Entrepreneurial students:The case of students starting up companies in parallel with their studies at Jonkoping University, Sweden

摘要

Students at Jonkoping University are encouraged to start theirown businesses in parallel with their studies, and the university offerssupport as part of its encouragement. Jonkoping students currently startup around 50 firms each year. These start-ups account for about 15 percent of the new firms in the local community and they also bring otherbenefits to the region. Support for the student businesses is provided bythe Business Lab section of Science Park Jonkoping. The support systemis open and student-driven: it is always available, there is no selection ofideas or people, and its direction and pace are to a large degreedetermined by the students themselves. In addition, the general businesscoaches are close to both the student and the business culture, there isno separate 'coach culture', and the support system is well integrated intothe science park. These success factors are incorporated into a generalmodel of the meeting between two cultures, viewed as a value-creatingprocess that changes character over time.