Background: In today’s world, human attention has become a valuable resource that every entity wants to utilize and compete for. Attention together with funding have become two essential factors that start-ups are trying to acquire. Recently, crowdfunding has become a popular way for start-ups to obtain funding from investors, more specifically backers. However, crowdfunding can be utilized not only for gaining capital but also for interacting with backers, presenting an idea and as a marketing tool. Therefore, it is important to understand how start-ups can effectively grab and retain attention through crowdfunding.    Purpose: Only a certain number of studies researched the relationship between crowdfunding and the marketing aspect that it possesses. Additionally, there is a lack of studies that delved into the project presentations and communications aspects of reward-based crowdfunding platforms utilized for Generation Z and the attention span. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to discuss the role of project presentation and types of communication in grabbing and retaining Gen Z backers' attention on Kickstarter.    Method: To achieve the purpose of this study, qualitative research methods have been selected as preferred. Mainly deductive reasoning was followed, with some inductive elements adding precision to this angle from already established theories. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with backers of a Kickstarter campaign who belong to the Generation Z cohort. Thematic analysis was further employed to structure the data which involves coding, analyzing, and interpreting it.    Conclusion: Project & founder characteristics, as well as project presentation and its quality, are the main elements that need to be communicated through one of the communication types. Whether forms of visual content, copywriting or verbal and nonverbal communication, they all have their role and an impact on the attention being either grabbed, retained or both. Through these communication types, trust and credibility factors need to be gained, both visually and in the details of the campaign presentation. Additionally, the mediating and engagement factors have an impact on the grabbed and retained attention. Finally, signs of caught and retained attention of Generation Z backers on a Kickstarter campaign, do not necessarily translate into their donations.

Weathering the entrepreneurial storm is considered by many an art form in itself but an undeniable, universal truth is the unilateral impact of an extraordinary leader on the chances of triumph in the face of great adversity. Yet the focus of academic studies all too often concerns the understanding of the weather patterns, the choice of captain and the direction of the ship rather than how to turn the wheel, raise the mast or set the sails. This study has the aim of deciphering the routines, actions and methods of entrepreneurial leaders so as to produce tangible, actionable knowledge which real practitioners can bestow upon themselves. This is a collective case study which examines ten entrepreneurial leaders from various cities throughout Sweden using semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The findings pertain to routines, activities and methods that they use to fulfil five roles of effective entrepreneurial leadership which are further boiled down to 52 thematic strategies. These strategies are then aligned into five fundamental skills; encompassing a collective approach, building individual relationships, fragmentation, dynamic perspective and utilising feedback. We believe that through developing these skills that entrepreneurial leaders can better cultivate their own routines, activities and methods contingent to their particular circumstance and transaction set.

The so-called digital economy has been growing exponentially in the emerging economies and it is expected to continue growing around the globe. For this reason, many governments are funding support programmes (e.g. Start-up America in the USA, the UK’s Tech City, and Brazil Startup) to both encourage and facilitate the creation of Digital Start-ups (DSs), defined here as recentlycreated enterprises that produce solely digital products or services. Whilst in some regions there is some evidence that these efforts are starting to pay off, the majority of DSs that have grown to become global digital enterprises remain concentrated in the United States and Europe. In the case of Latin America, the digital economy already accounts for between 2-3.2% of GDP. Nonetheless, most e-commerce transactions occur through platforms based in the United States, with a scarcity of examples of Latin American DSs (LADSs) that have grown to become large digital firms. Despite this, the literature has paid little attention to the relationship that exists between the institutional environment and LADS’s agency. The few extant studies that do exist have focused on either institutional or infrastructure constraints and public policies, or business models and resource analysis. To address this knowledge gap, this research studied LADSs in the four largest Latin American countries (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia), representing three-quarters of the region’s GDP, in order to answer the following questions: How do environmental pressures influence the development of LADSs? How do LADSs respond to these pressures and seize potential business opportunities? The research followed a critical realist philosophical foundation and was operationalised through a qualitative exploratory field study of forty organisations, including DSs, accelerators, investors, government agencies, and not-for-profits. Geel’s (2014) Triple Embeddedness Framework (TEF) was chosen as the theoretical framework to guide this research and integrates constructs from the Lean Start-up method (LSM), which was widely adopted by the LADSs to develop their business models. This study provides empirical support for the constructs outlined in the TEF, identifies crucial shortcomings in LSM, and uncovers new constructs that are necessary to accommodate the DSs’ digital properties, which result in tensions between their embeddedness in the institutional environment, their hybrid embeddedness in a product-sector industry and a digital industry, and their embeddedness in a multi-level organisational field that creates a core-periphery relationship between Latin America and the United States. Therefore, a new framework, entitled DIME, is proposed to assist e-entrepreneurs when developing digital business models to achieve the right firm-environment-fit in Latin America. The findings of this study will also contribute to future research, and to guide policy makers interested in fostering the development of the digital economy in emerging economies.

