brown, 2012) where progress is made in uncertain environments.

• In lean startup (Ries, 2011), the uncertainty management strategy is experimentation with clients. The objective is to obtain validated knowledge by managing the uncertainty inherent in the entrepreneurial process.

• In design thinking, one deals with uncertainty as designers do, by prototyping to advance the solution as the knowledge of the problem progresses.

• Effectuation is based on the idea of creating opportunity from a social process dominated by the logic of control (Sarasvathy, 2001). According to this theory, putting the focus on the effects (effectual decision-making logic) instead of on the causes leads the entrepreneur to limit the risk and reduce the potential losses associated to the new venture creation. The entrepreneur, based on this logic, penetrates with uncertainty by taking advantage of what is within their reach and what is plausible.

• According to Gianesini et al. (2018), who reviewed EntreComp model, this personality trait (risk-taking propensity) is not accounted in EntreComp. It is stated as an action in risk management and reduction in “3.3 Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk”.

• Describes the individual cognitive style with respect to taking risks. Actively seeking risky assignments and having greater propensity to take risks (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007, p.88).

The literature reveals several aspects (sometimes contradictory) related to the risk propensity of the entrepreneur. On one side, some authors state that entrepreneurs have more risk propensity and thus, they are more willing to take risks than other individuals. On the other side, some authors mention that entrepreneurs have lower perception of risk and are more oriented to action. It is also observed that calculating risks is difficult, especially in environments with high uncertainty. Mansoori and Lackéus (2020) recognise that “humans are notoriously bad in predicting and forecasting” (p. 801). Additionally, managing risk in EntreComp is quite a general concept and no guidelines are offered on how the entrepreneur should manage risk. The same authors identify uncertainty management as one of the crucial dimensions of the entrepreneurial activity and summarise how the different methodologies approach this dimension (Mansoori & Lackéus, 2020, p. 801):

• Effectuation: Uncertainty (Knightian true uncertainty) is understood as unknowability of future outcomes due to the creative character of the emergent process of creating new ventures. The approach is to create the future by managing the present.

• Discovery-driven planning: Uncertainty in the structure-conduct performance paradigm has to do primarily with ascertaining which features of the competitive landscape one should pay attention to. The approach is continuously collecting information to make better decisions.

• Prescriptive entrepreneurship: A search can never completely eliminate all uncertainty, which leaves an entrepreneur to manage the trade-off between continuing to invest in information to reduce what is unknown and the cost of doing. The approach is to proactively search for a consideration set that matches your prior knowledge.

• Busines planning: N/A (no reference to risk management in this approach, according to the authors).

• Lean startup: When entrepreneurs believe they are dealing with a highly uncertain but relatively predictable future, a process of systematic information gathering and efforts in analysis of that information, within certain bounds, is a reasonable course of action. The approach taken is to shape the future by testing the present vision.

• Design thinking: N/A (no reference to risk management in this approach, according to the authors).

According to these insights, EICAA-CF could add a thread consisting on designing experiments or tests to gather data to calculate and minimise risk via a systematic and continuous process.

In addition to these findings to uncertainty management, Harper (2008) conceives entrepreneurship as a dynamic problem-solving process in which entrepreneurs learn in the light of experience and feedback from the market. “The actual entrepreneurial act is inextricable from the trial and error process of testing out [the entrepreneurial] idea” (Vaughn, 1990, p 22).” Thus, literature presents several evidences in favour of the experimenting/testing approach to uncertainty management.

3.3.5. Working with others

Driving

1. I can show respect for others, their background and situations.

2. I am open to the worth that others can bring to valuecreating activities.

3. I can combine different contributions to create value.

4. I can value diversity as a possible source of ideas and opportunities.

5. I can support diversity within my team or organisation.

innovation and growth Accept diversity (people’s differences).

7. Outside of my organisation, I can find ideas that create value and make the most of them.

Develop emotional intelligence.

Empathy, assertiveness, conflict resolution

1. I can show empathy towards others.

2. I can recognise the role of my emotions, attitudes and behaviours in shaping others people’s attitudes and behaviours and vice versa.

1. I can show empathy towards others.

3. I can express my (or my team's) value-creating ideas assertively.

4. I can face and solve conflicts.

5. I can compromise where necessary.

6. I can deal with nonassertive behaviour that hinders my (or my team's) value -creating activities (for example, destructive attitudes, aggressive behaviour and so on).

7. I can manage conflicts effectively. Listen actively.

3. I can listen to other people’s ideas for creating

5. I can describe different techniques for managing relationships

7. I can pull together information from a wide range of

(to others’ ideas and to the customers)

2. I can discuss the benefits of listening to other people’s ideas for achieving my (or my team's) goals.

value without showing prejudice.

4. I can listen to my end users.

with end users.

6. I can put in place strategies to actively listen to my end users and act on their needs.

sources to understand my end users’ needs.

Team up. Build a team

1. I am open to working alone as well as with others, playing different roles and taking some responsibility.

2. I am willing to change my way of working in a group.

3. I can work with a range of individuals and teams.

4. I share the ownership of value-creating activities with the members of my team

5. I can build a team based on the individual knowledge, skills and attitudes of each member.

6. I can contribute to creating value by teaming up with distributed communities through digital technologies.

7. I can design physical and virtual spaces that encourage team members to work together.

8. I can build an organisation’s capacity to create value by encouraging people to work together.

Work together

1. I am open to involving others in my value- creating activities.

2. I can contribute to simple valuecreating activities.

3. I can contribute to group decisionmaking constructively.

4. I can create a team of people who can work together in a value-creating activity.

5. I can use techniques and tools that help people to work together.

6. I can give people the help and support they need to perform at their best within a team.

7. I can work with a remote team of people who can independently contribute to a value-creating activity.

8. I can design working methods and incentives that enable team members to work well together. Expand your network.

1. I can explain the meaning and forms of association, cooperation and peerto-peer support (for example, family and other communities).

2. I am open to establishing new contacts and cooperation with others (individuals and groups).

Working with others in the literature

3. I can use the relationships I have to get the support I need to turn ideas into action, including emotional support.

4. I can establish new relation-ships to get the support I need to turn ideas into action, including emotional support (for example, joining a mentor network).

Thread Related competences listed in other frameworks

Accept diversity

• Deal with social customs. (R) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

5. I can use my network to find the right people to work on my (or my team's) value-creating activity.

6. I proactively make contact with the right people inside and outside my organisation to support my (or my team's) value-creating activity (for example, at conferences or on social media).

7. I can use my network to bring together different perspectives to inform my (or my team's) valuecreating process.

8. I can design effective processes to build networks of different or new stake-holders and keep them engaged.

Insights from the literature review

• Create teams with complementary skills.

• Composition of teams: ability to work in multidisciplinary, also referred to as eclectic

(people’s differences).

Respect, value worth of others, value diversity…

Develop emotional intelligence.

Empathy, assertiveness, conflict resolution

Listen actively.

Empathy, listening others’ ideas, managing customers

• Embracing competency of others. (Bird 1995/2019) teams (Brown, 2012).

• Emotional intelligence. (Bolzani & Lupi, 2020)

• Create empathy (P) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Assertiveness. (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Conflict resolution. (Bolzani & Lupi, 2020)

• Form emotionally positive instrumental relationships. (Bird 1995/2019)

• Create empathy (P) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Manage customers. (R) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Entrepreneurial bonding refers to the creation and restructuring of relationships. The ability and sense of self needed to form emotionally positive instrumental relationships with partners and employees in the early stages, where financial incentives and job security are unlikely is one critical form of bonding. (Bird, 2019)

• Lackéus (2020) states that discussing value with others is not only about selling one’s idea in the early stages. It is also about asking questions and trying to uncover problems that can be solved and needs that can be met. Being entrepreneurial includes being aware of people’s tendency to say what they think you want to hear and through this, give false information, or at least information inconsistent with how they actually might feel or act

Team up. “Build a team”

• Embracing competency of others. (Bird 1995/2019)

• Team building and collaboration. (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Develop a team (O) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Venture teaming is becoming more popular among entrepreneurs. Balanced venture teams appear to improve the chances of entrepreneurial success (Timmons, 1990), but a common source of conflict among venture team members is inconsistent or ambiguous motives for the new venture. Awareness of venture partners’ psychological predispositions in areas such as risk-taking could be used to identify and reconcile areas of potential conflict, and enhance the planning process in the small firm. (Stewart et al., 1999).

• Create teams with complementary skills. Some authors point out that a well-balanced team (Timmons, 1990) and showing good performance is as important as the project itself when making a financial decision by investors (Harper, 2008).

• Create a balanced team. Experienced entrepreneurs are more likely than inexperienced entrepreneurs to create a balanced management team. (Bird 1995/2019)

• Entrepreneurial discovery can be the social result of joint conjecture and mutual evaluation by members of an entrepreneurial team (Harper, 2008). By forming a team,

Work together.

• Group work and team management. (Bolzani & Lupi, 2020)

• Work in a team. (R) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Cooperation. (Rasmusen & Nybye, 2013)

• Cooperate and collaborate (R) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Exchange knowledge. (R) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Train your team. (R) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020

• Delegation skills (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010; Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Monitoring the work of others. (Bird 1995/2019; Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Hiring skills. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Deal-making skills. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Leadership skills; Lead your team. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010; Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

• Manage human resources. (S) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020)

entrepreneurs can create a socially extended cognitive nexus whose computational and problem-solving features are distinct from those of its members. (Harper, 2008).

• Size of the team: Entrepreneurial start-up teams that are larger than four persons might be interesting to convince an investor, but are in practice very difficult to run. (Clarysse & Moray, 2004).

• Investors often emphasize the quality of the management team more than any other single factor as they make investment decisions (e.g., Kamm et al., 1990; Cyr et al., 2000; cited in Clarysse & Moray, 2004).

• Need of structuring of the team in which everybody gets a role and the attraction of competencies into the team if they were not yet available (e.g., business developer or CEO). (Clarysse & Moray, 2004).

• Importance of teamwork as an explanatory factor of entrepreneurial success (Lee et al., 2016)

• Human resources management; training needs identification,; selection and evaluation, training management (Capaldo et al., 2004).

• Ability to motivate collaborators; leadership skills (Capaldo et al., 2004)

• Team factors such as team composition (functional heterogeneity, team tenure and size), team group processes, including the team’s actions and behaviors (internal and external communication) and psychological dimensions, and finally, problem solving styles, have received considerable attention (e.g.: Ancona, 1990; Ancona and Caldwell, 1992; Smith et al., 1994; Jehn, 1997). Recently, attention has shifted from the lone entrepreneur/founder to the whole entrepreneurial team (e.g., Cooper and Daily, 1996). (Clarysse & Moray, 2004).

Expand your network.

• Recognising the importance of business relationships. (Bird 1995/2019)

• The ability to manage customers. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Building and using networks (Morris et al., 2013).

• Use and develop networks. (R)

• Building and Using Networks: social interaction skills that enable an individual to establish, develop, and maintain sets of relationships with others who assist them in advancing their work or career (Gianesini et al., 2018).

• Different studies support the idea that networking helps the firm reduce uncertainty, facilitates access to knowledge, technology

(Tittel & Terzidis, 2020) and power and helps raise financial funds (Mejri & Zouaoui, 2020).

• Social capital is based on the relationships of some people with others (Putnam, 1995) and has the potential to deliver results when it is valued. For the entrepreneur, the network of contacts is an asset that they use in an instrumental way to take action (Hannafey, 2003). The entrepreneur uses and develops networks with which they mobilize resources and generate alliances.

• Political competence includes the ability to enhance one’s position, build a power base, and establish the right connections (Pavett & Lau, 1983). This may be particularly important in start-up firms, because the founder must enlist the support of network members. Dunkelberg et al. (1987) report that business founders in growth firms value information from accountants, lawyers and bankers. Establishing connections with people who control important resources and possess important skills and abilities is important to the performance of the new venture (Aldrich et al. 1987; cited in Chandler & Jansen, 1992).

OTHER

• Interpersonal skills. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Human relation skills. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010)

• Interaction (interpersonal communication competence scale). (Bolzani & Lupi, 2020)

• Managing the overlapping family and business systems. (Bird 1995/2019)

• Managing transitions in relationships. (Bird 1995/2019)

• Managing role conflict. (Bird 1995/2019)

• Ability to manage other people Interpersonal skill; leadership (Baron & Markman, 2003), Witt, 1998; Chell, 2013).

• Building trust.

• Social skills: interpersonal relations, communications, social adaptability (Hood & Young, 1993; Vesper & McMullan 1988; cited in Morris et al., 2013)

OTHER: Entrepreneurial bonding and instrumental relationships

• Entrepreneurial bonding refers to the creation and restructuring of relationships. The ability and sense of self needed to form emotionally positive instrumental relationships with partners and employees in the early stages, where financial incentives and job security are unlikely is one critical form of bonding. A special subset here are the family business competencies – managing the overlapping family and business systems and cultures and all the complexities that intimacy bring to the workplace (Lansberg, 1983;

Levinson, 1983; Kepner, 1983; Ward, 1985). Since relationships are dynamic, bonding also encompasses the competency of managing the transition in those relationships (e.g., dealing with obsolete “old times” as the firm grows, dissolving a partnership, and succession planning). (Bird, 1995/2019, p. 122).

Working with others in EICAA

According to the literature, there are several aspects related to working in teams in value-creating activities:

• Ability to create a team, considering composition (balanced team with respect to complementary skills and personalities) and size.

• Importance of the team and the presentation of a strong team to investors (ability to communicate the strengths of the team to others).

• Ability to work in teams, especially in earlier stages of the new venture, as it is reflected in thread “work together”.

• Ability to manage teams, especially in latter stages of the new venture: leadership, delegation, monitoring the work of others, hiring skills.

• Building positive instrumental relationships and managing them.

• Ability to manage relationships transitions and role transitions along the process.

• Networking, enhancing the power base.

• General social skills/social embedding: empathy, conflict resolution, conversation skills, listening, supporting others, providing feedback, building trust, etc.

• In organizations, political astuteness.

• Listening and managing customer relationships, as well as other stakeholders.

• Negotiation skills (it is already included in thread “mobilising others”).

3.3.6. Learning through experience

Learning through experience in EntreComp

Relying on support from others

Reflect.

On failures, performance, achievements, collected feedback

1. I can find examples of great failures that have created value.

2. I can provide examples of temporary failures that have led to valuable achievements.

3. I can reflect on failures (mine and other people’s), identify their causes and learn from them.

4. I can judge if and how I have achieved my goals, so that I can evaluate my performance and learn from it.

5. I can reflect on my (or my team's) achievements and temporary failures as things develop so as to learn and improve my ability to create value.

6. I can help others reflect on their achievements and temporary failures by providing honest and constructive feedback.

7. I can take my team or the organisation to a higher level of performance, based on the feedback collected and by learning lessons from achievements and failures

Learn to learn.

1. I can provide examples that show that my abilities and competence have increased with experience.

3. I can reflect on the relevance of my learning pathways for my future opportunities and choices.

5. I can find and choose opportunities to overcome my (or my team’s) weaknesses and to develop my (or my team’s) strengths.

7. I can identify opportunities for selfimprovement in my organisation and beyond.

8. I can design and put

Learn from experience.

2. I can anticipate that my abilities and competence will grow with experience, through both successes and failures.

1. I can recognise what I have learnt from taking part in valuecreating activities.

2. I can reflect on my experience in taking part in value-creating activities and learn from it.

4. I am always looking for opportunities to improve my strengths and reduce or compensate for my weaknesses.

3. I can reflect on my interaction with others (including peers and mentors) and learn from it.

4. I can filter the feedback provided by others and keep the good from it.

6. I can help others develop their strengths and reduce or compensate for their weaknesses.

in place a strategy for my venture to continue to generate value.

