Making the decision to pursue ones own ideas and transform them into a successful business is a highly satisfying pursuit. Entrepreneurship allows people to create careers that are directly in line with their values, like helping others or preserving the environment, and thereby provide a physical and mental sense of fulfillment that many other careers can’t.
Entrepreneurship is a multifaceted social phenomenon that involves complex interactions between people and their social environments in which they work, live and play, as well, and learn. It is therefore often seen as an important field of study in the social sciences. It is also an inter-disciplinary field that draws from the disciplines of sociology, management, law, anthropology, public policy and management for non-profit organizations.
In this article, we outline the research on the education of entrepreneurs for non-business students and suggest an integrated framework for the existing research that is based on four dimensions of social learning: observational learning, the role played by mentors and peers, the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a place for social learning, and institutional influences on learning. We also examine how this framework could be applied in a more systematic fashion to guide research and the development of entrepreneurial education in the coming years. We also present a comprehensive bibliometric analysis, supported by VOSviewer, Bibliometrix and highlighting the most prominent authors and institutions as well as countries, seminars, articles, journals and themes. This gives a complete and in-depth understanding of the current state of the field. The analysis also reveals potential future areas for research and the necessary knowledge gaps.