We see an increasing need for more entrepreneurs to match the changing nature of the globe in this dynamic world. In 2012, the Swedish government considered entrepreneurship to be a theme running throughout the entire educational system. The university is one place to develop the entrepreneurial spirit, especially among students. Universities play a very important role in enhancing national development because of their central role in the production of high-level manpower and research that are necessary for achieving national goals. Through research, universities generate new knowledge and understanding that are instrumental for developing new technology and promoting information transfer. Most international students experience three levels of shock: culture shock, language shock and academic shock. Sohrabpour et al. (2013) defined these shocks as a disease suffered by those who enter a new cultural environment. In this paper, we discussed the role that the university plays in supporting international students to develop entrepreneurial ideas and become established at Linnea University in Växjö. We believed that if being an international student poses challenges, launching an entrepreneurial venture is sure to have even more complex constraints that will potentially kill their entrepreneurial spirit. Thus, we examined the support facilities that are available to help international students start their entrepreneurial ventures and how they are experiencing these facilities at universities. We took Linnea University in Växjö as a case study.

Of late, technology entrepreneurship has been receiving growing importance as a means of contribution to national economic growth, both from Empirical Researchers and Policy Makers. According to NASSCOM, India has emerged as the third largest base for high-tech start-ups in the world. Although there is a surge in start-up creation rates in India, very little is known about the vital factors that are required for these star-ups to survive, sustain and grow into large enterprises. This study reviews the entrepreneurial, firm-specific and external environment specific aspects that influence the key lifecycle stages of high-tech star -ups and identifies the key factors that influence each of the milestones. There are very few studies in this domain that have examined the unique features and influential factors of different lifecycle stages of start-ups in the context of emerging economies like India. This limited exploration on the structure, process and strategies adapted by high-tech start-ups has resulted in insufficient understanding about the high-tech start-up lifecycle. This study therefore, attempts to fill these gaps. Accordingly, the objectives of this study are to determine the factors that influence the creation, survival and growth of the high-tech start-ups operating out of India. Further, an examination of what factors influence and impact the entire lifecycle of high-tech start-ups is also carried out – to obtain an integrated perspective on the lifecycle of high-tech start-ups. Primary data gathered from 275 high-tech start-ups, operating at different stages of the lifecycle formed the basis of the present study. To obtain additional insights on the factors influencing the milestones of the high-tech start-up lifecycle, the available data are analyzed against three segments – based on the target market segment that these start-ups focused on (B2B or B2C), based on the region of operations of the start-ups and based on whether the founding team had transnational work or start-up exposure or not. Our findings indicate that age and technical education of the entrepreneurs (from entrepreneur-specific perspective), the R&D and financial capitalization capabilities of the start-ups (from firm-specific perspective) and the external ecosystem parameters such as a robust SDP growth rate, presence and occurrence of VC funded deals in the region of start-ups operations have an influence on the high-tech start-up lifecycle in India. The findings of the study formed the basis to derive implications for entrepreneurs, other ecosystem stakeholders and policy makers.