5. I can integrate lifelong learning into my personal development strategy and career progress.

6. I can help others reflect on their interaction with other people and help them learn from this interaction.

7. I can learn from the impact- monitoring and evaluation activities that I have designed to track the progress of my valuecreating activity.

8. I can learn lessons from monitoring and evaluation processes and establish them into my organisation’s learning processes.

Learning through experience in the literature

Learning through experience in the literature

Thread in EntreComp Related competences listed in other frameworks Insights from the literature review

Reflect. -

• Role of the mentor as the one who accompanies the entrepreneur to reflect on their actions and their results (Deakins & Freel, 1996; cited in Cope, 2005).

• Learning from failures (Ucbasaran et al., 2013).

Learn to learn.

Learn from experience.

• Learn to learn (P) (Tittel & Terzidis, 2020).

• Experiential learning. (Bird 1995/2019)

• How to learn continuously: analysing, experimenting and revising (Lackéus et al., 2020).

• The entrepreneur evolves as they perform and learns based on experience and continued investigation of new techniques and new methods (Rae, 2000; cited in Cope, 2005).

• The learning perspective of entrepreneurship considers entrepreneurship immersed in a substantial learning situation, in which the entrepreneur is learning: a) about oneself, b) the business, c) the environment and networks, d) small business management and e) the nature and management of relationships. (Cope, 2005).

• The learning process is the result of critical events where the entrepreneurs learns to copy to take action and make decisions (Deakins & Freel, 1996).

• Validated learning is the result of an experimental process with customers. This involves a willingness to experiment and know how to give and receive feedback (Minniti & Bygrave, 2001; cited in Cope, 2005). Learning by trial and error typical of agile methodologies is a type of learning by experience. The knowledge captured from an experiential learning process is considered the new venture’s main asset.

• Experiential learning – how entrepreneurs learn: 1) They take part in a concrete experience. Reflection of these experiences allows the experiencer to ask his/herself probing questions as to what occurred and why. 3) From this, the experiencer applies or creates abstract concepts and from this theory-in-action 4) the experiencer changes his or her behavior in an active experiment designed to bring about a different set of concrete experiences. (Bird, 1995/2019)

• Entrepreneurship is conceived as a dynamic problem-solving process in which entrepreneurs learn in the light of experience and feedback from the market. “The actual entrepreneurial act is inextricable from the trial and error process of testing out [the entrepreneurial] idea” (Vaughn, 1990: 22; cited in Harper, 2008).

• Existence of two types of critical situations: critical situations can be differently coped with by the entrepreneur along on a “continuum”. At one end of this “continuum” there are the critical situations faced by the entrepreneur by activating knowledge and capabilities; at the other end there are critical situations - mainly linked to exogenous factorsthat the entrepreneurs is not capable of governing. (Capaldo et al., 2004).

• Employees learn their job to a great extent while doing their job, in other words through gaining experience and by reflecting on these experiences (e.g., Kyndt & Baert, 2013). In addition, Cope (2005) states that it is commonly recognized that entrepreneurs are actionoriented and that their learning is primarily based on experiences (Kyndt & Baert, 2015).

OTHER: Learning networks

-

• Entrepreneurial people learn the most from critical and highly emotional events, especially negative ones. Some ‘special’ event types that are important in entrepreneurial learning are tackling incidents or setbacks that must be managed, experiencing moments of creative inspiration or realisation around an opportunity, and having social encounters with people who provide new and crucial knowledge and insights. (Lackéus, 2015).

• Human learning consideration as a whole-person experience, implying that it is the whole person who learns, not only the brain or the hands or the heart. It is equally important to learn from one’s thoughts (cognitive learning), from one’s actions (learning-by-doing) and from one’s emotions (affective learning) (Lackéus, 2015)

• Since entrepreneurship is a cyclical process that involves multiple stakeholders, continuous iterations with them constitute an experiential network learning system (Mäkinsen, 2002; Gibb, 1997). The different agents (suppliers, clients, employees, administrations, consultants, ...) when interacting by means of transactions generate valuable knowledge which is captured by the entrepreneur. It is known that transaction costs decrease as trust increases and this confidence is strengthened from experience-based network learning.

• Orientation towards learning: relevant competences of the entrepreneur. Beyond learning through experience, the authors include: “participating in training and development activities, following up on new developments, knowing where to find relevant information and being interested in new methods and techniques that are relevant for their profession” (Kyndt & Baert, 2015).

• How to learn: The Anticipation-Action-Reflection (AAR) cycle is an iterative learning process whereby learners continuously improve their thinking and act intentionally and responsibly towards collective wellbeing (see the concept note on the Anticipation-Action-Reflection cycle). Through planning, experience and reflection, learners deepen their understanding and widen their perspective. The AAR cycle is a catalyst for the development of the transformative competencies: each of those competencies depends on the learner’s ability to be adaptive and reflective and to take action accordingly, and to continually improve his or her thinking. (OECD)

Learning through experience in EICAA-CF

The learning competence is very relevant in the literature reviewed. Some authors even state that learning is one of the main competences of the entrepreneur. Cope (2005) considers that entrepreneurship is immersed in a substantial learning situation, in which the entrepreneur is learning:

a) about oneself, b) the business, c) the environment and networks, d) small business management and

e) the nature and management of relationships. Lackéus et al. (2020) adds that it is equally important to learn from experience (learning by doing), as learning from one’s thoughts (cognitive learning) and learning from one’s emotions (affective learning). Learning from failure is also emphasized in the literature, sometimes referred in broader terms as learning from critical events (Deakins & Freel, 1996).

As a summary, learning from experience is well covered in EntreComp regarding the process of reflecting, learning from feedback, learning from failure and learning from experience. EICAA-CF keeps the same structure and just refines some wording.

4. Structure of EICAA-CF (v1)

As we mentioned previously, the design principles for EICAA-CF are:

1. Preserve the structure (and visual layout) of EntreComp in areas-competences-threads.

2. Simplify the learning outcomes and threads, when this is possible.

3. Simplify the progression levels to four: Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert.

4. Add definitions to the competences and threads according to the literature.

5. Refine the contents of the threads and learning outcomes according to the literature.

6. Add new competences and threads if needed.

The changes proposed in EICAA-CF with respect to EntreComp are summarised in Table 10, Table 11, and Table 12

4.1. Main changes at the competences level

The main changes are:

1. Added competence “Design” in competence area “Ideas and opportunities”.

2. Added competence “Digital competence” in competence area “Resources”.

3. Split competence “Planning and management” in competence area “Into action” into two competences: “Planning and management” and “Process management”.

The rationale for these changes is:

• Emphasizing the spirit of agile and customer orientation from current entrepreneurial methods, with competences related to design, co-creation, experimentation, iteration and process management. Thus, rather than having a view of entrepreneurship which is strongly connected to traditional business planning methods, we aim at including the practitioner’s approach to entrepreneurship.

o We believe that adding competences related to current entrepreneurship methods such as design thinking, lean startup and effectuation can provide a more fine-tuned approximation to the entrepreneurial competences and their development. However, we believe that we don’t need to tailor to any entrepreneurship method. Rather than this, we emphasize competences that are present in these methods like designing, prototyping, experimenting, customer discovery, etc.

o Another reason is that many entrepreneurial schools and incubation training programs use these methodologies to teach entrepreneurs and students. Thus, the EICAA-CF could be better aligned to these educational practices.

• Adding the digital competences into the EICAA-CF aims at recognizing the importance of the digital competences in today’s world and in any new venture. These competences have been recently listed in specific frameworks such as DigComp 2.2 (“The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens”). Our aim is to include basic and general digital skills that any entrepreneur should possess; from having basic digital skills to being aware of the safety and privacy issues related to digitalization. Digital competences, and even artificial intelligence and big data technologies, are receiving greater interest among entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education (Secundo et al., 2020; Obschonka & Audretsch, 2020). Adding this competence to EICAA-CF aligns with today’s rapid technological developments and the increasing need of entrepreneurs to know, manage and maximize the benefits of technologies for the new venture.

• The third main change emphasizes the distinction between planning and managing the process of the new venture. Competence “Planning” refers to defining goals, organizing, prioritizing, and developing plans. Competence “Process management” emphasizes the view of entrepreneurship as a process, i.e., a series of steps that the entrepreneur goes through, mostly nonlinearly, but iteratively. Second, we emphasize that the entrepreneur should manage and guide the process while they are discovering/getting information on the customers, market, competitors, financial sustainability, stakeholder interaction, etc.

Thus, the entrepreneur that is assessed and trained under EICAA (as compared to EntreComp) will get:

• Stronger focus on design and customer discovery: customer discovery, co-creation, market view of the new venture.

• Agile and incremental entrepreneurship: stronger focus on testing and experimentation; realization that a new venture is based on hypotheses or assumptions that need to be continuously tested and revised.

• Digital competences associated with the creation of new ventures.

• A process view of entrepreneurship; iterative cycles; adaptability to the phases; management of the process itself.

• More awareness on the entrepreneur’s development and the new venture’s development as two dimensions that are highly intertwined, but both play a role in the success of the new venture.

4.2. Other changes at the threads level

The other changes to EntreComp are aimed at simplifying the number of threads and minimising the conceptual overlapping among some threads and learning outcomes. The latter issue is addressed by adding definitions to threads that provide an enhanced understanding of what the thread means, according to the reviewed literature.

Competence area “Resources”:

• Competence “Financial and economic literacy”: added thread “Enterprising literacy”, to emphasize the need of enterprising knowledge beyond “Economic and financial literacy”.

• Competence “Motivation and perseverance”: revised the wording of the threads belonging to this competence to improve its understanding.

Competence area “Into action”:

• Competence “Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk”: added thread “Test & experiment” to strengthen the agile and iterative methodologies for entrepreneurship, as a way of checking the assumptions of the new venture and coping with uncertainty.

• Competence “Working with others”: added thread “Manage instrumental relationships” as a way of emphasizing how relationships are built, managed and transitioned along the new venture.

4.3. Structure of EICAA-CF

As follows, we summarise how these changes are embedded into the current structure of EntreComp. The next tables summarise the structure of EICAA-CF after the “Solve” phase.

Area Competence Threads

1.1 Spotting opportunities

1. Ideas and Opportunities

1.2 Creativity

1.3. Vision

1.4 Valuing ideas

1.5 Ethical and sustainable thinking

1.6 Design

highlighted in blue.

• Analyse the context/Scan the environment

• Identify, recognise challenges

• Identify, create and seize opportunities

• Act creatively/Be curious and open

• Solve problems creatively/Creative problem solving

• Generate ideas

• Be innovative

• Imagine/Build a vision for the new venture and oneself

• Think strategically

• Guide action

• Recognise the value of ideas

• Share and protect ideas

• Behave ethically

• Think sustainably

• Assess impact

• Be accountable

• Immerse with your users

• Identify the needs

• Prototype and test

• Co-create

Area Competences Threads

2.1 Self-awareness and self-efficacy

2.2 Motivation and perseverance

2.3 Mobilising resources

2. Resources

• Follow your aspirations

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses

• Believe in your ability

• Shape your future

• Maintain focus (consistency of interest)

• Stay motivated and passionate

• Persevere/Tenacity/Don’t give up

• Be resilient

• Access resources to extract value/Make the most of limited resources/Manage resources strategically

• Use resources responsibly

• Make the most of your time

• Get support and build a network

2.4 Financial and economic literacy

2.5. Mobilizing others

2.6. Digital competence

• Understand economic and financial concepts

• Budget

• Find funding

• Understand taxation

• Enterprising literacy

• Inspire and get inspired

• Persuade and negotiate

• Communicate effectively

• Use media effectively

• General digital competences at work

• Digital competences for the new venture

• Information and data literacy

• Safety and cybersecurity

Table 10. Structure of area “Ideas and Opportunities” with changes

Table 11. Structure of area “Resources” with changes highlighted in blue.

Area Competences

3.1 Taking the initiative

3.2 Planning

3.3 Process management

• Take responsibility

• Work independently

• Take action

• Define goals

• Plan and organise conscientiously

• Define priorities

• Define and develop sustainable business plans

• Monitor progress

• Be flexible and adaptive to changes

• Redirect your strategy

• Manage transitions

• Work agile

3.4 Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk

3.5 Working with others

• Cope with uncertainty and ambiguity

• Calculate risk

• Manage risk

• Test and experiment

• Accept diversity (people’s differences)

• Develop emotional intelligence

• Listen actively

• Team up

• Work together

• Expand your network

• Manage instrumental relationships

3.6 Learning through experience

• Reflect

• Learn to learn

• Learn from experience

Table 12. Structure of area “Into Action” with changes highlighted in blue.

5. Rubric System of EICAA-CF (v1)

This section presents the rubric system of the EICAA-CF as it was designed in the first version. The rubric system contains the details of every competence of the EICAA-CF and its decomposition in threads and in four progression levels. We also provide the definitions of every competence as they are mostly defined in the reviewed literature.

5.1. Competence area “Ideas and Opportunities”

Table 13 Competence “Spotting opportunities” in EICAA-CF.

Spotting opportunities in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• Opportunity recognition: Ability or capacity to perceive changed conditions and overlooked possibilities in the environment that represent potential sources of value to a venture.

Hint: Use your imagination, knowledge and abilities to identify opportunities for creating value.

Descriptors:

• Identify and monitor future trends

• Identify challenges that need to be met

• Identify and seize opportunities to create value by exploring the social, cultural and economic landscape

• Establish new connections and bring together scattered elements of the landscape to create opportunities to create value

THREAD FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore

Identify the environment and the different areas in which value can be created, and the factors that will be monitored.

I can identify the sources of information and continuously gather information about the market environment

Identify, recognise challenges

Identify challenges that need solutions.

Identify, create and seize opportunities.

“Passive” process of seeing or recognizing an opportunity that someone else has spotted or has explained

INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building

independence ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

Identify the boundaries of the environment where value can be provided and are within my (or my team’s) reach. Identify opportunities where I (my team) can take a competitive advantage.

Redefine/reframe a challenge so that alternative opportunities may become apparent

Monitor relevant trends. Interact with the environment to gather information to get feedback. Build knowledge based on these interactions.

Anticipate future trends.

Promote a culture within the organization that is open to spotting the weak signals of change, leading to new opportunities for creating value. [intrapreneurship]

Challenge mainstream thought to create opportunities and look at challenges in different ways. Judge the right time in which a challenge can be tackled

Interact with others to identify challenges. Inspire and engage others to turn challenges into opportunities.

Engaging in an active process of searching for opportunities, with systematic methods. Being aware and alert to the opportunities that might be existing

Create opportunities that might not have existed or were not easily accessible/ recognisable to others. Using knowledge and prior

Design and engage into an iterative process of searching-identifyingcreating-testing opportunities.

Co-discover/co-create opportunities through

in a given domain. Being aware of the factors that are conducive to opportunity exploitation.

experience (about markets, technological developments, economy, context…) to create opportunities.

[intrapreneurship] Promote a culture of knowledge exchange across functional areas of the organization so that new opportunities emerge.

interactive processes with stakeholders (e.g., customers, technologies, colleagues, mentors, venture capitalists).

[intrapreneurship] Develop an attitude of nonconformism necessary to question the status-quo to detect opportunities and dare to pursue them in the context on an existing organization.

