Good entrepreneurs play a key role in helping poor countries to prosper. In this video, MICHAEL FRESE asks us to consider the fundamental importance of psychological mindset in the development of successful entrepreneurs. Over a two year period, Frese analyzed outcomes achieved by groups of entrepreneurs that had received different forms of training and found that individuals who had been trained to develop an entrepreneurial mindset had been (on average) 30% more profitable. With important implications for poverty reduction in the developing world, backed by the World Bank, Frese is looking at extending his study to countries including Jamaica, Ethiopia, and Mozambique.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10621

Researcher

Michael Frese is the Head of the Department of Management and Organization at the National University of Singapore Business School and is Professor of Psychology at Leuphana University, Lüneberg. He has previously held appointments at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Amsterdam and London Business School. His main research interests include stress and unemployment, innovation and innovation processes and the psychology of entrepreneurship. The most cited management scholar in both Germany and the Asia-Pacific Region, Frese received the Distinguished Career Contributions Award from the German Psychological Association in 2016.

Institution

Leuphana University, Lüneburg

Sustainability research, cultural research, education, management and entrepreneurship: Through these four science initiatives, in course work and research, Leuphana University of Lüneburg addresses the challenges of civil society in the 21st century. The bodies responsible for these initiatives are the faculties newly established in 2010: Education , Culture , Business  and Sustainability . There are research topics spanning multiple faculties – in keeping with developments of current and future relevance – devoted to the Democracy, Digital Media and Health.   Companion to the substantive quality of the curriculum, Leuphana places particular reliance on students' responsibility, curiosity and initiative, on a broad-ranging change in perspective that questions presumably settled knowledge, and on dialogue not only among the various disciplines but between science and practice. The course of study follows a degree model unique to the German higher-education landscape, a model  that has already received multiple awards. With its launch of the Digital School in 2013, Leuphana also entered the age of the online universities, where it is setting new standards in social learning.   For its development as a humanistic, action-oriented  and sustainable  university, in 2007 Leuphana received an award from the business community's innovation agency for the German science system, the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, in its competition devoted to 'Excellence Strategies for Small and Medium-Sized Universities', and in 2010 from the Mercator Foundation and the Volkswagen Foundation for the nationwide competition on 'The Future of Instruction'.   To strengthen Lüneburg as a location for research and business, scientists and the business community are working side by side on visionary projects under unique conditions, as part of the EU-sponsored regional development project for Innovation Incubators. A total of nearly EUR 100 million is flowing into regional economic development. In more than 50 projects, there are some 300 firms in the former Lüneburg district working with teams of researchers on behalf of a broad range of new research and infrastructure projects and measures in education and training. The Incubator places the emphasis on the topics of Digital Media, Health and Sustainable Energy. ( Source )  
Show more

Original publication

Teaching Personal Initiative Beats Traditional Training in Boosting Small Business in West Africa

Campos Francisco, Frese Michael, Goldstein Markus, Iacovone Leonardo, Johnson Hillary C., McKenzie David and Mensmann Mona
Science
Published in 2017

Reading recommendations

Psychological Training for Entrepreneurs to Take Action: Contributing to Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries

Frese Michael, Mensmann Mona and Gielnik Michael M.
Current Directions in Psychological Science
Published in 2016

Action and Action-Regulation in Entrepreneurship: Evaluating a Student Training for Promoting Entrepreneurship

others, Frese Michael, Gielnik Michael M., Kahara-Kawuki Audrey, Wasswa Katono Isaac, Kyejjusa Sarah, Ngoma Muhammed, Munene John, Namatovu-Dawa Rebecca, Nansubuga Florence and Orobia Laura
Academy of Management Learning & Education
Published in 2015

Increasing Personal Initiative in Small Business Managers or Owners Leads to Entrepreneurial Success: A Theory-Based Controlled Randomized Field Intervention for Evidence-BasedManagement

Frese Michael, Glaub Matthias E., Fischer Sebastian and Hoppe Maria
Academy of Management Learning & Education
Published in 2014