Entrepreneurship Education: Toward a Model of Contingency-Based Business Planning

Abstract

Despite the ubiquity of business planning education in entrepreneurship, there is little evidence that planning leads to success. Following a discussion of the theoretical and historical underpinnings, three pedagogical models are compared, including two alternative experiential methods: simulations and the contingency approach. The contingency model, as introduced, utilizes Piaget's concept of equilibration, and is asserted to provide both cognitive tools and flexibility in accommodating unanticipated environmental factors faced by future entrepreneurs.