Table 14. Competence “Creativity” in EICAA-CF

Creativity in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• Creativity is the ability to discover and create ideas and opportunities; to combine knowledge, experience and personal resources from different areas in new ways;

• Innovativeness: the ability to look for novel ways of action.

Hint: Develop creative and purposeful ideas.

Descriptors:

• Develop ideas and opportunities to create value, including innovative solutions to new and existing challenges and/or improved solutions for already addressed challenges.

• Explore and experiment with innovative approaches.

• Combine knowledge and resources to achieve valuable effects.

Thread as in EntreComp

Act creatively /Be curious and open

FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

Be open to new experience and change. Imagine/envision different alternatives to existing problems and solutions.

INTERMEDIATE

Experiment-Dare Building independence

Develop autonomy, freedom and independence to stay away from environmental (organisational) constraints.

Develop a balance between being creative and imaginative and the orientation towards action.

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

Challenge the status quo.

EXPERT

Expand-Transform

Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Promote and lead disruptive change. Be a role model in the organisation by exerting influence on others.

Solve problems creatively/ Creative problem solving

Explore open-ended problems in different ways, by taking different perspectives and using prior knowledge and experience.

Relate problems to priori knowledge/experience.

Reshape/redefine openended problems so that solutions become available.

Describe and develop different problem-solving strategies to provide creative solutions to complex problems.

Help and inspire others to create value by encouraging experimentation and using creative techniques to approach problems and generate solutions.

Generate and nurture ideas

Describe the process of idea generation, idea assessment and development

Explain the differences between divergence and convergence in idea generation, and the factors that play in each of the stages.

Be innovative Identify examples of innovations that have transformed society.

Connect unconnected ideas and knowledge to produce novel and appropriate or useful outcomes.

Use and experiment with different techniques of idea generation that provide effective solutions to problems, using available resources.

Nurture an open exchange of ideas, knowledge and opinions across different departments.

Describe how innovations diffuse in society, culture, and the market.

Explain the difference between different types of innovations (incremental, breakthrough, or transformational)

Set up processes to involve stakeholders in finding, developing and testing ideas.

Design and develop processes within the organisation to nurture the creation of new and useful ideas through the dialogue among different functional departments and different agents within the organisation. Foster the creative culture. Allow for creative and innovation within the operational processes of the organisation.

[intrapreneurship context]

Creation of a creativity culture that sustains, supports and fosters creativity in the organization.

Strategy different innovations in the business model, product or service, and marketing; as well as digital innovations.

Manage and encourage innovation processes.

Vision in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• “A projected mental image of what a leader wants to achieve” (Bass & Stogdill, 1990; cited in Baum & Locke, 2004).

• “Ideal and unique projected images of the future referring to strong values or an idea laden with emotion” (cf. Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1996; cited in Frese & Gielnik, 2014).

• “The means by which the leader’s goals are communicated in an inspirational fashion to followers, and the leader takes various actions intended to implement the vision (which provides a sensemaking component for followers).” (Cogliser & Brigham, 2004).

Hint:

• Work towards your vision of the future.

Descriptors:

• Imagine the future.

• Develop a vision to turn ideas into action.

• Visualise future scenarios to help guide effort and action.

Thread FOUNDATION Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

Be visionary/ Build a vision for the new venture and oneself

I can imagine a desirable future

INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building independence

Imagine a desirable future around creating value

Imagine myself as an entrepreneur.

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

Build future scenarios around my value creating activity and its growth.

EXPERT

Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Communicate the vision to different audiences to get supporters.

[intrapreneurship]

Communicate the vision to get commitment of the organization to innovation, opportunityfocus and self-renewing. Communicate the vision to foster corporate coherence.

Think strategically Properly explain what a vision is and what purpose it serves.

Awareness of what it is needed to build a vision.

Guide action Identify the guidelines to make my idea actionable.

See the big picture (being able to shift focus from the micro to the macro level)strategic zoom lens-

Use the vision to guide my (my team’s) actions.

Draw people’s attention towards desired outcomes and thus, focus people’s efforts in turning vision into actions.

Prepare a vision statement to guide decision making.

I can plan backwards from my vision to design the necessary strategy to achieve it.

Monitor how the vision is deployed, identify the changes needed to achieve my vision.

Promote initiatives for change and transformation that contribute to my vision.

Identify challenges related to the vision, while respecting the different levels of the system and the variety of stakeholders affected.

Table 15. Competence “Vision” in EICAA-CF

Valuing ideas in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• Opportunity assessment: Ability to evaluate the content structure of opportunities to accurately determine their relative attractiveness (Morris et al, 2013).

• Valuing ideas refers to the “process of evaluating and selecting high quality opportunities and ideas and acting on them to provide value to others. It is relevant because it normally triggers the decision to start the new venture.” (Learned, 1992, cited in Shook et al., 2003).

• Claiming novel ideas “is about managing different kinds of intellectual property issues such as patenting, licensing, trademarking, branding, copyrights, and trade secrets. Its main purpose is to allow for individuals and organisations to protect their intellectual creative outputs from unethical exploitation by others” (Lackéus et al., 2020).

Hint:

• Make the most of ideas and opportunities.

Descriptors:

• Judge what value is in social, cultural and economic terms.

• Recognise the potential an idea has for creating value and identify suitable ways of making the most out of it.

• Protect intellectual creative outputs.

Thread as in EntreComp

FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building independence

ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

EXPERT

Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Recognise the value of ideas.

Identify ideas and opportunities that have value for myself and others.

Decide on which type of value to act on (economic value, influence value, harmony value, social value, enjoyment value) and then, choose the most appropriate pathway to do so.

Assess the value of an opportunity or idea, considering the different factors and stakeholders involved (expected rewards/outputs, risks and returns, available resources, competitors…). Find the right balance between the time spent in valuing ideas and moving fast to take competitive advantage.

Develop strategies to assess the value of ideas based on data-driven processes and iterative assessment of the ideas with interaction with the environment and different stakeholders.

Share and protect ideas.

Explain that ideas can be shared and protected by different mechanisms.

Choose the most appropriate licence for the purpose of sharing and protecting the value created by my ideas.

Outline a dissemination and exploitation plan with the involved partners.

Develop a strategy on intellectual property rights, considering the growth of the venture and geographic requirements.

Table 16. Competence "Valuing ideas" in EICAA-CF.

Table 17. Competence “Ethical and sustainable thinking” in EICAA-CF.

Ethical and sustainable thinking in EICAA-CF

Definition:

• Ability to conduct oneself and the new venture at hand in a social and environmental conscious manner.

• Sustainability: “the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on earth forever. For human beings, flourishing comprises not only survival and maintenance of the species but also a sense of dignity and authenticity” (Ehrenfeld, 2005, p.24).

• Sustainability requires a holistic approach, which facilitates everyone to lead a better life, at the same time as being moderate in the use of the earth’s resources and renewing them where necessary (Farrell, 2018).

Hint: Assess the consequences and impact of ideas, opportunities and actions.

Descriptors:

• Assess the consequences of ideas that bring value and the effect of entrepreneurial action on the target community, the market, society and the environment.

• Reflect on how sustainable long-term social, cultural and economic goals are, and the course of action chosen.

• Act responsibly.

Thread as in EntreComp FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

Behave ethically Describe the importance of ethical behaviour, and of adhering to principles and values

INTERMEDIATE

Experiment-Dare Building independence

Identify the ethical challenges that the new venture poses to the entrepreneur (or team) (e.g., focus on financial gain at the expense of others, action-oriented and few time for reflection, entering instrumental relationships, promotion and bargaining and sales tactics…)

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce

Taking responsibility

Being driven by honesty and integrity in decisionmaking and act according ethical values related to the different activities of the new venture.

[intrapreneurship]

High commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility.

EXPERT

Expand-Transform

Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Take responsibility for promoting ethical behaviour in my area of influence.

Take action against unethical behaviour.

Think sustainably List examples of environmental friendly behaviour that benefits a community.

Identify practices that are not sustainable and their implications for the environment and compare them with examples of environmentally friendly behaviours.

Assess impact Identify the impact of human action in social, cultural, environmental, or economic contexts.

Produce a clear problem statement when faced with practices that are not sustainable.

Reflect on the overall impact an organisation has on the environment (and vice versa).

Discuss the relationship between society and technical developments, based on their implications for the environment

Choose adequate methods for analysing environmental impact based on their advantages and disadvantages.

Effectively contribute to self-regulation discussions within my area of proficiency.

Be accountable I can explain the need to be accountable.

Identify all the stakeholders who are affected by the valuecreating activity, including stakeholders who cannot speak up (future generations, climate or nature)

I can tell the difference between accounting for use of resources and accounting for the impact of my value-creating activity on stakeholders and the environment.

Tell the difference between input, output, outcomes and impact.

Choose or develop “measure indicators” to monitor and assess the impact of the valuecreating activity.

I can discuss a range of accountability methods for both functional and strategic accountability.

Carry out impact assessment, impact monitoring, and impact evaluation -including environmental impacton my value-creating activity

I can use the accountability methods that hold me responsible to our internal and external stakeholders.

I can design ways to be accountable to all of our stakeholders.

Design in EICAA-CF

Definition:

• Ability to interact with customers (and other stakeholders) to identify needs, to prototype, test, and co-create.

Hint:

• Design specific products, services or solutions.

Descriptors:

• Immerse and engage with users to understand their needs, problems and difficulties, from their perspective.

• Test and experiment with prototypes.

• Co-create with users, customers and other stakeholders

THREAD FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

INTERMEDIATE

Experiment-Dare Building independence

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

EXPERT

Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Immerse with your users

Explain the different tools and methodologies to immerse with the users to get insights of their needs and potential solutions (e.g., ethnography, design thinking methods…)

Identify needs Segment the customers/users: Identify the target groups related to a given challenge or opportunity.

Prototype & test Explain the value of prototyping to test the value of the ideas.

Participate in activities of immersion with the users.

Empathise with them. Extract meaningful (and implicit) insights.

Identify and analyse the different and unique needs that each target group is facing.

Identify the basic functions that a prototype should have to illustrate the value of the idea.

Design innovative and effective strategies and tools for immersing with the users.

Turn users into collaborators and ambassadors Promote a culture of user-orientation and user-immersion in the organisation.

Produce a roadmap which matches the needs with the actions needed to deal with them to create value.

Develop and deliver value in stages, launching with the core features of my (or my team’s) idea and progressively adding more (e.g., mvp).

Design projects which aim to anticipate future needs.

Design effective processes of interaction with users, prototyping and testing based on the experience gathered during these processes.

Co-create Explain the value of cocreation to different stakeholders.

Understand the difference between empathising with users (e.g., design thinking) and co-creation with users.

Facilitate co-creation processes with end-users and other stakeholders to design products and services that satisfy their needs.

Identify insights from co-creation sessions that are meaningful to the design of value.

Design co-creation processes, by identifying the target groups participating in the process, the goals of the co-creation, and the deployment of co-creation in several sessions and activities per session. Keep participants motivated and engaged in co-creation processes.

Reflect on co-creation processes and learn from it.

Help improve the capabilities of stakeholders and users in contributing to the co-creation process.

Table 18. Competence “Design” in EICAA-CF.

5.2. Competence area “Resources”

Table 19. Competence “(Entrepreneurial) self-awareness and self-efficacy” in EICAA-CF (Entrepreneurial) Self-awareness and self-efficacacy in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• Self-efficacy: the individuals’ conscious belief in their own ability to bring about desired results in the performance of a particular task. (Bandura, 1997)

• Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy: specific form of self-efficacy, in which the individuals believe they are capable of performing the tasks associated with the new-venture management.

• Cognitive bias are cognitive mechanisms that assist people in fast decision making (Busenitz & Barney, 1997). They have a positive function in helping entrepreneurs take decisions without putting too much strain on their time and cognitive resources and thus to stay actionable in spite of high cognitive demands on uncertain situations. However, they may also lead to errors because people make less rational decisions and discount available information (Frese & Gielnik, 2014) One such cognitive biases in entrepreneurs might be overoptimism or overconfidence.

• Overconfidence: entrepreneurs’ overestimation of their abilities, in particular with regard to making accurate forecasts, having higher abilities relative to others, and becoming successful (Koellinger et al., 2007; cited in Frese & Gielnik, 2014).

• Overoptimism (or optimistic bias): entrepreneurs’ tendency to expect positive outcomes or to perceive heightened chances of success (Baron et al., 2012, Cooper et al., 1988; cited in Frese & Gielnik, 2014).

Hint:

• Believe in yourself and keep developing.

Descriptors:

• Reflect on your needs, aspirations and wants in the short, medium and long term

• Identify and assess your individual and group strengths and weaknesses

• Believe in your ability to influence the course of events, despite uncertainty, setbacks and temporary failures

Thread in EICAA-CF FOUNDATION Discover

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Follow your aspirations. Identify my needs, wants, interests and goals.

Commit to actions fulfilling my needs, wants, interests and goals.

Reflect on my individual and group needs, wants, interests and aspirations in relation to opportunities and future prospects.

Translate my needs, wants, interests and aspirations into goals that help me reach them.

I can help others to reflect on their needs, wants, interests and aspirations and how they can turn these into goals

Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

Identify strengths and weaknesses, with respect to the new venture. (contextsituated)

Develop justified selfconfidence: Engage in a dynamic process of judging one’s abilities, based on past experiences and perceived competence, and the interaction with the environment (e.g., with stakeholders, the market, businessrelated activities…)

Based on the strengths and weaknesses identified, be able to prioritise based on the strengths, and develop the weaknesses, by searching training and support, if needed, to develop oneself and make the most of opportunities to create value.

I can team up with others to compensate for our weaknesses and add to our strengths. Help others in their own development.

Meta-evaluation of potential cognitive biases in overconfidence or over-optimism.

your ability. to accomplish the tasks that are intended by oneself or asked by others in relation to the new venture (ESE).

(GSE 4) I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events.

(GSE 5) Thanks to my resourcefulness, I know how to handle unforeseen situations.

Believe in own’s control of success and failures and judge them compared with control from outside influences.

(GSE 6) I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.

despite the difficulties.

Optimism: Believe that events will generally result in favourable outcomes.

(GSE 1) I am always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough.

(GSE 2) If someone opposes me, I can find the means and ways to get what I want.

failure: Judge failures as opportunities to learn and take the good out of these experiences.

Shape your future/Develop the necessary skills.

Describe which qualities and abilities are needed for different jobs, and which of these qualities and abilities I have.

Describe my skills and competences relating to career options, including selfemployment.

Use my skills and competences to change my career path, as a result of new opportunities or from necessity.

Discuss with others to get a realistic understanding and evaluation of my personal attitudes, skills and knowledge can influence my decision-making, relationships with other people and quality of life.

Design professional development strategies for my team and organisation based on a clear understanding our strengths and weaknesses, in relation to both current and future opportunities to create value.

Design strategies to overcome my (or my team’s or organisation’s) weaknesses and to develop our strengths in anticipating future needs

Table 20. Competence “Motivation and perseverance” in EICAA-CF. Motivation and Perseverance

Definitions:

• Passion: consciously accessible, intense positive feelings experienced by engagement in entrepreneurial activities associated with roles that are meaningful and salient to the self-identify of the entrepreneur (Cardon et al., 2009).

• Consistency of interest: ability to stay focused and passionate over a long period of time by performing particular task without changing interest or goals (Salisu et al., 2020; cited in Martínez-Martínez & Ventura, 2020).

• Perseverance: Ability to sustain goal-directed action and energy when confronting difficulties and obstacles that impede goal achievement (Morris et al., 2013).

