Entrepreneurship Clubs and Societies: Learning Benefits in Practice

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of entrepreneurship clubs. It charts the development of these organisations, as a form of extracurricular activity. It introduces different forms of entrepreneurship clubs, such as Junior Achievement (JA) and Enactus, and explains how they grew from 1919 to the present. It also illustrates the differences between self-organised clubs, organised programs using clubs as a learning method, structured societies and nationally organised cooperative societies. The second part introduces research on student clubs in entrepreneurship education. It explores the benefits of clubs. It shows that clubs assist student learning, enable the acquisition of practical skills and improve college attendance, employment opportunities and career attainment. We argue that entrepreneurship clubs have improved student learning outcomes in entrepreneurship and simulated entrepreneurial learning, while impacting student self-efficacy and intentionality as well as improving employability and social learning. The final part of the chapter provides advice and tips for educators advising student-run entrepreneurship clubs. Ultimately, the chapter explains how student clubs have developed, why they are important for student learning and how advisors can support them.

Citation

Pittaway, L., Benedict, P., Geyer, K. and Somià, T. (2024), "Entrepreneurship Clubs and Societies: Learning Benefits in Practice", Preedy, S. and Beaumont, E. (Ed.) Extracurricular Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Activity: A Global and Holistic Perspective (Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, Vol. 19), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-724620240000019001