Le succès du modèle d’innovation américain pour faire émerger des firmes leaders dans plusieurs domaines a largement influencé de nombreuses transformations réglementaires concernant les Droits de Propriété Intellectuelle (DPI) et le financement par les marchés en Europe. Cette thèse vise à analyser le rôle et l’importance de ces transformations dans l’organisation et la performance des firmes du logiciel. Nous montrons que des multiples mutations réglementaires des DPI ont ouvert la voie à un certain type de brevetabilité « très restreint » du logiciel en Europe. En parallèle, les évolutions dans le domaine financier ont favorisé l’émergence des marchés financiers dont le rôle est de plus en plus déterminant dans la croissance et le développement des jeunes firmes innovantes. De plus, il semblerait que l’usage stratégique du brevet soit complémentaire avec le financement par le marché de firmes du logiciel. Nous étudions cette complémentarité à travers l’analyse de la valeur du brevet en tant que signal pour les investisseurs lors de l’introduction en bourse ainsi que son effet sur la survie des firmes du logiciel après leur cotation. Cette complémentarité expliquerait en partie le recours accru au brevet dans un secteur dans lequel il est très controversé. Elle renvoie à un processus de sélection particulier du système et à l’émergence d’acteurs gagnants et perdants. / The success of the US innovation model to help start-ups emerge as global leaders has greatly influenced many regulatory changes on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and the external finance of firms in Europe. This study aims to analyze the role and importance of these changes in the organization and performance of software firms. We show that multiple regulatory mutations of IPR have paved the way for some kind of “restricted” patentability of software in Europe. In parallel, via changes in financial markets, they play an increasing role in the growth and development of young innovative companies. In addition, it seems that the strategic use of patents is complementary with software firms’ access to capital markets. We study this complementarity by analyzing the value of patents as signals for IPO markets and their impact in the likelihood of survival of newly-listed companies. We argue that this complementarity may explain the increased importance of patents in a sector where patents are highly controversial. It refers to a particular market selection process and the appearance of winning and losing actors.

Investment decision-making processes within the Venture Capital (VC) industry are increasingly including sustainability impact aspects, particularly when investing in start-ups. However, the lack of a common understanding and standard for measuring sustainability presents a significant challenge. This thesis explores the current state of sustainability impact assessment within the VC industry, highlighting the gap between academic literature and practical reality. Through a literature review, desk research, and expert interviews, the frameworks and measures used in practice, and the extent to which they align with academic suggestions, are examined. In addition, the impact of the new EU regulation, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), on the development of sustainability assessment within VC investment processes is briefly examined. The findings reveal a need for a unified, holistic framework for assessing the sustainability impact of start-ups, emphasizing the potential of existing research streams and the importance of collaboration between academic and practical experts. This work serves as a steppingstone for practitioners, policy makers, and future research in the field of sustainability assessment and in particular of start-ups. / Beslutsprocesser för investeringar inom riskkapitalbranschen inkluderar i ökande omfattning hållbarhetsaspekter, särskilt vid investeringar i nystartade företag. Avsaknaden av en gemensam förståelse och standard för att mäta hållbarhet utgör dock en betydande utmaning. Denna avhandling undersöker det aktuella läget för hållbarhetsbedömning inom VC-industrin och belyser klyftan mellan akademisk litteratur och praktisk verklighet. Genom en litteraturstudie, skrivbordsundersökningar och expertintervjuer undersöks de ramverk och mått som används i praktiken och i vilken utsträckning de överensstämmer med akademiska förslag. Dessutom undersöks kortfattat hur den nya EU-förordningen, Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), påverkar utvecklingen av hållbarhetsbedömningar inom riskkapitalinvesteringsprocesser. Resultaten visar att det finns ett behov av ett enhetligt, holistiskt ramverk för att bedöma hållbarhetseffekterna av nystartade företag, vilket betonar potentialen i befintliga forskningsströmmar och vikten av samarbete mellan akademiska och praktiska experter. Detta avhandling fungerar som en utgångspunkt för praktiker, beslutsfattare och framtida forskning inom området hållbarhetsbedömning och i synnerhet nystartade företag.