• Ability to persevere and sustain efforts to achieve intended objectives even when hardships or setbacks occur. Along with consistency of interest, it is part of the construct named grit, which is related to the achievement of long-term objectives. (Martínez-Martínez & Ventura, 2020).

• Resilience: ability to cope with stresses and disturbances such that one remains well, recovers or even thrives in the face of adversity (Gianesini et al., 2018)

• Ability to adapt to environmental changes in situations of threat, adversity, tragedy, trauma, or stress whilst maintaining a positive mindset (Salisu et al, 2020; cited in Martínez-Martínez & Ventura, 2020).

• Commitment: entrepreneur’s drive to move ahead with the business; willing to work hard (Frasté & Van Gils, 2007). Going forward with perseverance and tenancy notwithstanding uncertain situations (Lee et al., 2016).

Hint: Stay focused and don't give up.

Descriptors:

• Be determined to turn ideas into action and satisfy your need to achieve.

• Be prepared to be patient and keep trying to achieve your long-term individual or group aims.

• Be resilient under pressure, adversity, and temporary failure.

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INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building independence

ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

EXPERT Expand-Transform Driving transform., innovation and gr.

Maintain focus (consistency of interest)

Identify a given focus to pursue related to my value-creating activity.

Stay focused on a task until completion and avoid distractions.

Don’t lose focus on other interests. Only change the course of a project after thorough evaluation.

Maintain focus for long periods of time in relation to my valuecreating activity.

Encourage others to build a strategic plan of action for career advancement.

Stay motivated and passionate Recognise ways of motivating myself and others.

Visualise the achievement of the goals to keep motivation and focus

Use strategies to stay motivated (e.g., set goals, monitor performance, monitor progress, celebrate achievements…)

Develop strategies to keep my team motivated.

Persevere/Tenacity/

Don’t give up.

Willing to work hard and invest effort to achieve the goals.

Delay achieving goals to gain greater value, thanks to prolonged effort.

Maintain effort and interest towards goals, despite adversities.

Setbacks don’t discourage me

(Martinez-Martinez & Ventura, 2020)

Inspire others to work hard on their goals by showing passion and a strong sense of ownership

Be resilient. I am determined and persevere when trying to achieve my (or my team's) goals.

Overcome simple adverse circumstances. Manage moderate levels of pressure effectively.

Endure and cope with adverse circumstances. Design strategies to overcome difficult circumstances. Stay emotionally well despite the difficulties.

Help others develop resilience. Maintain a positive ambience within my team or organisation in difficult situations.

Table 21. Competence “Mobilising resources” in EICAA-CF

Mobilising resources in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• Resource: a tangible or intangible asset that is available and can be used for entrepreneurial purposes (Davidsson, 2005; cited in Martínez-Martínez & Ventura, 2020).

• New resource skill: Ability to acquire and systematize the operating resources needed to start and grow an organization. (Baum & Locke, 2004).

• Resource leveraging: skills at accessing resources one does not necessarily own or control to accomplish personal ends (13 Entrepreneurial Competences Model; Gianesini et al., 2018)

• Resource deployment: Resource deployment can mean many things including, for example, how amassed resources are configured to enact the initiative, how current resources are mobilized or otherwise leveraged in support of the initiative, the timing of the resource allocation process, and the level and type of resources allocated in pursuit of the opportunity. (Kuratko et al., 2005).

• Bootstrapping: development of methods to ensure the use of the resource at low or no cost.

• Financial bootstrapping: refers to the strategies taken by the entrepreneur to overcome funding constraints without relying on formal debt from banks and equity financing from investors. Some of these forms can be: owner financing (e.g., withholding own salary, employing relatives), minimization of accounts receivable (e.g., speeding up invoicing, charging interest on overdue payment), joint utilization (e.g., owners share and borrow resources from each other), delayed payments (e.g., delaying payments to suppliers and leasing equipment), minimization of capital invested in stock (e.g., optimizing stock, minimizing inventory), and obtaining subsidies (e.g., from government or public organizations) (Winborg & Landstrom2001; cited in Frese & Gielnik, 2014).

• Guerrilla Skills: the capacity to take advantage of one’s surroundings, employ unconventional, low-cost tactics not recognized by others, and do more with less. (Morris et al., 2013).

• Quote: “Founders are able founders are able to “accurately conceptualise an opportunity and then commit the necessary resources in order to solve such a problem”. (Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010).

Hint:

• Get and manage the resources you need.

Descriptors:

• Get and manage the material, non-material and digital resources needed to turn ideas into action.

• Make the most of limited resources.

• Get and manage the competences needed at any stage, including technical, legal, tax and digital competences (for example through suitable partnerships, networking, outsourcing and crowd-sourcing).

EntreComp

Access resources to extract value/Make the most of limited resources /Manage resources strategically

Acquire resources (material and non-material)

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

Be aware of the limitation of resources in any new venture.

Awareness that limited resources are not necessarily an impediment to startup.

Access resources, even those that others own or control, by sharing resources or by other means.

Minimize the resources requirements to develop the venture

Optimize the existing resources to make the most of them.

Use techniques of bootstrapping, guerrilla skills

growth

Creatively see what can be done with the resources one already has access.

Develop strategies of resource management considering the impact on the environment.

Being aware of (ability to explain the importance) of different types of resources: financial capital, human capital, social capital, cultural capital, venture capital.

Recombine and seek new ways of obtaining resources when these are limited

I can get together the necessary resources to develop my new venture.

Effectively judge and make targeted recommendations on the key resources needed to support an innovative idea or opportunity to develop an existing business, launch a new venture, or initiate a social enterprise.

Make the most of your time. (Time management)

Get support & build a network

Value time (mine and the others’) as a scarce and valuable resource

Manage my time (and the others’) effectively using techniques and tools to be productive.

Search for help (find support) when needed for my value-creating activity (for example, teachers, peers, mentors, advisor or consultancy services).

Help others manage their time efficiently.

Identify public and private services to support my valuecreating activity (for example, incubator, social enterprise advisors, startup angels, chamber of commerce)

I can effectively delegate tasks to the right actors within and outside my organisation to make the most value (for example, outsourcing, partnering, acquisitions, crowdsourcing).

Develop effective time-management techniques that meet the specific needs of value-creating activity

I can develop a network and mobilise a network of flexible and responsive providers from outside the organisation who support my value-creating activity

Table 22. Competence “Financial and economic literacy” in EICAA-CF

Financial and economic literacy in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• Financial Capital: A central concept to explain success in entrepreneurship from an economic perspective is the availability of financial capital to start a new business. Financial capital is important for acquiring the necessary assets in terms of equipment and raw materials, avoiding liquidity problems, and thus ensuring ongoing operations. (Frese & Gielnik, 2014).

• Financial bootstrapping: refers to the strategies taken by the entrepreneur to overcome funding constraints without relying on formal debt from banks and equity financing from investors. Some of these forms can be: owner financing (e.g., withholding own salary, employing relatives), minimization of accounts receivable (e.g., speeding up invoicing, charging interest on overdue payment), joint utilization (e.g., owners share and borrow resources from each other), delayed payments (e.g., delaying payments to suppliers and leasing equipment), minimization of capital invested in stock (e.g., optimizing stock, minimizing inventory), and obtaining subsidies (e.g., from government or public organizations) (Winborg & Landstrom2001; cited in Frese & Gielnik, 2014).

Hint:

• Develop financial, economic and enterprising know-how.

Descriptors:

• Estimate the cost of turning an idea into a value-creating activity.

• Plan, put in place and evaluate financial decisions over time.

• Manage financing to make sure my value-creating activity can last over the long term.

• Take business decisions based on understanding and knowledge of key business functions.

Thread FOUNDATION

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INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building

independence

ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce Taking

responsibility

EXPERT Expand-Transform

Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Understand economic and financial concepts.

Explain simple economic concepts (for example, supply and demand, market price, trade, opportunity cost, comparative advantage).

Be able to read and analyse income statements, cash flow, profit-and-loss accounts, balance sheets, explain their purpose and differences.

Budget. Draw up a budget for a value-creating activity. Judge the cash-flow needs of a valuecreating activity. Explain how to translate the monetisation process in terms of cash generation.

Find funding (and legal constitution of the new venture).

Explain the main types of income and sources of funding for families, start-ups, businesses, non-profit organisations, and the state.

I can identify public and private sources of funding for my valuecreating activity (for example, prizes, crowd-funding, and shares).

Feel comfortable managing financial and business ratios (for example, return on investment, return on equity, burnt rate…)

Apply the financial planning and forecasting concepts that I need to turn ideas into action (for example, profit or not for profit).

Apply for public or private business support programmes, financing schemes, public subsidies or calls for tenders

Use financial ratios to assess the financial health of my value-creating activity and compare it with that of competitors.

Create the economic and financial plan of the valuecreating activity, and balance the P&L and the cash flow according to the learning outcomes extracted from monitoring the progress of the activity.

I can raise funds and secure revenue from different sources, and manage the diversity of those sources.

Understand taxation. Explain the purpose of taxation and how it finances the activities of a country and helps provide public goods

Estimate the main accountancy and tax obligations I need to fulfil to meet the tax requirements for my

Estimate how my financial decisions (investments, buying assets, goods and so on) affect my tax.

I can make financial decisions based on taxation schemes of my region/country and different countries and territories, as well

and services.

Enterprising literacy Explain simple concepts of key business functions like marketing, sales, strategic planning, operations, structuring business deals and technical-legal aspects. Have an overview of small business management, including how to run and control the business effectively, and important procedures and systems such as recruiting, salary and reward structures, and financial monitoring.

activities.

Understand the overheads of the activity and their effects on the new venture.

I can explain that value-creating activities can take different forms (a business, a social enterprise, a non-profit organisation and so on) and can have different structures of ownership (individual company, limited company, cooperative and so on). (related to the legal constitution of the start-up. Could also include how to write partners agreement, and the committed responsibilities.

Use enterprising knowledge to guide department heads of various business functions in effective planning and decision making.

Share my knowledge and make all employees more literate entrepreneurially.

Take key business decisions based on my in-depth knowledge of enterprise functions like marketing, sales, strategic planning, and others.

Table 23. Competence “Mobilising others” in EICAA-CF

Mobilising others in EICAA

Definitions:

• Mobilising others refers the ability to involve others in the entrepreneurial project (stakeholders) in a way that generates participation and adherence to the initiative. This term is associated with interpersonal skills (Hood and Young, 1993; Vesper & McMullan, 1988; cited in Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010) which are defined as a set of habits and behaviours aimed at achieving the necessary interaction for the development of the venture.

• Persuasion: Persuasion means the communicating behaviours that a message sender performs to influence a message receiver’s attitude by language or non-language manners (Dillard & Pfau, 2002). It consists of convincing others about the value of ideas and opportunities and that they exist/can be created (Dorado, 2005).

• Negotiation: process of joint decision making. It is communication, direct or tacit, between individuals who are trying to forge an agreement for mutual benefit (Peyton Young, 1991).

• Interpersonal skills: those that involve customers and other stakeholders in the process of finding the solution to an opportunity, and this goes beyond the simple commercial interaction with clients (Lackéus et al., 2020).

Hint:

• Inspire, enthuse and get others on board

Descriptors:

• Inspire and enthuse relevant stakeholders

• Get the support needed to achieve valuable outcomes

• Demonstrate effective communication, persuasion, negotiation and leadership.

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Inspire and get inspired Get inspired by role models and success cases, and learn from these cases what is relevant to my circumstances.

Persuade and negotiate Persuade others by providing arguments and evidence for these arguments.

Communicate effectively Explain the main metrics for effective communication.

INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building independence

Inspire others by example or by showing the way forward

Persuade others by appealing to their emotions.

I can communicate my ideas clearly to others, to different audiences with simplicity and elegance.

Communicate imaginative design solutions.

ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

Inspire others, even in adverse, uncertain or challenging circumstances.

Create a call to action and get stakeholders on board.

Communicate my ideas clearly to others in written and oral forms, in a variety of ways (posters, videos, role-plays) and types of presentations (pitches, pep talks, formal or informal presentations)

Build narratives and stories that provide meaning and motivate, persuade and inspire.

EXPERT

Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Maintain momentum with my team, partners and stakeholders along extended periods of time, even when the going gets tough.

Prepare and develop a good negotiation strategy (following ethical rules for negotiation; e.g., without manipulation nor coercion).

Take the lead of the social conversation in the community that my idea is targeted at via high impact channels (press, trade journals, conferences, community platforms…)

Use media effectively Provide examples of inspiring communication campaigns and learn from them.

Use of social media appropriately, with awareness of my audience and purpose.

Design effective social-media campaigns to mobilise people in relation to my (my team’s) valuecreating activity.

Effectively design communication strategies to mobilize people in relation to my value- creating activity.

Table 24. Competence “Digital” in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

Digital Competence

• Digital competence involves the confident, critical and responsible use of, and engagement with, digital technologies for learning, at work, and for participation in society. It includes information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, media literacy, digital content creation (including programming), safety (including digital well-being and competences related to cybersecurity), intellectual property related questions, problem solving and critical thinking.

Hint:

• Manage and use the digital technologies necessary for the new venture.

Descriptors:

• Use digital technologies necessary at work and linked to the entrepreneurial activity.

• Identify, collect, and analyse data that is relevant for the activity.

• Be aware of the threads of privacy and safety and foresee processes to protect the activity

Thread in

EICAA-CF FOUNDATION Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

General digital competences at work

I can identify the key digital competences required for a tas.

INTERMEDIATE

Experiment-Dare Building independence

Use of general digital tools for work, collaboration, and digital content creation

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

Critical capacity on the use of technologies for an entire project or team.

EXPERT

Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Set up an architecture of digital tools to efficiently organise work and collaboration for a multidisciplinary team and guide them on how to use their intended digital tools for work.

Digital competences for the new venture

Knowledge of digital tools related to the new venture.

Use of digital tools (e.g., CRM, web analytics, marketing, financial analysis…) for manage day-to-day operations efficiently.

Digital tools that support creativity and innovation

Use of digital tools that support new venture’s growth (e.g., cloud…)

Information and data literacy

Search information in valuable sources and evaluate the quality of these sources.

Use of the basics of data analytics: collection of data and basic analytic tools (e.g., spreadsheets).

Get data analytics insights and build reporting (written and in visual form) appropriate for a specific goal or audience.

Generate, process, analyse, present meaningful information from data and develop, use, and apply artificial intelligence (AI) and related algorithmic tools and strategies in order to guide informed, optimized, and contextually relevant decisionmaking processes.

Safety & cybersecurity Privacy management

The ability to handle with discretion all personal information shared online to protect one’s and others’ privacy.

Safety and cibersecurity

Implement strategies for data privacy principles (own’s and other’s data, such as personal data on customers, stakeholders, etc.).

Identify and counter threats to our digital safety and become less vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Recognize, plan, and implement organizational cyber security defences.

5.3. Competence area “Into Action”

Table 25. Competence “Taking the initiative” in EICAA-CF.

Taking the initiative in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• Take responsibility: assuming responsibility on a given task (“I am in charge of…”).

• Accountability: Someone who is accountable is completely responsible for what they do and must be able to give a satisfactory reason for it (Cambridge dictionary).. (“I am accountable for the outcomes of a given activity”)

• Independence refers to the ability to decide and determine for oneself what to do.

• Need of autonomy: Represents one’s strive to be independent and having control. Avoiding restrictions, rules, procedures and strong need for independence and autonomy (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007, p. 88).

