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Top1. Introduction
Entrepreneurship is crucial for economic development (Naudé, 2010; Sánchez, 2013; Gianesini et al., 2018), and the success and growth of small businesses are related to the competencies of the entrepreneurs (Bird, 1995; Man et al., 2002; Man et al., 2008; Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010). Entrepreneurial competencies involve elements that are rooted in a person’s background and skills and knowledge that can be developed through practical experience, training, and education (Man & Lau, 2005; Mitchelmore & Rowley, 2010; Gianesini et al., 2018).
Many individual entrepreneurs start their business informally, facing difficulties dealing with technical issues and financial management, and feeling marginalized in the economic system (International Labor Organization, 2017). Frequently, these entrepreneurs lack essential entrepreneurial competencies (Bonnstetter, 2013). They may have limited opportunities for learning because they are often working alone (Howorth et al., 2012).
However, nowadays, mobile learning (m-learning) can support flexible forms of learning at different times and places, and it has been considered an essential way of democratizing education (Unesco, 2018). Wu et al. (2012) extensively reviewed the literature showing that most studies of m-learning present positive outcomes (86% of 164 studies). Nonetheless, there is still a lack of research on m-learning practices in adult and non-formal education. Most studies on this subject concentrate on higher and elementary education (Wu et al., 2012). The literature on entrepreneurship education is also focused on higher education and formal courses (Duval‐Couetil, 2013; González-López et al., 2019; Kuratko & Morris, 2018). There is a lack of research uniting these two subjects – entrepreneurship education and mobile learning – investigating related practices in real work settings.
Considering this gap, our research question is: to what extent is mobile learning (m-learning) effective as a means for developing entrepreneurial competencies? We conducted an action research to create and test an m-learning method aiming to support individual entrepreneurs in the development of these competencies. We used a situated learning perspective (Lave & Wenger, 1991) as the theoretical background to develop the method.
The evaluation of the effectiveness of m-learning showed positive outcomes perceived by 61 individual entrepreneurs in Brazil that tested the method. They have succeeded in developing elements of their entrepreneurial competencies such as financial and operational management skills, feeling encouraged to improve and professionalize their businesses. However, we have identified some limitations of m-learning for entrepreneurship education.