新經濟體系的來臨，以技術為基礎的新創科技公司如雨後春筍般的出現，這些新創科技公司的價值已非過去龐大的有形資產，取而代之的是無形資產，如專利權、商標權、著作權、授權契約或公司的研發團隊等，然而傳統的財務報表係儘反映公司過去的財務狀況和經營成果，對於自行研發而非外購的智慧財產權，卻無法認列在財務報表上，使得公司的價值被嚴重低估，有潛力的公司無法獲得所需資金而功敗垂成，十分可惜。 本研究係以實際經營管理的觀點切入，探討以智慧財產權做為融資擔保標的時所會遭遇到的困難為何？再經由所得知的實際困難找出智慧財產權融資所需營運機制和可行之營運模式。 由於智慧財產權融資大部份的風險都處於資金供給方，因此融資可行與否大致上都決定於資金供給者必須在那些條件具備的情況下才願意接受以智慧財產權做擔保的融資模式，因此本研究主要探討的問題從資金供給者的角度出發，主要研究的資金供給對象為國內銀行和創業投資公司。 透過次級文獻蒐集、集體焦點訪談、個別訪談和郵寄問卷等方法得到主要發現如下： 一、國外智慧財產權融資尚在起步階段，且西方國家與東方國家有關智慧財產權的營運模式皆不盡相同。 二、國內缺乏智慧財產權融資實際個案，雖然有關智慧財產權融資擔保有其基本法源可茲適用，但相關配套法規欠缺。 三、國內創業投資公司多以整體性評估新創科技公司，除少數新創科技公司（如生物科技公司）外，智慧財產並非單一關鍵性考量因素。 四、智慧財產權融資模式對創業投資公司有其間接性影響，其中有關鑑價機制和技術交易市場為創業投資公司所關切重點。 五、國內傳統銀行以利差為主要獲利來源之營運特性使智慧財產權融資高風險之融資形式不易為銀行所接受。 六、銀行本身缺乏智慧財產權鑑價能力和管理能力，此為銀行承做智慧財產權融資首要解決之務。 七、銀行傾向以政府保證的方式來進行智慧財產權融資，以降低本身所承擔風險。 八、以目前整體的環境而言，智慧財產權融資在智慧財產權觀念上、鑑價機制、管理能力、交易市場和法令規範等方面有著許多實行上的困難有待解決。 由以上可知智慧財產權融資以目前各方面的環境而言具有高風險性，其可行性的營運模式建議分為短期和長期來看： 一、初期營運模式： 1、初期政府可用保證基金的形式來分散資金供給者的風險。 2、初期可先透過國外的鑑價機制和交易市場來進行。 二、遠期營運模式： 建立具有國際化的鑑價機構和交易市場，根據「契約自由化」原則，只要交易雙方對於契約內容達成一致性的決議，則交易即可完成，以促進自由市場高流動性的運作。 關鍵字：智慧財產權融資、新創科技公司、創業投資公司、銀行、鑑價機制、技術交易市場、信用保證基金、關鍵要素。 / By the coming of the new economy, high-tech start-ups are mushrooming like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. The value of high-tech start-ups does not base on hard assets, but of their principal assets. The principal assets contain both the intangible assets and intellectual property right (IPR), such as patent, trademark, copyright, license contract as well as R&D team. However, traditional financial statements record only the past financial profile and operating results of companies. They've invested large amount of money on R&D, and therefore, to obtain the IPR. But the right obtained can not be shown on the financial statements. As a result, a large number of high-tech start-ups are underestimated, and unfortunately, most of the potential high-tech start-ups were not able to survive due to the inability to find the fund needed. From the view of the practical operating management, this study discusses problems that should be confronted when operating the financing IPR. Moreover, according to the problems found, the study anticipates by offering the operating mechanism and feasible business models for financing IPR. As we know, the majority of risk lies in the fund suppliers when financing IPR, so mostly the feasibility of financing IPR depends on fund suppliers that will receive IPR as collateral under a certain number requirements possessed. Thus, the study will then offer suggestions mainly in terms of fund suppliers, and the focus will be on domestic banks and venture capitalists. Based on the literature review, group focus interview, individuall interview, posted survey and so on are conducted for the study. Some of insights are derived as bellow: 1. For overseas countries, the financing IPR is just at the beginning period. There are differences in the business models of financing IPR between western countries and eastern countries. 2. There are few real cases about financing IPR in Taiwan although there are some basic laws to apply for financing IPR. Nevertheless, more related regulations are needed. 3. Most of the venture capitalists evaluate high-tech start-ups in an overall way. Hence, excluding a small numbers of high-tech start-ups such as bio-tech companies, IPR is not the only key evaluation factor. 4. The model of financing IPR has an indirect influence to venture capitalists. They emphasize more on the valuation mechanism and the technology marketplace. 5. The profit of traditional banks in Taiwan comes from the interest. From the conservative operating system, these banks are hard to accept the financing IPR that is with high risk. 6. The domestic banks are in short of the IPR valuation and IPR management capabilities. Thus, these problems should first be solved, and then the financing IPR will be able to be taken into action. 