The Effectiveness of the Current Entrepreneurship Training Programs in the Gulf Cooperation Council Educational Institutions ABSTRACT

Today, the six member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, are all faced with the need to improve the effectiveness of their respective entrepreneurship training programs (ETPs) in order to help young practitioners create new businesses, diversify and grow their economies. This need is especially pronounced at present given the alarming estimates concerning the looming peak oil milestone and the harsh reality that even enormous fossil fuel reserves will eventually be exhausted. Furthermore, the international marketplace is changing in fundamental ways, and countries that are able to field a generational cohort of talented and trained entrepreneurs will invariable gain and sustain a competitive advantage over those that do not. Therefore, against this backdrop, studies such as this one can help identify opportunities for improving the provision of ETPs in the educational institutions of the GCC. In this regard, the study’s objectives are as follows: (1) to examine the effectiveness of ETPs’ content and curricular offerings, determine the typical duration of current programming; and evaluate the relative importance of ETP candidates’ input in terms of involvement and contribution in the higher learning institutions in the GCC; (2) to investigate the effectiveness of local ETP among young students that have the potential to become future entrepreneurs in higher learning institutions in GCC; and (3) to determine whether the current ETP programming conducted in GCC achieve their intended purposes of producing successful young entrepreneurs.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship training program, effective training, Performance, Learning institutions

INTRODUCTION

Statement of Problem

A growing number of higher educational institutions around the world have developed and implemented various entrepreneurship training programs that are intended to provide aspiring entrepreneurs with the background, knowledge, skills, abilities and opportunities they need in order to achieve professional success in the business world (Daniel and Kent, 2009). Nevertheless, the type and quality of these ETPs vary significantly, and there remains a paucity of timely and relevant research concerning optimal programming strategies and curricular offerings (Laud and Betts, 2015; Winkel & Vanevenhoven, 2013).

Study Objectives

The overarching objectives of this study were as follows:

1. Examine the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training programs (ETP) (ETP Content (Curriculum), ETP Period, ETP Trainers (Instructors – Individual mentor’s role), ETP’s Candidates’ Input (Involvement and Contribution)) in the higher learning institutions in the Gulf Countries Counciel (GCC).

1. Investigating the effectiveness of local ETP among young students that will potential entrepreneurs in higher learning institutions in GCC.

1. Determine whether the current ETP conducted in GCC achieve its intended purposes of producing succesful young entrepreneurs.

Significance of Study

Small businesses are the engine of economic growth, and the importance of their contributions to new job creation and job skills training cannot be overstated (Bauer, 2011). In this regard, Wu and Jung (2008) emphasize that, “Entrepreneurs are important to the economy of a country and the world. A significant portion of all new jobs [are] created by new organizations. Among numerous factors that lead to new organizational creation, an entrepreneurship education and training program is crucial” (p. 44). Just as importantly for the member-states of the GCC, ETPs can also facilitate the diversification and transition of national economies (Wu & Jung, 2008). Taken together, it is clear that ETPs represent a valuable resource for nations’ current and future economic development, and these issues are explored further in chapter two that follows below.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

The GCC is an economic alliance of six Middle Eastern countries (i.e., Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman) which was created in May 1981 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the “purpose of achieving unity among its members based on their common objectives and their similar political and cultural identities, which are rooted in Islamic beliefs” (Gulf Cooperation Council 2018, p. 3). Today, one of the most important challenges confronting the member-states of the GCC is the need for private sector development. In response. Indeed, entrepreneurship...

Respective populations of the GCC member-states
Figure 2. Respective per capital GDP of the GCC member-states

Figure 3. Respective sizes of labor forces of the GCC member-states

Figure 4. Respective unemployment rates of the GCC member-states

Source: CIA World Factbook, 2018

The effectiveness of ETP’s Content (Curriculum) in the higher learning institutions

As can be readily discerned from the respective statistics presented in Figures 1 through 4 above, the GCC member-states do not represent a homogeneous level of economic development, but are rather characterized by significant differences in their income levels, size of their labor forces, unemployment rates and, most especially, their populations with Saudi Arabia having a population in excess of all of the other GCC member-states combined. In this business environment, it is reasonable to suggest that there is no “one-size-fits-all” curricular content that is most effective for the provision of entrepreneurship training, and each member-state will most likely required a highly individualized approach. Notwithstanding the foregoing disparities, however, aspiring entrepreneurs in all GCC member-states share some commonalities, including the investment – and therefore the risk – of personal resources, as well as having the motivation to create and lead rather than accept and follow (Bauer, 2011).

The effectiveness of ETP’s Period in the higher learning institutions

By 2003, more than 2,220 ETPs had been implemented in higher educational institutions in countries around the world, and there have been numerous additions since that time (Winkel & Vanevenhove, 2013). There remains a profound lack of original research, however, concerning optimal legnths of ETP coursework. In many cases, ETPs have been introduced as “add-ons” to existing business curricular offerings while in others the coursework has been developed and delivered independent of other higher learning (Winkel & Vanevenhoven, 2013). Here again, though, there does not appear to be a universal approach that will be most effective for all GCC member-states, making the need to carefully evaluate the types of coursework that are needed and the readiness of the entrepreneurs student body to engage in it an essential first step to success.

The effectiveness of ETP’s Trainers (Instructors – Individual mentor’s role) in the higher learning institutions

Because many ETPs have been developed from scratch and have not benefited from the lessons learned from existing programming, there also remains a dearth of timely and releveant resaerch concerning the relative effectiveness of mentors in helping aspiring entrepreneurs complete ETPs coursework or the effects of such mentorship post-graduation (Taffy, 2015). Moreover, many instructors lack the specific background and training that are needed to provide the high-quality coursework needed by entrepreneurs in an increasingly globalized marketplace (Rennemo, 2015). Despite this lack of scholarship, the resaerch to date indicates that ETPs that include mentors are more effective at achieving their intended outcomes (Ekpe and Razak, 2016).

The effectiveness of ETP’s Candidates’ Input (Involvement and Contribution) in the higher learning institutions

As noted above, ETPs are frequently administered by higher educational institutions as stand-alone programs that target the unique needs of the student bodies in their local geographic areas; however, such independent ETPs generally fail to solicit input and/or feedback from prospective candidates or graduates of such programs to evaluate their effectiveness in achieving their intended objectives (Carlile, 2017; DiMaria, 2014)

METHODOLOGY

Research Approach

This study used a mixed methods research approach consisting of both qualitative and quantitative elements. The qualitative element consisted of structured interviews and the quantitative element was a survey of potential entrepreneur candidates for ETPs in the GCC. The survey instrument was pre-tested to establish its validity and reliability and the quantitative statistical data that emerged from…