Strategic partnerships between start-ups and established firms - a future issue for entrepreneurial education

Various scholars contributed extensively to the area of entrepreneurial education. Nevertheless our key findings in assessing successful entrepreneurs is that strategic partnerships are very important in the daily practice of entrepreneurial companies but these partnerships are almost completely ignored in entrepreneurship courses and business models. These courses and models seem to focus on standalone products and services. It appears that the question of partnerships and system thinking is not fully understood and supported by applied research. The authors argue that using a qualitative as well as a quantitative approach helps to verify a potential deficit in entrepreneurial education. The propositions were piloted in analyzing 86 business plans at bachelors and masters level in courses delivered by the authors. The initial conclusion shows that entrepreneurial education has to shift its own paradigm - from business planning to business modeling including partnerships with established firms.