7. The domestic banks are in favor of reducing risk by getting guarantee from the government. 8. In terms of the whole financial environment in Taiwan, there are lots of difficulties in the concepts of IPR, valuation mechanism, management capability, technology marketplace, laws and decrees and so forth to be confronted. Above all, financing IPR has high risk in Taiwan at the moment. Therefore, this paper recommends that feasible business models of financing IPR should be divided as follow: 1. Short-run business model: (1) Diversify the risk of the fund suppliers from the guarantee fund offered by the government. (2) Finance IPR by foreign valuation mechanism and technology marketplace. 2. Long-run business model: First, more efforts should be put to set up our own international valuation institutions and technology marketplace. Second, the financing IPR should be taken by contract liberalization principle in compliance with the mechanism of the free market. When both sides agree to the contract, then the deal will be done. By doing so,the IPR financing will be highly promoted at the same time. Key words: Financing IPR, High-tech Start-ups, Venture Capitalists, Domestic Banks, Valuation Mechanism, Technology Marketplace, Credit Guarantee Fund, Key factors.

如果你是一名技術創業家，你會選擇在台灣創業，抑或直接到美國創業？如果台灣要成為技術創業家的「天堂」，這座天堂會是長成什麼模樣？若以美國創業環境作為現今台灣「打造創業天堂」的學習典範，台灣應如何「布置」這一座創業天堂？ 知識經濟時代，以知識、技術為基礎而進行之創業活動勢必與智慧財產權密切相關，因此本研究即藉由對於與智慧財產作價投資有關的幾項重要議題，包括智慧財產作價投資之概念、智慧財產作價投資與國內投資、智慧財產作價投資與國際投資、我國研發能量之釋放與科技基本法、智慧財產作價投資之會計處理、智慧財產作價投資之租稅問題、智慧財產作價投資之契約與章程等，進行研究及探討，最後針對美國Google公司之技術創業進行個案研究。內容相當廣泛，涉及法律、投資、會計、租稅、契約、評價、智慧財產、技術移轉等面向，並於探討上述議題後，對於台灣現狀提出如下之政策配套及法令修改建議，期許營造台灣成為一座鼓勵創新及創業活動的技術創業天堂： 一、 公司法應允許投資人得以「勞務」出資，建議放寬公司法第156條第5項對於出資種類之限制，並輔以「勞務作價股份銷除制度」作為配套。 二、 公司法應允許得銷除特定股份，而非一體性地等比例銷除，建議修改公司法第168條，賦予公司得以章程規定就特定股份為銷除之權限。。 三、 智慧財產評價之進行，應嚴守於「評價當時」智慧財產權所具有的價值，詳細區分「智慧財產/技術」與「勞務」之不同，而非將經勞務提供後所帶來的經濟價值一併計算在內。 四、 公司法應允許包括「發起設立時」、「募集設立時」，及「發行新股時」等，均得以智慧財產作價投資，建議對於公司法第131條、第156條及第272條之適用要件，予以一致化。 五、 技術並非法律上所規範之權利客體，建議將公司法第156條第5項所稱「技術」修改為「智慧財產」。 六、 對於擁有龐大智慧財產的公立學校及政府機關，應為其尋思解套方法。建議立法規定公立學校及行政機關得另成立一法人組織或基金會，將其所擁有之智慧財產權全部移轉至該智權控股機構或基金會中，由該組織或基金會來運用該些智慧財產權。 七、 現行政府之對外投資政策及法令仍處於管制經濟之思維，建議應加快我國對外投資自由化之腳步。 八、 科技基本法將智財權下放予執行單位，而行政院及各主管機關又訂定辦法對於執行單位之各項智權運用活動課以程序上之繁瑣要求，包括公開、公正之程序，境外實施需事前經主管機關許可等等，此些限制實已造成「智財之不完全下放」現象，嚴重阻礙以智慧財產作價投資建構技術創業天堂之實現。 九、 關於專利權及專門技術之攤折問題，建議應委請公正單位評估該技術之有效生命週期，同時提出該專利權及專門技術之「可能享有年限」，以作為會計上攤折之依據，並顧及企業營運上財務報表資訊之如實揭露。 十、 針對課稅時點之問題，由於作價投資所取得之股票，乃是「財產形式之轉變」，投資人實際上並未獲取所得，必須等到賣出股票時才有所得產生，故建議應於「股票轉讓時」始進行所得稅課徵。 十一、 技術創業要成功，重點是技術移轉要成功，因此，技術移轉之內容及方法便需於契約中詳加規範。 十二、 美國矽谷地區，創業人擁有創新與創業精神，並持續進行技術研發；學校提供創業所需資源、人脈予新創公司及創業人；而創投公司及天使投資人的資金挹注及管理要求與導入，更是新創公司成功的重要因素。此外，整體的外在大環境，包括冒險精神、會計制度、公司制度、租稅制度、法令制度及專業服務機構等等，都是營造創業天堂所不可或缺的要素。 / If you are a technology entrepreneur, will you start your business in Taiwan or in the U.S.? What is the Paradise for technology entrepreneurs if Taiwan chooses to become one? What should Taiwan provide in the environment if Taiwan takes the U.S. as a model of Entrepreneurship Paradise? In the era of knowledge-based economy, any start-up based on knowledge and technology will be closely related to issues of intellectual property. The thesis will focus on several important issues about investment with contribution of intellectual property as equity, such as its concept, domestic and international investment with contribution of intellectual property as equity, industrialization and commercialization of R&D results in Taiwan and the Science and Technology Basic Law, accounting procedures and taxation