• Proactivity: Proactive disposition is a tendency to initiate and maintain actions that directly alter the surrounding environment (Bateman & Crant, 1993).

• Self-starting: the impetus for action coming from the entrepreneur him- or herself; the entrepreneur’s actions are less driven by other people or immediate external demands (Frese & Gielnik, 2014).

Hint:

• Go for it.

Descriptors:

• Initiate processes that create value.

• Take up challenges.

• Act and work independently to achieve goals, stick to intentions and carry out planned tasks.

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Take responsibility Carry out the tasks I am given responsibly and in shared activities.

Take individual and group responsibility in value-creating activities.

Take responsibility in seizing new opportunities and when facing unprecedented challenges while implementing my business idea.

Delegate appropriately and provide context and training to ensure quality work.

Encourage others to take responsibility in valuecreating activities.

Work independently

“I can work alone”

Show independence in carryout out simple value-creating tasks.

I can initiate simple value-creating activities.

I can initiate valuecreating activities that involve contributions from others.

Praise initiative taken by others and reward it appropriately within my team and organisation.

[intrapreneurship]

Strive to work with autonomy and independence beyond the organisational constraints, and if necessary, avoid restrictions or procedures to pursue opportunities in the organisation.

Take action Show initiative in dealing with initiatives that alter the surrounding environment.

Actively face challenges, solve problems, and seize opportunities to create value.

Initiate action (impetus for action) on new ideas and opportunities, which will add value to a new or existing valuecreating venture.

Encourage others to take the initiative in solving problems and creating value within my team and organisation.

Table 26 Competence “Planning and management” in EICAA-CF

Planning and management in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• Planning and management: it refers to the set of skills to organise the resources (material, human, financial, technological or knowledge) associated with business action.

Hint: Prioritise, organise and follow up.

Descriptors:

• Set long-, medium- and short-term goals.

• Define priorities and action plans.

• Adapt to unforeseen Thread FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

INTERMEDIATE

Experiment-Dare Building independence

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

EXPERT

Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Define goals (own’s goals and goals related to the value-creating activity).

Be able to define clear and achievable goals related to a simple value-creating activity.

Be able to set shortterm goals I can act on.

Be able to define short-term, mid-term and long-term goals according to the vision of my (or my team's) value-creating activity.

(intrapreneurship)

I can adapt goals according to the planned available resources in the company.

Manage the need for creativity and the need for control so that my organisation’s capacity to achieve its goals is protected and nurtured.

Plan and organise conscientiously

Carry out a simple plan for value-creating activities.

Create an action plan with the different steps to achieve my goals.

Apply the basics of project management in managing a valuecreating activity

Design managerial procedures to effectively deliver value in challenging circumstances, adapting to changes where necessary

Define priorities

Able to explain the difference between urgent and important goals when stating the priority of given tasks.

Able to set my own priorities and define and prioritise the tasks accordingly.

Able to prioritise the relevant steps according to the valuecreating activity (new venture)

Define the priorities in complex and uncertain circumstances, with partial or ambiguous information, to achieve the goals and vision of the new venture. (new venture)

Define and develop sustainable business plans.

Explain the elements of a business model (competitors’ analysis, marketing plan, operations, etc.) and know the templates to define one.

Define a business model that has all the elements to deliver the value I have identified: identification of users, value provided, competitors’ analysis, strategic partnerships, etc.

Develop a business plan based on the model, describing how to achieve the value identified with aspects such as marketing plans, operations, finance plan, etc.

Be aware of the elements of the business plan to convince different stakeholders (investors, banks, clients) and can curate those based on the need and audience.

Keep and business model and business plan updated; Adapt to changes in the market or the technology to face new challenges and unexpected outcome and mobilise others for buying into opportunities arising from them.

Table 27. Competence “Process management” in EICAA-CF.

Definitions:

Process management in EICAA-CF

• Transition management: ability to manage the transitions from the creation to the growth of the new venture, e.g., role transitions of the entrepreneur (skills adaptation and identity change) and role transitions of the members of the teams.

• Redirection power: entrepreneurs’ agency over the entrepreneurial process, especially in relation to new information, failures and surprises (Mansoori & Lackéus, 2020).

Hint:

• Descriptors:

• Establish mechanisms to monitor progress of the new venture.

• Adapt to changes and be able to decide whether to persevere or redirect the strategy.

• Manage transitions of the new venture.

• Work agile to adapt to changes of the new venture.

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Monitor progress Monitor my own progress in a task in an objective way. Understand the difference between time invested and progress made towards the achievement of a given goal.

Be flexible and adapt to changes.

Be open to changes. Confront and deal with changes in a constructive way.

INTERMEDIATE

Experiment-Dare Building independence

Set measurable indicators that are relevant to monitor the progress of my value-creating activity.

Change my plans to achieve goals in light of changes that are outside my control.

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

Define and implement systematic data collection procedures to measure the defined indicators to monitor how effective my valuecreating activities are.

Be able to accept change as a fundamental element of the valuecreating activity. Anticipate and include change along the valuecreating process.

EXPERT

Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Able to make sense of data in relation to the measurable indicators and extract meaningful insights that inform about the progress made on the creating-value activity.

When changes present themselves, I am able to either capture the opportunity in it, mitigating negative impacts, or know when not to adapt.

Redirect your strategy

Understand the importance of making changes to the new venture according to the learning acquired along the process in information gathering activities.

Understand the need to be able to assertively follow through on my chosen strategy at times, and may need to be receptive of other stakeholders’ expectations at other times.

Be able to accept new directions of the value creating activity as new stakeholders get on board of the value creating activity (effectuation).

Redirection power: Revise the assumptions of the newventure based on information gathered from repeated testing.

Be able to balance the need of persevere versus the need of changing the orientation of the value-creating idea

Manage transitions

Ownership of the process

Explain the life cycle of a new venture and the different transitions in my role and my team members’ role, as well as the different competences that are required in each phase.

Able to use and develop different competences as they are required along the different phases of the new venture.

Able to manage the role transitions of myself (and my team’s) as the new venture develops. Identify the need for training, mentoring or coaching to manage the transition between roles to effectively manage the new venture and achieve the intended goals.

Help my team members transition through their respective roles in relation to the different requirements of the new venture and to the others’ role transitions.

Be aware of the expectations of different stakeholders at each stage of the business life-cycle.

Work agile Explain the difference between classical management and agile management methodologies. Explain the basics of agile management of work: small increments, fast cycles, etc.

Use agile methodologies to work in short cycles and get feedback from stakeholders that help validate the value creating idea along the process.

Design agile methodologies that are appropriate to new challenges in the venture’s development.

Be able to balance the need for analysis and the need for quick decision making and quick action to respond fast to the changes of the environment.

Table 28. Competence “Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk” in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk in EICAA-CF

• Uncertainty refers to the perception that is given by the impossibility of assigning a probability to an event (Hoskisson & Busenitz, 2002).

• Risk corresponds to situations where the decision-maker can draw the distributions of the outcomes of a set of events, whereas uncertainty refers to situations where it is impossible to estimate objective probabilities to the outcomes of events or it is even impossible to predict whether these events will occur. (Knight, 1921) In economics, risk is defined as a measure of the probability that an investment will offer a different return than expected. Risk is therefore an estimation while uncertainty is a perception.

• Tolerance of ambiguity: describes one’s ability to make decision with incomplete information. Making decision in the situation of high uncertainty (Moriano & Gorgievski, 2007, p. 88).

Hint: Make decisions dealing with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk.

Descriptors:

• Make decisions when the result of that decision is uncertain, when the information available is partial or ambiguous, or when there is a risk of unintended outcomes.

• Within the value-creating process, include structured ways of testing ideas and proto-types from the early stages, to reduce risks of failing.

• Handle fast-moving situations promptly and flexibly.

Thread FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce

Taking responsibility

EXPERT Expand-Transform

Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Cope with uncertainty and ambiguity.

Not afraid of making mistakes while trying new things.

Explore my own ways to achieve things.

Calculate risk. Identify examples of risks in my surroundings.

Describe risks related to a simple value-creating activity in which I take part.

Manage risk Identify and describe current and potential risks and ways to manage them.

Be able to discuss the role that information plays in reducing uncertainty, ambiguity and risk.

I can actively look for, compare and contrast different sources of information that help me reduce ambiguity, uncertainty, and risks in making decisions.

tell the difference between acceptable and unacceptable risks

Weigh up the risks and benefits of selfemployment with alternative career options, and make choices that reflect my preferences.

Critically evaluate the risks associated with an idea that creates value, taking into account a variety of factors

Critically evaluate the risks related to the formal set-up of a value-creating venture

Find ways of making decisions when the information is incomplete.

Pull together different viewpoints to take informed decisions when the degree of uncertainty is high

Make decisions evaluating the different elements in a situation that is uncertain and ambiguous.

Set up appropriate strategies for collecting and monitoring data, which help me take decisions based on sound evidence.

Apply the concept of affordable losses to make decisions when creating value.

Compare valuecreating activities based on a risk assessment.

Demonstrate that I can make decisions by weighing up both the risks and the expected benefits of a valuecreating activity.

Outline a risk management plan for guiding my (or my team's) choices while

Assess the risks my venture is exposed to as conditions change.

Evaluate high-risk long-term investments using a structured approach.

Use strategies to reduce the risks that may arise during the value-creating process.

Come up with strategies to reduce the risk of my valuecreating initiative becoming obsolete.

Test and experiment

Related to the concept of “Lean” as a way of minimising risks

Understand the mechanisms of testing hypotheses and assumptions related to the new venture (e.g., regarding the need identified, the target value, the designed idea…).

in the area in which I work. developing my valuecreating activity.

Identify key assumptions of the value-creating idea that need to be tested and refined along the value-creating process.

Design repeated “experiments” or tests to gather relevant information that check and revise the assumptions in any aspect of the new venture (customers, needs, value provided..)

Use effective strategies to evaluate results of experiments, accept or reject hypotheses, and if necessary, test and make a new hypothesis.

Table 29. Competence “Working with others” in EICAA-CF

Working with others in EICAA-CF

Definitions:

• Human competence is the ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people, both individually and in groups (Pavett & Lau 1983; cited in Chanlder & Jansen, 1992).

• Entrepreneurial team: group of entrepreneurs with a common goal which can only be achieved by appropriate combinations of individual entrepreneurial actions. (Harper, 2008).

• Leadership in entrepreneurship refers to the ability to influence others to strategically manage resources so that the best problem-solution fit is achieved in the search for the opportunity and the best supply-demand match is reached in the search of a competitive advantage (Covin & Slevin, 2002; cited in Ireland et al., 2003).

• Entrepreneurial bonding: creation and restructuring of relationships; creation of emotionally positive instrumental relationships with partners, employees and family members; managing the transitions in these relationships (Bird 1995/2019).

• The networking competence is defined as “the ability of entrepreneurs to develop and maintain long-term relationships with customers, suppliers, and other interested stakeholders” (Sajilan & Tehseen, 2019: p. 192; cited in Mejri & Zouaoui, 2020).

• Building and using networks: social interaction skills that enable an individual to establish, develop, and maintain sets of relationships with others who assist them in advancing their work or career (Gianesini et al., 2018).

Hint:

• Team up, work together, and network.

Descriptors:

• Work together and cooperate with others to develop ideas and turn them into action.

• Network.

• Solve conflicts and face up to competition positively when necessary.

• Manage instrumental relationships.

Thread FOUNDATION

INTERMEDIATE

ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce

Accept differences inside and outside of the team and enrich the value creating activity

Show respect for others, their background, and situations. Respect different social and cultural norms.

Value and use diversity as a source of ideas and opportunities and as a source of learning.

Support diversity within my team or organisation.

Develop strategies to enrich my team’s work with diverse ideas from outside the organisation and turn them into valuable new solutions or products. Effective at getting the most out of the diversity in a team, while also managing the cultural barriers and risks.

Develop emotional intelligence.

Empathy, assertiveness, conflict resolution

Listen actively (to others’ ideas and to the customers)

Includes managing

Show and develop empathy towards others.

Express my (my team’s) value-creating ideas assertively

Help others develop empathy and assertivity.

Effectively deal with nonassertive behavior.

Effectively manage team dynamics and conflicts effectively.

Discuss the benefits of listening to other people’s ideas for achieving my (or my team’s) goals. Explain strategies to listen to other stakeholders.

Describe different techniques for listening and managing relationships with end users.

I can put in place strategies to actively listen to my end users and act on their (implicit and explicit) needs.

I can pull together information from a wide range of sources to understand my end users’ needs, and (re-) interpret their needs according to meaningful insights. This is related to listening beyond the

customers

Team up. Build a team

Open open to work alone as well as with others, playing different roles and taking some responsibility.

Work with a range of individuals and teams and know which role fits me best in a team.

I can compose the best team for a project based on the individual knowledge, skills, and attitudes of each member so that the team is balanced (has complementary skills) for the value-creating activity.

words of the users (to emotions and feelings) and they willingness to say what you want, and delve into the real needs.

Able to communicate the team’s potential to develop the valuecreating idea to get the necessary support from investors and other stakeholders.

(intrapreneurship)

Build an organisation’s capacity to create value by encouraging and fostering people to work together.

Work together

Involve others in my value-creating activities (peers, and stakeholders).

Select a team of people who can work together in implementing a business idea.

Structure a team by identifying roles and tasks to achieve the goals of the business idea.

Design working methods and incentives that enable team members to work well together.

Manage instrumental relationships (Entrepreneurial bonding)

Explain and identify instrumental relationships that provide value in a value-creating activity. Explain the meaning and forms of association: cooperation and peer-topeer support (for example, family and other communities).

Creation of emotionally positive instrumental relationships that support the valuecreating activity.

Manage emotionally positive instrumental relationships, including investors, partners, peers and family members.

Managing the transitions of the instrumental relationships along the process (dissolving partnerships, succession planning…)

Expand your network.

Open to establishing new contacts and cooperation with others (individuals and groups).

Establish new relationships to get the support needed to turn ideas into action, including emotional support (for example, joining a mentor network).

Be effective at networking with new contacts as well as building strong ties with existing contacts.

Proactively and regularly make contact with the right people inside and outside my organisation to support my (or my team's) value-creating activity (for example, at conferences or on social media).

Use my network to bring together different perspectives to accelerate and enrich my value-creating process. Design effective processes to build and manage networks of different or new stakeholders, assign them roles and keep them engaged.

Table 30. Competence “Learning from experience” in EICAA-CF

Learning through experience in EICAA

Definitions:

• Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes about something, from study, practice, example/observation or experience. (Baron, 2006)

• Experiential learning starts from assuming that experience provokes knowledge (Kolb, 1984). By doing something, one reflects on how one does it and is able to reach generalizations and discover patterns (Baron, 2006).

• Human capital refers to the potential of people to deliver results based on their knowledge, experience or skills (Becker, 1968). Skills and capacity that reside in the people (Gianesini et al., 2018). Human capital is viewed traditionally as a function of education and experience, the latter reflecting both training and learning by doing.

• Acquisition: refers to the transformation from experience (and not knowledge) to skills, while transfer is the application of knowledge acquire in one situation to another (Unger et al. 2011). (Gianesini et al., 2018).

• Orientation towards learning: refers to the fact that successful entrepreneurs search for new knowledge and skills in order to develop themselves. It refers to participating in training and development activities, following up on new developments, knowing where to find relevant information and being interested in new methods and techniques that are relevant for their profession (Kyndt & Baert, 2015).

Hint:

• Learn by doing.

Descriptors:

• Use any initiative for value creation as a learning opportunity.

