Editorial: The 3 Es – education, environment and entrepreneurial flair

Welcome to Volume 15, Issue 2 of the Journal of Work Applied Management (JWAM). Whilst writing this editorial, we are very proud to report that JWAM is now listed in Scopus (https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21101087777) with a CiteScore of 3.9 for 2022, and at the time of writing, at 4.1 for 2023. This is incredible news for the journal and all its authors. As a growing international journal this issue embraces its international reach with papers from not only the United Kingdom (UK) but also from Malaysia, Uganda, India, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The whole editorial team has worked tirelessly to ensure the academic rigour and quality of this journal, and we are personally grateful for all this support. This includes supporting new and experienced scholars to raise important issues in the world; indeed, the guest editorial team for this special issue brought together international scholars, some of whom were new to editing for the journal and some who had contributed previously.

When we created the call for papers, our hope was to gain a better understanding of the risk and practices associated with enterprise and entrepreneurial learning. We wanted to attract research that offered a wider view than that usually associated with entrepreneurship. We anticipated submissions that would further advance scholarship in areas such as teaching pedagogies, workplace competencies and skills of graduates and employees and the intention to start a business. The submissions have not disappointed.

Rather than present an editorial summarising the key points of each article, we thought we would provide a piece of reflection that links back to the heart of this special edition, entrepreneurial learning methods that are key to driving change and impact for the different stakeholder groups. For universities, there is increasing pressure to enhance graduate outcomes and onward employability, but organisations need work-ready graduates (and staff of any kind) to make an immediate entrepreneurial impact in and through the workplace. Our wider communities face many societal challenges, which need entrepreneurial flair and drive at the local level. The need to understand enterprise and entrepreneurial learning has never been more important.

Our first reflection is a reminder of how important it is for universities to play a role in supporting enterprise and entrepreneurship (QAA, 2018) not only for business startup but also related to the much broader development of skills, competencies and entrepreneurial mindset. The European Entrepreneurship Competencies Framework (Bacigalupo, 2016) is cited in several papers, demonstrating that a shared understanding is emerging related to the competencies. How universities can fulfil their role is by being creative and authentic around teaching, learning and assessment practices with the need to continue to share and develop practice. Two papers in the issue showcase how universities continue to develop and test new and novel approaches to teaching. Heyworth-Thomas (2023) explores using technology through teaching simulations, whilst Shore and Dinning (2023) challenge the elements of experiential learning and showcase a new model based on early scholarship of Kolb and Kolb for use within student led business consultancy projects. A further two papers focus on how entrepreneurship education can be a driver for a student’s intention to start a business (Kaur and Chawla, 2023; Ahmed and Al Amimi, 2023). Whilst Kaur and Chawal (this issue, 2023) describe this as “a well-trodden topic”, educational support is without a doubt crucial, whether it be to develop skills and competencies or fostering intentions to start a business.

Second, this collection of articles reminds us of how the workplace can be a tough environment if the workforce is not equipped with the right competencies and mindset. Marine (2023, this issue) informs us of the need for emotional intelligence in the workplace and asks the reader to consider what success looks like for both today’s learner and future employees, and Kelly (2023, this issue) stresses the importance of being able to evaluate risk. It is refreshing to read the challenge that Van der Laan et al. (2023, this issue) poses when they ask, what the definition of a workplace is and whether this is truly reflective of today’s society. All too often we hear universities use the term “world of work” yet fail to define what that might be for their students. Since the COVID-19 pandemic the workplace has changed beyond recognition and a new understanding is much needed.

Our final reflection reminds us how employees with entrepreneurial flair can make or break a business, from identifying those early opportunities, having a willingness to take a calculated risk, networking and developing social capital (Kasimu et al., 2023, this issue), building sustainable partnership (Mathews et al., 2023, this issue). Similarly, graduates and staff who can demonstrate entrepreneurial behaviours are coveted by employers and Yiga et al. (2023, this issue) reminds us of this through the live experiences of an entrepreneur. We cannot underestimate the power of having staff with entrepreneurial flair in the workplace. It is essential for building a successful business as it brings a combination of creativity, risk taking, problem-solving adaptability and passion. So, as scholars and teachers in the entrepreneurial space, how do we best serve the development of graduates and employees’ entrepreneurial flair that can respond to the future workplace?

We hope you enjoy these original pieces of work and invite you to reflect on your own practice and some of the challenges raised in the articles in this issue. We would also like to pay our final thanks to all the reviewers who have taken time to refine the papers that you now see in publication.