issues, contracts and regulations of investment with contribution of intellectual property as equity. The thesis will also illustrate with the case study of Google. The discussion tries to elaborate the issue from various aspects, including law, investment, accounting, taxation, contracts, technology evaluation, intellectual property and technology transfer. The thesis concludes with the following suggestions for governmental policy and law on the issues discussed, to build a paradise, friendly to innovation and start-ups, for technology entrepreneurs in Taiwan. 1. Labor should be recognized as an investment in Company Act. The limitation of investment category of Article 156 (5) should be expanded and be complemented with an elimination system of labor equity. 2. Elimination of specific shares, instead of elimination by ratio, should be allowed in Company Act. The thesis also proposes to amend Company Act Article 168 to authorize the enterprise to eliminate specific shares. 3. The evaluation of intellectual property should faithfully reflect its value for the time being. It should also distinguish the difference between the value of intellectual property/ technology and of labor, instead of a compound evaluation of both. 4. The investment with contribution of intellectual property as equity should be allowed when a company is established by means of promotion and by means of offer as well as when it issues new stocks. The applicable conditions of Company Act Article 131, 156, and 272 should be unified. 5. The term “technology” should be changed into “intellectual property” in Company Act Article 156 (5), given that “technology” is not an object of right defined by law. 6. There should be more channels for public universities and governmental institutions for the release of intellectual property. The government or legislators should enable public universities and governmental institutions to establish an institution or foundation and to transfer/ license their intellectual property to the institution for better use. 7. The government should abandon economic controlling measure through policy and regulation about overseas investment and speed up the liberation. 8. Science and Technology Basic Law authorize intellectual property rights to the executives. However, the Executive Yuan and other authorities set up orders and regulations on procedures about the application of intellectual property, including “public and fair procedure,” “overseas execution permission,” and so on. Those orders and regulations violate the spirits of Science and Technology Basic Law and prevent Taiwan from the Paradise for entrepreneurs. 9. Life cycle of patent and know-how should be evaluated by impartial organizations. The prediction of possible effective year of said patent and know-how should be taken for depreciation and amortization in accounting and be publicized as financial information of a company. 10. The investment with contribution of intellectual property should be taxed when stocks are transferred because such investments are transformation of asset types and the investors do not obtain actual income until the stocks are sold. 11. The success of a technology start-up depends on the success of technology transfer. Hence, the content and method of technology transfer should be defined in detail in the contract. 12. The entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley in the U.S. possess the spirits of innovation and entrepreneurship and keeps on technology research and development. The universities provide resources and personnel network for start-ups and entrepreneurs. Financing, introduction and demand of effective management from Venture Capitals and Angel Funds are the key factors for the success of start-up companies. Besides, the environment, including venture spirits, accounting and taxation system, company structures, law and regulation, and professional institutions, are indispensible for the establishment of the Paradise for entrepreneurs.