• Learn with others, including peers and mentors.

• Reflect and learn from both success and failure (your own and other people’s).

Thread FOUNDATION

Discover – Explore Relying on support from others

INTERMEDIATE

Experiment-Dare Building independence

ADVANCED

Improve-Reinforce

Taking responsibility

EXPERT

Expand-Transform

Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Reflect.

On failures, achievements

Give and collect feedback

Learn to learn. Understand the need of learning to learn.

Actively search opportunities to learn.

Help others to learn

Learn from experience.

Find examples of failures that have led to valuable achievements and the creation of value.

Reflect on failures and achievements (mine and others’), their causes, and learn from them, so that I improve my ability to provide value

Help others reflect on their achievements and temporary failures by providing honest and constructive feedback

I can take my team or the organisation to a higher level of performance, based on the feedback collected and by learning lessons from achievements and failures.

Anticipate that my abilities and competence will grow with experience, through both successes and failures.

Actively engaging in opportunities to improve my strengths and reduce or compensate for my weaknesses through a variety of learning opportunities (interaction with others, training, mentoring,…)

Even when opportunities for learning are not available in my organisation or network, I will proactively seek them out elsewhere.

Help others develop their strengths and reduce or compensate for their weaknesses.

Reflect on my competence of learning to learn and design strategies to improve my future learning to learn. (Metalearning)

Recognise what I have learnt from previous experiences and in value-creating activities.

Explain the process of learning from experience and the relevance to the entrepreneurial activity.

Learn from the interaction with others (peers, mentors, stakeholders) and from the experiences (positive and negative) of the value-creating activity

Learn from my own thoughts, actions and feelings.

Learn about the business, but also about myself, my relationships, the customers and other stakeholders.

Help others reflect on their experience and interaction with others.

Help others spot barriers to learning from experience (e.g., lack of reflection, closed-mindedness, …) and develop strategies to become more effective at it.

(intrapreneurship)

Foster a culture of learning in the organisation

6. Validation and final EICAA-CF

Based on the EICAA rubric system, a survey was developed which consisted in 72 items. The survey was validated and refined in two pre-tests. In the second pre-test, we performed confirmatory analysis. We observed two different factors in competence Design, which we solved by splitting the Design competency into two: “Design Orientation” and “Design Validation”. Thus, competence Design Orientation contains the threads related to the identification of needs by immersing with the users:

• Design focus

• Immerse with your users

• Identify needs

Competence “Design Validation” entails the threads related to validating the new venture through prototyping, testing and co-creating with users.

• Prototype

• Experiment & test

• Co-create

Since these aspects are strongly connected with the competences related to the development of the new venture, we moved this competence to competence area “Into action”. Additionally, thread “Experiment & test” which initially belonged to competence “Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk” has been moved to this new competence due to its strong correlation with threads prototype and co-create.

The second change led to changing competence “Mobilising Resources” into “Mobilising (financial) resources” and adding a competence “Entrepreneurial Literacy” in competence area “Resources”. Particularly, we grouped the threads that are mostly related to the aspect of acquiring resources together:

• Acquire resources (material and non-material)

• Make the most of limited resources

• Budget

• Find funding

• Understand taxation

On the other hand, we allocated the threads that deal with the knowledge of the different business and enterprising operations in a new competence labelled “Enterprising Literacy”

• Understand economic and financial concepts

• Understand marketing and sales concepts

• Enterprising literacy

• Technical-legal aspects

Further details of the process of survey construction and validation are provided in the deliverables associated to work package 3. The final EICAA-Competence Framework is shown in Table 31. Figure 3 provides a graphical representation of the competence framework.

Figure 3. Visual representation of EICAA-CF

1. Ideas and Opportunities

1.1 Spotting opportunities

Ability or capacity to perceive changed conditions and overlooked possibilities in the environment that represent potential sources of value to a venture.

• Analyse the context/Scan the environment

• Identify, recognise challenges

• Identify, create and seize opportunities

2. Resources

1.2 Design orientation

Ability to interact and immerse with customers (and other stakeholders) to identify their needs and design an offer that satisfy the identified needs.

• Design focus

• Immerse with your users

• Identify needs

1.3 Creativity

Ability to discover and create ideas and opportunities; to combine knowledge, experience and personal resources from different areas in new ways

• Act creatively/Be curious and open

• Solve problems creatively

• Generate ideas

• Be innovative

1.4. Vision

A projected mental image or visualized representation that an entrepreneur or intrapreneur creates for themselves and their new venture. It serves as a guiding framework that shapes their aspirations, goals, and actions.

• Imagine/build a vision for the new venture and oneself

• Think strategically

• Guide action

1.5 Valuing ideas

Process of evaluating and selecting high quality opportunities and ideas and acting on them to provide value to others.

• Recognise the value of ideas

• Share and protect ideas

1.6 Ethical and sustainable thinking

2.1 Self-awareness and self-efficacy

Ability to conduct oneself and the new venture at hand in a social and environmental conscious manner.

The individuals’ conscious belief in their own ability to bring about desired results in the performance of a particular task (Bandura, 1997)

2.2 Motivation and perseverance Perseverance: Ability to sustain goal-directed action and energy when confronting difficulties and obstacles that impede goal

• Behave ethically

• Think sustainably

• Assess impact

• Be accountable

• Follow your aspirations

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses

• Believe in your ability

• Shape your future

• Maintain focus (consistency of interest)

• Stay motivated and passionate

• Persevere/Tenacity/Don’t give up

• Be resilient

Table 31. Final version of the EICAA-CF. Area

3. Into Action

achievement (Morris et al., 2013).

2.3 Mobilising resources Ability to acquire and systematize the operating resources needed to start and grow an organization (Baum & Locke, 2004).

2.4 Enterprising literacy Knowledge about the business functions and processes to develop the value creating activity efficiently.

2.5. Mobilizing others Ability to involve others in the entrepreneurial project (stakeholders) in a way that generates participation and adherence to the initiative.

2.6. Digital competence Confident, critical and responsible use of, and engagement with, digital technologies for learning, at work, and for participation in society

3.1 Taking the initiative Ability to initiate and sustain the actions required to operate and manage the new venture, while taking full responsibility for one's own actions.

3.2 Planning and management Process of systematically developing a strategic roadmap and implementing effective organizational practices to ensure the successful launch, operation, and growth of the venture.

3.3 Process management Ability to lead, monitor and redirect the strategy of the new venture as it evolves in response to internal and external factors.

3.4 Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk

Ability to effectively manage and navigate situations that involve unknown outcomes, unclear information, and potential hazards or challenges.

3.5 Design validation Implementing strategies to prototype, test and experiment with the users, including strategies to include the

• Acquire resources (material and non-material)

• Make the most of limited resources

• Budget

• Find funding

• Understand taxation

• Understand economic and financial concepts

• Understand marketing and sales concepts

• Enterprising literacy

• Technical-legal aspects

• Inspire and get inspired

• Persuade and negotiate

• Communicate effectively

• Use media effectively

• General digital competences at work

• Digital competences for the new venture

• Information and data literacy

• Safety and cybersecurity

• Take responsibility

• Work independently

• Take action

• Define goals

• Plan and organise conscientiously

• Define priorities

• Make the most of your time (time management)

• Define and develop sustainable business plans

• Monitor progress

• Be flexible and adaptive to changes

• Redirect your strategy

• Manage transitions

• Work agile

• Cope with uncertainty and ambiguity

• Calculate risk

• Manage risk

• Prototype

• Experiment and test

• Co-create

users in the design processes (users as cocreators).

3.6 Working with others Ability to understand and work with other people, both individually and in groups.

3.7 Learning through experience Process of acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes about something from practice and experience, including learning from failures.

• Accept diversity (people’s differences)

• Develop emotional intelligence

• Listen actively

• Team up

• Work together

• Manage instrumental relationships

• Get support and build a network

• Expand your network

• Reflect

• Learn to learn

• Learn from experience

7. Conclusions

The present document has presented EICAA Competence Framework (EICAA-CF), which defines a complete set of competences that entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs should possess to turn opportunities into ideas and into the deployment and growth of value creating activities. EICAA-CF largely relies on EntreComp, the entrepreneurial competence framework supported by the European Commission. EICAA-CF maintains the same three competence areas of EntreComp (“Ideas and Opportunities”, “Resources” and “Into Action”) and fine tunes some of its contents, according to a systematic literature review covering more than 140 highly cited articles and documents.

In short, EICAA-CF adds more emphasis on the following aspects:

• Design, i.e., the competence of designing products, services and solutions with constant interaction with the target group (mainly users). Solutions arise from needs and challenges observed in the target group, can be co-created with the target group themselves and is prototyped and iterated with the target group. This process goes beyond the traditional approach of identifying needs; the needs and their solutions are co-created with the users/beneficiaries of the value creating activity.

• Digital: today’s entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs need to use efficiently the general digital tools and infrastructures needed to manage any kind of business (e.g., spreadsheets, email, website…) as well as those tools that are specific to the success of that specific value creating activity (e.g., analytics, CRM). Awareness and knowledge on cybersecurity and data protection are also necessary.

• Process-view: “entrepreneurship as a process” refers to the dynamic nature of the entrepreneurial activity, which consists of different phases from the early start-up until maturity and requires different entrepreneurial competences in each of them. This perspective counterbalances the traditional approach of planning and managing, often under the requirement of writing a solid business plan. The uncertainty present in entrepreneurial contexts makes planning either a very difficult task or a task that needs to be revised constantly. Thus, EICAA-CF emphasizes the need of adapting to changes, working in small increments, measuring progress and redirecting the strategy of the new venture when necessary. Entrepreneurs need to take ownership of the process as well, which means that they should manage the whole process, rather than being a passive (or reactive) actor along the process.

EICAA-CF also reduces the progression levels from eight, as it was designed in EntreComp, to four. The aim is defining a more manageable framework that can be translated into a compact survey (EICAA-Competence Monitor).

Future work on EICAA-Competence Monitor will validate the structure of the current framework by conducting an exhaustive test on thousands of university students, and entrepreneurs/intrapreneurs. After validation, EICAA-CF might suffer some changes, which will be updated and communicated

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Appendix: EntreComp competences and threads

A.1. Area Ideas & Opportunities

AREA: Ideas & Opportunities

SPOTTING OPPORTUNITIES

HINT: Use your imagination and abilities to identify opportunities for creating value.

Identify and seize opportunities to create value by exploring the social, cultural and economic landscape. Identify needs and challenges that need to be met.

1. I can find opportunities to help others.

2. I can recognise opportunities to create value in my community and surroundings.

Establish new connections and bring together scattered elements of the landscape to create opportunities to create value. Identify, create and seize opportunities.

3. I can explain what makes an opportunity to create value.

4. I can proactively look for opportunities to create value, including out of necessity.

5. I can describe different analytical approaches to identify entrepreneurial opportunities.

6. I can use my knowledge and understanding of the context to make opportunities to create value.

7. I can judge opportunities for creating value and decide whether to follow these up at different levels of the system I am working in (for example, micro, meso or macro).

8. I can spot and quickly take advantage of an opportunity.

Focus on challenges.

1. I can find different examples of challenges that need solutions.

2. I can recognise challenges in my community and surroundings that I can contribute to solving.

3. I can identify opportunities to solve problems in alternative ways.

4. I can redefine the description of a challenge, so that alternative opportunities address it may become apparent.

5. I can take apart established practices and challenge mainstream thought to create opportunities and look at challenges in different ways.

6. I can judge the right time to take an opportunity to create value.

7. I can cluster different opportunities or identify synergies among different opportunities to make the most out of them

8. I can define opportunities where I can maintain a competitive advantage. Uncover needs.

1. I can find examples of groups who have benefited from a solution to a given problem.

2. I can identify needs in my community and surroundings that have not been met.

3. I can explain that different groups may have different needs.

4. I can establish which user group, and which needs, I want to tackle through creating value.

5. I can carry out a needs analysis involving relevant stakeholders

6. I can identify challenges related to the contrasting needs and interests of different stakeholders.

7. I can produce a ‘roadmap’ which matches the needs with the actions needed to deal with them and helps me create value.

8. I can design projects which aim to anticipate future needs

Analyse the context.

1. I can tell the difference between different areas where value can be created (for example, at home, in the community, in the environment, or in the economy or society).

2. I can recognise the different roles the public, private and third sectors play in my region or country.

3. I can tell the difference between contexts for creating value (for example, communities and informal networks, existing organisations, the market).

4. I can identify my personal, social and professional opportunities for creating value, both in existing organisations or by setting up new ventures.

5. I can identify the boundaries of the system that are relevant to my (or my team's) value-creating activity.

6. I can analyse an existing value- creation activity by looking at it as a whole and identifying opportunities to develop it further.

7. I can monitor relevant trends and see how they create threats and new opportunities to create value.

8. I can promote a culture within my organisation that is open to spotting the weak signals of

change, leading to new opportunities for creating value.

AREA: Ideas & Opportunities CREATIVITY

Develop creative and purposeful ideas. Develop several ideas and opportunities to create value, including better solutions to existing and new challenges. Explore and experiment with innovative approaches. Combine knowledge and resources to achieve valuable effects.

Be curious and open.

9. I am curious about new things.

10. I can explore new ways to make use of existing resources.

11. I can experiment with my skills and competences in situations that are new to me.

12. I can actively search for new solutions that meet my needs.

13. I can actively search for new solutions that improve the value-creating process.

14. I can combine my understanding of different contexts to transfer knowledge, ideas and solutions across different areas.

Develop ideas.

15. I can develop ideas that solve problems that are relevant to me and my surroundings.

16. Alone and as part of a team, I can develop ideas that create value for others.

17. I can experiment with different techniques to generate alternative solutions to problems, using available resources in an effective way.

18. I can test the value of my solutions with end users.

19. I can describe different techniques to test innovative ideas with end users.

20. I can set up processes to involve stake-holders in finding, developing and testing ideas.

21. I can tailor a variety of ways of involving stakeholders to suit the needs of my value-creating activity.

22. I can design new processes to involve stakeholders in generating, developing and testing ideas that create value.

Define problems.

1. I can approach open-ended problems (problems that can have many solutions) with curiosity.

2. I can explore open-ended problems in many ways so as to generate multiple solutions.

3. I can take part in group dynamics aimed at defining open-ended problems.

4. I can reshape open-ended problems to fit my skills.

5. I can describe and explain different approaches to shaping open-ended problems and different problem-solving strategies.

6. I can help others create value by encouraging experimentation and using creative techniques to approach problems and generate solutions.

7. I can initiate, develop, manage and complete a creative project.

8. I can use a mix of creative techniques to keep generating value over time. Design value.

1. I can assemble objects that create value for me and others.

2. I can improve existing products, services and processes so that they better meet my needs or those of my peers and the community.

3. I can identify the basic functions that a prototype should have to illustrate the value of my idea.

4. I can assemble, test and progressively refine prototypes that simulate the value I want to create.

5. I can create (alone or with others) products or services that solve my problems and my needs.

6. I can develop and deliver value in stages, launching with the core fea-tures of my (or my team's) idea and progressive-ly adding more.

7. I can apply different design approaches to create value through new products, processes or services.

8. I can design and put in place innova-tive processes to create value. Be innovative.

1. I can find examples of innovative products, services and solutions.

2. I can describe how some innovations have transformed society.

3. I can tell the difference between types of innovations (for example, process versus product innovation and social innovation, incremental versus disruptive innovation).

