Design of a Social Innovation Competence Framework to Educate Entrepreneurs in Developing on the International Stage

Abstract

The European Commission identifies entrepreneurship as one of eight competences necessary for all members of a knowledge-based society. The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp framework) is a tool that European citizens and organisations can utilise to improve entrepreneurial capacity. Social entrepreneurship in particular, has been gaining momentum for numerous reasons. None more so than it being seen as an approach to offer solutions to worldwide social problems. Despite the increasing demand for social entrepreneurship, mainstream internationalization literature for social entrepreneurs remains underdeveloped and little is known about competences social entrepreneurs require to become successful with their internationalization efforts. In this chapter, the social innovation competence framework is presented; empirical work focusing on educating social entrepreneurs to acquire and improve upon competencies needed for going international. The framework, which uses the EntreComp framework as a foundation for its descriptions of the competences, was developed as part of the Erasmus+ project ISSA.