Industrial design is recognised for the value-oriented benefits it offers to businesses. Industrial design ensures that new products are more efficient, usable, convenient and safe to use within the evolving business environment. One of the important factors for the continuous achievement of high product quality and general economic growth and stability in countries such as West Germany, Korea and Japan is their sound industrial design base. Industrial design programmes can be instrumental to ignite an entrepreneurial and innovation spirit to assist in curbing the high unemployment rate and very low levels of entrepreneurial intentions in South Africa. The core of tertiary industrial design students has unique capabilities that can assist the South African economy to stimulate manufacturing, job creation and economic growth. The purpose of this study was to investigate the entrepreneurial intentions among industrial design students enrolled for the programme in Three-Dimensional Design, at Universities of Technology in South Africa. In addition, this study investigates the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and actual business formation by graduates of the programme. Studies have been carried out in South Africa on entrepreneurial intentions, but not on the formation, occurrence and implementation of entrepreneurial intentions amongst industrial design students, specifically. To test the links between business education and entrepreneurial intentions, a research model based on Ajzen’s (1985) Theory of Planned Behaviour was adopted and tested using quantitative empirical data collected from students in industrial design at two Universities of Technology. Quantitative data were collected from a sample of 161 participants using a validated self-administered questionnaire. IBM SPSS and STATA were used to conduct descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, factor analysis, reliability and structural equation modelling on the primary quantitative data. The empirical evidence partially supports the effectiveness of the Theory of Planned Behaviour in predicting entrepreneurial intentions. Although perceived social norms and self-efficacy is positively related to entrepreneurial intentions, results failed to reach statistical significance. However, personal attitude was found to mediate the relationship between these variables and entrepreneurial intention. Whilst business education is positively related to self-efficacy, entrepreneurial knowledge is positively related to higher levels of personal attitude and self-efficacy. The transformation of entrepreneurial intentions into actual business start-ups were investigated using qualitative empirical data collected from past graduates of the Three-Dimensional Design programme. Qualitative data were collected from a sample of 22 graduates through structured interviews. ATLAS.ti version 7.5.9 was used to analyse the qualitative data. The researcher provided evidence that there is a relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and the actual start-up of a business, as 45.5 per cent of graduates started businesses. Furthermore, business education positively influenced the actual start-up of businesses. However, graduates experienced many challenges to business start-up, with implications for the teaching of business subjects and for policy makers. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)