4. I can judge if an idea, product or process is innovative or just new to me.

5. I can describe how innovations diffuse in society, culture and the market.

6. I can describe different levels of innovation (for example, incremental, breakthrough or transformational) and their role in value-creating activities.

7. I can identify the steps needed to research the potential for an innovative idea in light of its development into an existing enterprise, a new venture or an opportunity for social change.

8. I can manage innovation processes that respond to emerging needs and make the most of opportunities as they become available.

AREA: Ideas & Opportunities VISION

Work towards your vision of the future. Imagine the future. Develop a vision to turn ideas into action. Visualise future scenarios to help guide effort and action. Imagine.

1. I can imagine a desirable future.

2. I can develop simple future scenarios where value is created for my community and surroundings.

3. I can develop (alone or with others) an inspiring vision for the future that involves others.

4. I can build future scenarios around my value-creating activity.

5. I can use my understanding of the context to identify different strategic visions for creating value.

6. I can discuss my (or my team's) strategic vision for creating value.

7. I can develop (alone or with others) and compare different future scenari-os.

5. I can explain what a vision is and what purpose it serves

9. I am aware of what is needed to build a vision.

8. I can show different audiences the benefits of my vision during turbulent times Think strategically.

10. I can explain the role of a vision statement for strategic planning.

11. I can prepare a vision statement for my (or my team's) value-creating activity that guides internal deci-sion-making throughout the whole process of creating value.

12. I can plan backwards from my vision to design the necessary strategy to achieve it.

13. I can encour-age enthusi-asm and a sense of belonging around a convincing vision. Guide action.

3. My vision for creating value drives me to make the effort to turn ideas into action.

4. I can decide what type of vision for creating value I would like to contribute to.

5. I can identify the changes needed to achieve my vision.

6. I can promote initiatives for change and transformation that contribute to my vision.

7. I can identify challenges related to my (or my team's) vision, while respecting the different levels of the system and the variety of stakeholders affected.

8. I can create (alone or with others) a ‘roadmap’ based on my vision for creating value.

AREA: Ideas & Opportunities VALUING IDEAS

Make the most of ideas and opportunities. Judge what value is in social, cultural and economic terms. Recognise the potential an idea has for creating value and identify suitable ways of making the most out of it. Recognise the value of ideas.

1. I can find examples of ideas that have value for myself and others.

2. I can show how different groups, such as firms and institutions, create value in my community and surroundings.

3. I can tell the difference between social, cultural and economic value.

4. I can decide which type of value I want to act on and then choose the most appropriate pathway to do so.

5. I recognise the many forms of value that could be created through entre-preneurship, such as social, cultural or economic value.

6. I can break down a value chain into its different parts and identify how value is added in each part.

7. I can develop strategies to effectively make the most of opportunities to create value in my organisation or venture.

8. I can state the value of a new idea from different stakeholders' perspectives. Share and protect ideas.

1. I can clarify that other people’s ideas can be used and acted on, while respecting their rights.

2. I can explain that ideas can be shared and circulated for the benefit of every-one or can be protected by certain rights, for example, copy-rights or patents.

3. I can tell the difference between types of licences that can be used to share ideas and protect rights.

4. I can choose the most appropriate licence for the purpose of sharing and protecting the value created by my ideas.

5. I can tell the difference between trademarks, registered design rights, patents, geographical indications, trade secrets, confidentiality agreements and copyright licences, including open, public-domain licences such as creative com-mons.

6. When creating ideas with others, I can outline a dissemination and exploitation agreement that benefits all partners involved.

7. I can develop a tailored strategy on intellectual property rights that deals with geographic requirements.

8. I can develop a strategy on intellectual property rights that is tailored to the age of my portfolio.

AREA: Ideas & Opportunities

ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABLE THINKING

Assess the consequences and impact of ideas, opportunities and actions. Assess the consequences of ideas that bring value and the effect of entrepreneurial action on the target community, the market, society and the environment. Reflect on how sustainable long-term social, cultural and economic goals are, and the course of action chosen. Act responsibly.

Behave ethically.

1. I can recognise behaviours that show integrity, honesty, responsibility, courage and commitment.

2. I can describe in my own words the importance of integrity and ethical values.

3. I can apply ethical thinking to consumption and production processes.

4. I am driven by honesty and integrity when taking decisions.

5. I can argue that ideas for creating value should be supported by ethics and values relating to gender, equality, fairness, social justice and environmental sustainability.

6. I can take responsibility for promoting ethical behaviour in my area of influence, (for example, by promoting gender balance highlighting inequalities and any lack of integrity).

7. I make it my priority to make sure that ethical behaviour is respected and promoted in my area of influence.

8. I take action against unethical behaviour. Think sustainably.

1. I can list examples of environmentally friendly behaviour that benefits a community.

2. I can recognise examples of environmentally friendly behaviour by companies that creates value for society as a whole.

3. I can identify practices that are not sustainable and their implications for the environment.

4. I can produce a clear problem statement when faced with practices that are not sustainable.

5. I can discuss the impact an organisation has on the environ-ment (and vice versa).

6. I can discuss the relationship between society and technical developments, relating to their implications for the environment.

7. I can choose adequate methods for analysing environmental impact based on their advantages and disadvantages.

8. I can contribute to self-regulation discussions within my sector of operations. Assess impact.

1. I can find and list examples of changes caused by human action in social, cultural, environmental or economic contexts.

2. I can tell the difference between the impact of a value-creating activity on the target community and the broader impact on society.

3. I can identify the impact that taking up opportunities will have on me and my team, on the target group and on the surrounding community.

4. I can identify stakeholders who are affected by the change brought about by my (or my team's) value-creating activity, including stakeholders who cannot speak up (for example, future generations, climate or nature).

5. I can analyse the implications of my value-creating activity within the boundaries of the system I am working in.

6. I can define the purpose of the impact assessment, impact monitoring, and evaluation of impact.

7. I can choose ‘measure indicators’ to monitor and assess the impact of my value-creating activity.

8. I can carry out impact assessment, impact monitoring, and impact evaluation on my valuecreating activity.

Be accountable

4. I can tell the difference between accounting for use of re-sources and accounting for the impact of my value-creating activity on stakeholders and the environment.

5. I can tell the difference between input, output, outcomes and impact.

6. I can discuss a range of accountability methods for both functional and strategic accountability.

7. I can use the accountability methods that hold me responsible to our internal and external stakeholders.

8. I can design ways to be accountable to all of our stakeholders.

A.2. Area Resources AREA:

Resources

SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-EFFICACY

Believe in yourself and keep developing.

Reflect on your needs, aspirations and wants in the short, medium and long term Identify and assess your individual and group strengths and weaknesses. Believe in your ability to influence the course of events, despite uncertainty, setbacks and temporary failures. Follow your aspirations.

Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

1. I can identify my needs, wants, interests and goals.

2. I can describe my needs, wants, interests and goals.

3. I can commit to fulfilling my needs, wants, interests and goals.

4. I can reflect on my individual and group needs, wants, interests and aspirations in relation to opportunities and future prospects.

5. I can translate my needs, wants, interests and aspirations into goals that help me reach them.

6. I can help others to reflect on their needs, wants, interests and aspirations and how they can turn these into goals

1. I can identify things I am good at and things I am not good at.

3. I can judge my strengths and weak-nesses and those of others in relation to opportunities for creating value.

4. I am driven by the desire to use my strengths and abilities to make the most of opportunities to create value.

5. I can team up with others to compensate for our weaknesses and add to our strengths.

6. I can help others identify their strengths and weaknesses. Believe in your ability.

1. I believe in my ability to do what I am asked successfully.

2. I believe in my ability to achieve what I intend to.

3. I can judge the control I have over my achievements (compared with any control from outside influences).

4. I believe I can influence people and situations for the better

5. I believe in my ability to carry out what I have imagined and planned, despite obstacles, limited re-sources and resistance from others.

6. I believe in my ability to understand and take the good out of experiences that others may label as failures.

Shape your future.

1. I can list different types of jobs and their key functions.

2. I can describe which qualities and abilities are needed for different jobs, and which of these qualities and abilities I have.

3. I can describe my skills and competences relating to career options, including selfemployment.

4. I can use my skills and competences to change my career path, as a result of new opportunities or from necessity.

5. I can discuss how a realistic understanding and evaluation of my personal attitudes, skills and knowledge can influence my decision-making, relationships with other people and quality of life.

6. I can choose professional development opportunities with my team and organisation based on a clear understanding our strengths and weaknesses.

7. I can design professional development strategies for my team and organisation based on a clear understanding our strengths and weaknesses, in relation to both current and future opportunities to create value.

8. I can design strategies to overcome my (or my team’s or organisation’s) weaknesses and to develop our strengths in anticipating future needs.

AREA: Resources MOTIVATION AND PERSEVERANCE

Stay focused and don't give up.

Be determined to turn ideas into action and satisfy your need to achieve.

Be prepared to be patient and keep trying to achieve your long-term individual or group aims.

Be resilient under pressure, adversity, and temporary failure.

Stay driven

1. I am driven by the possibility to do or contribute to something that is good for me or for others.

2. I am motivated by the idea of creating value for myself and others.

3. I can anticipate the feeling of achieving my goals and this motivates me.

4. I can regulate my own behaviour to stay driven and achieve the benefits of turning ideas into action.

Be determined

1. I see tasks as challenges to do my best.

2. I am motivated by challenges.

3. I can set challenges to motivate myself.

4. I am willing to put effort in and use resources to overcome challenges and achieve my (or my team's) goals.

5. I drive my effort by using my desire for achievement and belief in my ability to achieve.

6. I can coach others to stay motivated, encouraging them to commit to what they want to achieve.

7. I can create the right climate to motivate my team (for example, by celebrating successes, by learning from failures and by encouraging innovative ways to tackle problems).

8. I consider all outcomes as temporary solutions appropriate to their time and context, and so am motivated to make sure they develop in a continuous cycle of improvement and innovation.

Focus on what keeps you motivated.

2. I can recognize different ways of motivating myself and others to create value.

3. I can reflect on the social incentives associated with having a sense of initiative and creating value for myself and others.

4. I can tell the difference between personal and external factors that motivate me or others when creating value.

5. I can use strategies to stay motivated (for example, set goals, monitor perfor-mance and evaluate my progress).

6. I can use strategies to keep my team motivated and focused on creating value.

7. I can design effective ways to attract talented people and keep them motivated.

8. I can reward initiative, effort, and achievement appropriately within my team and organisation.

Be resilient.

1. I show passion and willingness to achieve my goals.

2. I am determined and persevere when trying to achieve my (or my team's) goals.

3. I can over-come simple adverse circumstances. I can judge when it is not worth continuing with an idea.

4. I can persevere in the face of adversities when trying to achieve my goals.

5. I can devise strategies to overcome standard adverse circum-stances.

6. I can cope with unexpected change, setbacks and failures (for example, job loss).

7. I can make sure that my team or organisation stay positive when making difficult decisions and dealing with failure.

Don’t give up.

1. I do not give up and I can keep going even when facing difficulties.

2. I am not afraid of working hard to achieve my goals.

3. I can delay achieving my goals in order to gain greater value, thanks to prolonged effort.

4. I can maintain effort and interest, despite setbacks.

5. I can celebrate short-term achievements, in order to stay motivated.

6. I can inspire others to work hard on their goals by showing passion and a strong sense of ownership.

7. I can stay focused on my vision and goals, despite challenges.

AREA: Resources MOBILISING RESOURCES

Get and manage the re-sources you need.

Get and manage the material, non-material and digital resources needed to turn ideas into action. Make the most of limited resources.

1. I can recognise that resources are not unlimited.

2. I can appreciate the importance of sharing resources with others.

3. I can experiment with different combinations of resources to turn my ideas into action.

Get and manage the competences needed at any stage, including technical, legal, tax and digital competences (for example through suitable partnerships, networking, outsourcing and crowd-sourcing). Manage resources (material and non-material).

4. I can get and manage the necessary resources to turn my idea into action.

5. I can develop a plan for dealing with limited resources when setting up my value-creating activity.

6. I can get together the necessary resources to develop my value-creating activity.

7. I can allocate enough resources to each step of my (or my team's) action plan and for the valuecreating activity (for example, time, finances, and my team’s skills, knowledge and experience).

8. I can judge the key resources needed to support an innovative idea or opportunity to develop an existing business, launch a new venture, or initiate a social enterprise. Use resources responsibly.

1. I value my possessions and use them responsibly.

2. I can describe how resources last longer through reuse, repair and recycling.

3. I can discuss the principles of circular economy and resource efficiency.

4. I use re-sources responsibly and efficiently (for example, energy, materials in the supply chain or manufacturing process, public spaces).

5. I take into account the non-material cost of using resources when taking decisions about my valuecreating activities.

6. I can choose and put in place effective resource- management procedures (for example, life-cycle analysis, solid waste).

7. I can identify the opportunities that use resources efficiently and the circular economy brings to my organisation.

1. I can recognise different uses for my time (for example, studying, playing, rest-ing).

2. I value my time as a scarce resource.

8. I can design and put in place innovative ways to lower the overall impact of my value-creating activity on the environment, the community and society, and measure the improvement. Make the most of your time.

3. I can discuss the need for investing time in different value-creating activities.

4. I can use my time effectively to achieve my goals.

5. I can manage my time effectively, using techniques and tools that help make me (or my team) productive.

6. I can help others manage their time effectively.

7. I can put in place effective time- management procedures.

8. I can develop effective time- management procedures that meet the specific needs of my valuecreating activity. Get support.

1. I can look for help when I am having difficulty achieving what I have decided to do.

2. I can identify sources of help for my value-creating activity (for example, teachers, peers, mentors).

3. I can describe the concepts of division of labour and job specialisation.

4. I can find and list public and private services to support my value-creating activity (for example, incubator, social enterprise advisors, start-up angels, chamber of commerce).

5. I can find digital solutions (for example, free, paid for, or open-source) that can help me manage my value- creating activities efficiently.

6. I can find support to help me take advantage of an opportunity to create value (for example, advisor or consultancy services, peer or mentor support).

7. I can effectively delegate tasks within and outside my organisation to make the most value (for example, outsourcing, partnering, acquisitions, crowdsourcing).

8. I can develop a network of flexible and responsive providers from outside the organisation who support my value-creating activity.

AREA: Resources

FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC LITERACY

Develop financial and economic know-how.

Estimate the cost of turning an idea into a value-creating activity. Plan, put in place and evaluate financial decisions over time. Manage financing to make sure my value-creating activity can last over the long term. Understand economic and financial concepts.

Budget.

1. I can recall basic terminology and symbols related to money.

2. I can explain simple economic concepts (for example, supply and demand, market price, trade).

3. I can use the concept of opportunity costs and comparative advantage to explain why exchanges happen between individuals, regions and nations.

4. I can read income statements and balance sheets.

5. I can explain the difference between a balance sheet and a profit-and-loss account.

6. I can build financial indica-tors (for exam-ple, return on investment).

7. I can use financial indicators to assess the financial health of a value-creating activity.

8. I can use financial indicators to compare the financial health of my value-creating activity with that of competitors.

1. I can judge what to use my money for.

2. I can draw up a simple household budget in a responsible manner.

3. I can draw up a budget for a value- creating activity.

4. I can judge the cash-flow needs of a value-creating activity.

5. I can apply the financial planning and forecasting concepts that I need to turn ideas into action (for example, profit or not for profit).

6. I can judge the cash-flow needs of a complex project.

7. I can judge the cash-flow needs of an organisation that handles many value- creating activities that depend on each other.

8. I can create a plan for the financial and economic long-term sustainability of my (or my team's) value-creating activity. Find funding.

