Developing Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Entrepreneurial Competences through Business Simulation Games

Today, entrepreneurship is seen as a major driver for innovation, economic growth and job creation, with entrepreneurial competencies highly sought after by practitioners and policy-makers alike. Competencies considered entrepreneurial include knowledge about how entrepreneurs create value; skills in marketing, resource acquisition and opportunity identification; and attitudes such as en- trepreneurial passion, self-efficacy, proactiveness and tenacity. There is wide- spread consensus in the literature that entrepreneurial competencies can be developed through entrepreneurship learning. This study adopts an existing framework for entrepreneurial competencies based on previous research to in- vestigate the role and influence that simulation games can play in the develop- ment of cognitive (knowledge and skills) and non-cognitive (attitudes) entrepreneurial competencies. The paper showcases the many benefits of using business simulation as an effective mode for developing entrepreneurial compe- tencies. Such competencies are not only beneficial for individuals working in an entrepreneurial context — but are transferable to any business context, bringing to the fore the importance of entrepreneurial learning for all students to develop such competencies.