Breaking up I/E: Consciously Uncoupling Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Improve Undergraduate Learning

Abstract

When it comes to undergraduate education, the terms “innovation” and “entrepreneurship” are often used interchangeably with respect to curricular practices and their associated learning and developmental outcomes. In this paper, we chart a course through the vast and growing multidisciplinary literature that governs both topics to argue that, not only are innovation and entrepreneurship different concepts, but they play out in institutional contexts in different and important ways. Based on these differences, we propose that developing innovators must precede teaching future entrepreneurs. To illustrate the concept, we point to an existing program where professors and students from different disciplines work together on actual problems provided by clients from both the public and private sectors. Finally, we propose a research agenda that would allow for a deep analysis of the interaction between organizational behaviors and student outcomes, providing insight into effective practices and strategies for mobilizing institutional efforts aimed at teaching innovation.