1. I can identify the main types of income for families, businesses, non-profit organisa-tions and the state.

2. I can describe the main role of banks in the economy and society.

3. I can explain that value-creating activities can take different forms (a business, a social enter-prise, a non-profit organi-sation and so on) and can have different structures of ownership (individual company, limited company, co-operative and so on).

4. I can identify public and private sources of funding for my value-creating activity (for example, prizes, crowd-funding, and shares).

5. I can choose the most appropri-ate sources of funding to start up or expand a valuecreating activity.

6. I can apply for public or private business support programmes, financing schemes, public subsidies or calls for tender.

7. I can raise funds and secure revenue from different sources, and manage the diversity of those sources.

8. I can judge an opportunity as a possible investor. Understand taxation.

1. I can outline the purpose of taxation.

2. I can explain how taxation finances the activities of a country and its part in providing public goods and services.

3-4. I can estimate the main accountancy and tax obligations I need to fulfil to meet the tax requirements for my activities.

5. I can estimate how my financial decisions (investments, buying assets, goods and so on) affect my tax.

6. I can make financial decisions based on current taxation schemes.

7. I can make financial decisions based on taxation schemes of different countries and territories.

AREA: Resources

MOBILISING OTHERS

Inspire, engage and get others on board. Inspire and enthuse relevant stakeholders. Get the support needed to achieve valuable outcomes. Demonstrate effective communication, persuasion, negotiation and leadership. Inspire and get inspired.

1. I show enthusiasm for challenges.

2. I am actively involved in creating value for others.

3. I do not get discouraged by difficulties.

4. I can lead by example.

5. I can get endorsement from others to support my value-creating activity.

6. I can inspire others, despite challenging circumstances.

7. I can maintain momentum with my team, partners and stakeholders when involved in a challenging situation.

8. I can form coalitions to turn ideas into action. Persuade.

1. I can persuade others by providing a number of arguments.

3. I can persuade others by providing evidence for my arguments.

4. I can persuade others by appealing to their emotions I can pitch effectively in front of potential investors or donors.

5. I can overcome resistance from those who will be affected by my (or my (team's) vision, innovative approach, and value-creating activity.

6. I can create a call to action that gets internal stakeholders on board, such as co-workers, partners, employees or senior managers.

7. I can negotiate support for ideas for creating value

Communicate effectively.

1. I can communicate my ideas clearly to others.

2. I can communicate my team's ideas to others persuasively by using different methods (for example posters, videos, role-play).

3. I can communicate imaginative design solutions.

4. I can communicate the value of my (or my team's) idea to stakeholders from different backgrounds effectively.

5. I can communicate the vision for my (or my team's) venture in a way that inspires and persuades external groups, such as funders, partner organisations, volunteers, new members and affiliate supporters.

6. I can produce narratives and scenarios that motivate, inspire and direct people.

7. I can take part in constructive discussions with the community that my idea is targeted at.

8. I can get all relevant stakeholders to take responsibility to act on an opportunity for value creation

Use media effectively.

1. I can provide examples of inspiring communication campaigns.

2. I can discuss how different media can be used to reach audiences in different ways.

3. I can use various methods, including social media, to communicate value-creating ideas effectively.

4. I can use media appropriately, showing that I am aware of my audience and purpose.

5. I can influence opinions in relation to my value- creating activity, through a planned approach to social media.

6. I can design effective social- media campaigns to mobilize people in relation to my (or my team’s) value-creating activity.

7. I can define a communication strategy to mobilize people in relation to my (or my team’s) value- creating activity.

8. I can sustain and increase the support for my vision. Into

A.3. Area Into action

AREA: Into action

TAKING THE INITIATIVE Go for it.

Initiate processes that create value.

Take up challenges.

Act and work independently to achieve goals, stick to intentions and carry out planned tasks. Take responsibility

1. I can carry out the tasks I am given responsibly.

2. I am comfortable in taking responsibility in shared activities.

3. I can take individual and group responsibility to carry out simple tasks in value-creating activities.

4. I can take individual and group responsibility in value-creating activities.

5. I can delegate responsibility appropriately.

6. I can encourage others to take responsibility in value-creating activities.

7. I take responsibility in complex value-creating activities.

8. I can take responsibility in seizing new opportunities and when facing unprecedented challenges in value-creating activities. Work independently.

Take action.

1. I show some independence in carrying out tasks I am given.

2. I can work independently in simple value-creating activities.

3. I can initiate simple value-creating activities.

4. I am driven by the possibility of being able to initiate value-creating activities independently.

5. I can initiate value-creating activities alone and with others.

6. I can help others work independently.

7. I praise initiative taken by others and reward it appropriately within my team and organisation.

1. I can have a go at solving problems that affect my surroundings.

2. I show initiative in dealing with problems that affect my community.

3-4. I actively face challenges, solve problems and seize opportunities to create value.

5. I take action on new ideas and opportunities, which will add value to a new or existing value-creating venture.

6. I value others taking the initiative in solving problems and creating value.

7. I can encourage others to take the initiative in solving problems and creating value within my team and organisation.

PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

Prioritise, organise and follow up. Set long-, medium- and short-term goals. Define priorities and action plans. Adapt to unforeseen Define goals.

1. I can clarify what my goals are in a simple value-creating activity.

2. I can identify alternative goals to create value in a simple context.

3. I can describe my goals for the future in line with my strengths, ambitions, interests and achievements.

4. I can set short-term goals that I can act on.

5. I can define long-term goals arising from the vision for my (or my team's) value-creating activity.

6. I can match short-term, mid-term and long-term goals to the vision for my (or my team's) valuecreating activity.

7. I can design a strategy to achieve goals in line with my (or my team's) vision.

8. I can manage the balance between the need for creativity and for control so that my organisation’s capacity to changes. achieve its goals is protected and nurtured. Plan and organise.

1. I can carry out a simple plan for value-creating activities.

2. I can deal with a range of simple tasks at the same time without feeling uncomfortable.

3. I can create an action plan which identifies the necessary steps to achieve my goals.

4. I can allow for the possibility of changes to my plans.

5. I can summarise the basics of project management.

6. I can apply the basics of project management in managing a value- creating activity.

7. I can develop and stick to a detailed project management plan, adjusting to changing circumstances to make sure goals are reached.

8. I can design managerial procedures to effectively deliver value in challenging circumstances. Develop sustainable business plans.

3. I can develop a business model for my idea.

4. I can define the key elements that make up the business model necessary to deliver the value I have identified.

5. I can develop a business plan based on the model, describing how to achieve the value identified.

6. I can organise my value-creating activities using planning methods such as business and marketing plans.

7. I can keep my planning methods updated and adapt them to changing circumstances.

8. I can adapt my value-creating activity’s business model to face new challenges. Define priorities

5. I can recall the order of steps that was needed in a simple value-creating activity I took part in.

6. I can identify the basic steps that are needed in a value-creating activity.

7. I can prioritise the basic steps in a value-creating activity.

8. I can set my own priorities and act on them.

9. I can define the priorities to meet my (or my team’s) vision.

10. I can stay focused on the priorities set, despite changing circumstances.

11. I can define priorities in uncertain circumstances, with partial or ambiguous information. Monitor your progress.

Be flexible and adapt to chang-es.

6. I can recognise how much progress I have made on a task.

7. I can monitor whether a task is going to plan.

8. I can identify different types of data that are necessary for monitoring the progress of a simple valuecreating activity.

9. I can set basic milestones and observation indicators to monitor the progress of my value-creating activity.

10. I can describe different methods for performance and impact monitoring.

11. I can define what data is needed to monitor how effective my value-creating activities are and an appro-priate way to collect them.

12. I can develop the performance indicators I (or my team) need to monitor progress towards a successful outcome in changing circumstances.

13. I can design and put in place a data-collection plan to monitor whether my venture is achieving its aims.

1. I am open to changes.

2. I can confront and deal with changes in a constructive way.

3. I can change my plans based on the needs of my team.

4. I can adapt my plans to achieve my goals in light of changes that are outside my control.

5. I can embrace change that brings new opportunities for value creation

6. I can anticipate and include change along the value-creating pro-cess.

7. I can use the results of monitoring to adjust vision, aims, priorities, resource planning, action steps or any other aspect of the value- creating process.

8. I can communicate effectively to the organisation the reason for changes and adjustments.

AREA: Into action

COPING WITH UNCERTAINTY, AMBIGUITY AND RISK

1. I am not afraid of making mistakes while trying new things.

2. I explore my own ways to achieve things.

Make decisions dealing with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk. Make decisions when the result of that decision is uncertain, when the information available is partial or ambiguous, or when there is a risk of unintended outcomes. Within the value-creating process, include structured ways of testing ideas and proto-types from the early stages, to reduce risks of failing. Handle fast-moving situations promptly and flexibly. Cope with uncertainty and ambiguity.

3. I can discuss the role that information plays in reducing uncertainty, ambiguity and risk.

4. I can actively look for, compare and contrast different sources of information that help me reduce ambiguity, uncertainty, and risks in making decisions.

5. I can find ways of making decisions when the information is incomplete.

6. I can pull together different viewpoints to take informed decisions when the degree of uncertainty is high

7. I can make decisions evaluating the different elements in a situation that is uncertain and ambiguous.

8. I can set up appropriate strategies for collecting and monitoring data, which help me take decisions based on sound evidence. Calculate risk.

1. I can identify examples of risks in my surroundings.

2. I can describe risks related to a simple value-creating activity in which I take part.

3. I can tell the difference between acceptable and unacceptable risks.

4. I can weigh up the risks and benefits of self-employment with alternative career options, and make choices that reflect my preferences.

5. I can apply the concept of affordable losses to make decisions when creating value.

6. I can compare value-creating activities based on a risk assessment.

7. I can assess the risks my venture is exposed to as conditions change.

8. I can evaluate high-risk long-term investments using a structured approach. Manage risk

3. I can critically evaluate the risks associated with an idea that creates value, taking into account a variety of factors.

4. I can critically evaluate the risks related to the formal set-up of a value-creating venture in the area in which I work.

5. I can demonstrate that I can make decisions by weighing up both the risks and the expected benefits of a value-creating activity.

6. I can outline a risk management plan for guiding my (or my team's) choices while developing my value-creating activity.

7. I can use strategies to reduce the risks that may arise during the value-creating process.

8. I can come up with strategies to reduce the risk of my value-creating initiative becoming obsolete.

AREA: Into action

WORKING WITH OTHERS

Team up, work together, and network. Work together and cooperate with others to develop ideas and turn them into action. Network.

Solve conflicts and face up to competition positively when necessary. Accept diversity (people’s differences).

1. I can show respect for others, their background and situations.

2. I am open to the worth that others can bring to value- creating activities.

3. I can combine different contributions to create value.

4. I can value diversity as a possible source of ideas and opportunities.

6. I can support diversity within my team or organisation.

7. Outside of my organisation, I can find ideas that create value and make the most of them. Develop emotional intelligence.

1. I can show empathy towards others.

2. I can recognise the role of my emotions, attitudes and behaviours in shaping others people’s attitudes and behaviours and vice versa.

3. I can express my (or my team's) value-creating ideas assertively.

4. I can face and solve conflicts.

5. I can compromise where necessary.

6. I can deal with non-assertive behaviour that hinders my (or my team's) value -creating activities (for example, destructive attitudes, aggressive behaviour and so on).

7. I can manage conflicts effectively. Listen actively.

1. I can show empathy towards others.

2. I can discuss the benefits of listening to other people’s ideas for achieving my (or my team's) goals.

3. I can listen to other people’s ideas for creating value without showing prejudice.

4. I can listen to my end users.

5. I can describe different techniques for managing relationships with end users.

6. I can put in place strategies to actively listen to my end users and act on their needs.

7. I can pull together information from a wide range of sources to understand my end users’ needs. Team up.

1. I am open to working alone as well as with others, playing different roles and taking some responsibility.

2. I am willing to change my way of working in a group.

3. I can work with a range of individuals and teams.

4. I share the ownership of value-creating activities with the members of my team

5. I can build a team based on the individual knowledge, skills and attitudes of each member.

6. I can contribute to creating value by teaming up with distributed communities through digital technologies.

7. I can design physical and virtual spaces that encourage team members to work together.

8. I can build an organisation’s capacity to create value by encouraging people to work together. Work together.

1. I am open to involving others in my value- creating activities.

2. I can contribute to simple value- creating activities.

3. I can contribute to group decision- making constructively.

4. I can create a team of people who can work together in a value-creating activity.

5. I can use techniques and tools that help people to work together.

6. I can give people the help and support they need to perform at their best within a team.

7. I can work with a remote team of people who can independently contribute to a value-creating activity.

8. I can design working methods and incentives that enable team members to work well together. Expand your network.

1. I can explain the meaning and forms of association, co-operation and peer-to-peer support (for example, family and other communities).

2. I am open to establishing new contacts and cooperation with others (individuals and groups).

3. I can use the relationships I have to get the support I need to turn ideas into action, including emotional support.

4. I can establish new relation-ships to get the support I need to turn ideas into action, including emotional support (for example, joining a mentor network).

5. I can use my network to find the right people to work on my (or my team's) value-creating activity.

6. I proactively make contact with the right people inside and outside my organisation to support my (or my team's) value-creating activity (for example, at conferences or on social media).

7. I can use my network to bring together different perspectives to inform my (or my team's) valuecreating process.

8. I can design effective processes to build networks of different or new stake-holders and keep them engaged.

AREA: Into action LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE

Learn by doing.

Use any initiative for value creation as a learning opportunity. Learn with others, including peers and mentors. Reflect and learn from both success and failure (your own and other people’s). Reflect.

1. I can find examples of great failures that have created value.

2. I can provide examples of temporary failures that have led to valuable achieve-ments.

3. I can reflect on failures (mine and other people’s), identify their causes and learn from them.

4. I can judge if and how I have achieved my goals, so that I can evaluate my performance and learn from it.

5. I can reflect on my (or my team's) achievements and temporary failures as things develop so as to learn and improve my ability to create value.

6. I can help others reflect on their achievements and temporary failures by providing honest and constructive feedback.

7. I can take my team or the organisation to a higher level of performance, based on the feedback collected and by learning lessons from achievements and failures. Learn to learn.

1. I can provide examples that show that my abilities and competence have increased with experience.

2. I can anticipate that my abilities and competence will grow with experience, through both successes and failures.

3. I can reflect on the relevance of my learning pathways for my future opportunities and choices.

4. I am always looking for opportunities to improve my strengths and reduce or compensate for my weaknesses.

5. I can find and choose opportunities to over-come my (or my team’s) weaknesses and to develop my (or my team’s) strengths.

6. I can help others develop their strengths and reduce or compensate for their weaknesses.

7. I can identify opportunities for self-improvement in my organisation and beyond.

8. I can design and put in place a strategy for my venture to continue to generate value. Learn from experience.

1. I can recognise what I have learnt from taking part in value- creating activities.

2. I can reflect on my experience in taking part in value-creating activities and learn from it.

3. I can reflect on my interaction with others (including peers and mentors) and learn from it.

4. I can filter the feedback provided by others and keep the good from it.

5. I can integrate lifelong learning into my personal development strategy and career progress.

6. I can help others reflect on their interaction with other people and help them learn from this interaction.

7. I can learn from the impact- monitoring and evaluation activities that I have designed to track the progress of my value-creating activity.

8. I can learn lessons from monitoring and evaluation processes and establish them into my organisation’s learning processes.

List of Figures

DISCLAIMER:

The information and views set out in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.