Course Catalogue

Prerequisites

No formal prerequisites. However, students should show a general interest in entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial behavior, and entrepreneurial success as well as in cognition, emotion and behavior in general and especially in the context of entrepreneurship.

Learning objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students:

• Explain psychological foundations of entrepreneurship
  Students will be able to explain key psychological characteristics of entrepreneurs by considering biological, personality, identity, cognitive, motivational, emotional, and behavioral dimensions, and use these to holistically evaluate entrepreneurial personalities, including their own.
• Apply theoretical perspectives of entrepreneurship psychology
  Students will be able to describe, compare, and apply major theoretical perspectives explaining individual preconditions, processes, and outcomes of entrepreneurship, and reflect on their purpose and value for entrepreneurial practice.
• Evaluate entrepreneurial experiences and outcomes
  Students will be able to evaluate both the bright side (e.g., well-being, satisfaction, wealth) and dark side (e.g., stress, burnout, failure) of entrepreneurship, recognizing it as a multi-level, multidimensional phenomenon.
• Apply psychological models to entrepreneurial contexts
  Students will be able to apply psychological models and methods, including frameworks such as Job Demand-Control (JDC) and Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI), to analyze and evaluate entrepreneurial personalities and challenges.
• Analyze social entrepreneurship from a psychological perspective
  Students will be able to identify and systematically analyze individual entrepreneurial characteristics relevant to social entrepreneurship and develop recommendations for sustainable entrepreneurial action.
• Analyze entrepreneurial personalities
  Students will be able to analyze entrepreneurial personalities by integrating insights across multiple psychological dimensions into a coherent, holistic understanding.
• Develop recommendations to promote entrepreneurial success and well-being
  Students will be able to creatively develop measures that foster successful entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial well-being in various roles such as (corporate) entrepreneur, investor, startup employee, coach, or consultant, as well as take action to safeguard their own and others' well-being, satisfaction, and mental health when engaging in entrepreneurial activities.
• Communicate psychological analyses professionally
  Students will be able to communicate, present, and discuss their observations and findings, conveying sensitive aspects of individuals' personalities in an appropriate and considerate manner.
• Take responsibility and reflect on teamwork
  Students will be able to bear responsibility for a comprehensive project and reflect on their individual strengths and weaknesses in the context of teamwork on psychological analyses, evaluations, and recommendations.

Content

Entrepreneurship comes in many forms from start-ups to exploring and exploiting new opportunities for value creation in young and more established ventures. At the heart of successful or failed entrepreneurial initiatives is the individual entrepreneur. Thus, understanding the entrepreneur is imperative to understanding the essence of entrepreneurship and to successfully running ventures.

This course explores the psychology behind entrepreneurship. It takes a deeper look at the individuals involved in entrepreneurship. Drawing on latest research on the psychological foundations of entrepreneurship, topics taught and discussed in the course include the personality, biology and social identity of entrepreneurs and thereby exploring whether entrepreneurs are born or made; how entrepreneurs use their working memory, growth mindset and heuristics to make decisions and what cognitive strategies stimulate opportunity recognition and their (creative) exploitation; what fires entrepreneurs (in terms of strong emotions such as passion for founding or developing; grief as it concerns business failure) and how entrepreneurial action is motivated; how entrepreneurs can increase their ‘returns’ (in terms of income and wellbeing); and what the ingredients are of ‘social entrepreneurship’. The course will also reflect on how each one of us can act in an entrepreneurial manner. Particular emphasis is placed on developing the entrepreneurial characteristics needed for successfully running ventures.

The course examines the psychological underpinnings of the entrepreneurial preconditions, processes and outcomes. It is also mindful of the diversity of entrepreneurial endeavors ranging from high-tech and digital entrepreneurs to social entrepreneurs that address societal needs. Teaching includes a mix of theory inputs, practical examples, case study work, interactive group work, and provides opportunities for students to self-reflect on their personal strengths and weaknesses for entrepreneurship.

By the end of this course successful participants will have deepened their scientific and practical understanding of the psychological foundations of entrepreneurship and the specific opportunities and challenges associated with individuals involved in the process of recognizing and exploiting new opportunities.

Structure and indications of the learning and teaching design

This course is worth 4 credits. Accordingly, the total average workload for students is 120 hours. This includes self-study, campus time, and all examinations.

The course covers the following modules:

1. Introduction to the Course
2. Entrepreneurial Personality
3. Entrepreneurial Cognition
4. Entrepreneurial Emotion
5. Entrepreneurial Motivation, Well-being & Social Entrepreneurship
6. Integration and Evaluation: Group presentations, exam

All modules will be covered during the first half of the semester as part of interactive online lectures held via Zoom (live streaming). Recordings of each session will be made available for a duration of 7 days after the respective session. The final exam will take place in the form of an open-book online exam.

Teaching includes a mix of theory inputs, practical examples and applications, interactive group work, case study work and provides opportunities for students to reflect on individuals’ enablers and barriers to successful entrepreneurial behavior. Each module will feature both a general approach to concepts and theories from the discipline of psychology as well as a specific and tailored focus on theories, concepts, and applications within the context of entrepreneurship. In addition, the course will feature a selected guest speaker from practice.

Please note that minor changes and adjustments to the structure of the course may occur before and during the semester.

Literature

The mandatory literature for the course comprises the lecture slides (including discussions, videos, exercises etc.) as well as the following articles:

• Rauch, A., & Frese, M. (2007). Let's put the person back into entrepreneurship research: A meta-analysis on the relationship between business owners' personality traits, business creation, and success. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 16(4), 353–385.
• Baron, R. A. (2006). Opportunity recognition as pattern recognition: How entrepreneurs “connect the dots” to identify new business opportunities. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(1), 104–119.
• Baron, R. A. (2008). The role of affect in the entrepreneurial process. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 328–340.

Further recent readings and complementary material will be provided.

Overview examination/s

Decentral - Written work, Digital, Group work group grade (35%)
Examination time: Term time

Decentral - Written examination, Digital, Individual work individual grade (50%, 60 mins.)
Examination time: Term time

Decentral - Active participation, Digital, Individual work individual grade (15%)
Examination time: Term time

Timetable

Mon, 14/09/2026, 12:15–16:00
Mon, 21/09/2026, 12:15–16:00
Mon, 28/09/2026, 12:15–16:00
Mon, 05/10/2026, 12:15–16:00
Mon, 12/10/2026, 12:15–16:00
Mon, 19/10/2026, 12:15–16:00

Additional information

Please take note of the following important information:

• Motivation statement: Interested incoming guest students and ENGAGE.EU students are kindly asked to submit a brief motivation statement to [email protected] by August 31, 2026; format and length are entirely up to you.
• Compulsory deregistration: The course requires active engagement in and commitment to the group project from the beginning of the course. Therefore, if students wish to withdraw from the course, it is compulsory to deregister by the beginning of week 3 (deadline: September 28, 2026, 23:59) to enable efficient, effective, and fair group work. If students withdraw from the course after this deadline, they will receive a grade of 1.0 for the exams/components that were not completed.
• Course attendance: Attendance at all seminar sessions is expected and proactive participation makes up a small part of the grade.

Examination information

Examination sub part 1: Group project (35%)

The group project is a digital, asynchronous written group assignment completed off campus. It comprises an in-depth analysis of an entrepreneur with regard to her or his characteristics. Students are asked to create a presentation summarizing their analyses and findings and to present and discuss their insights, reflections, and recommendations in class. Both the presentation content and the presentation itself will be considered in the grading of the group project.

The group presentations will take place virtually. All group members will give the presentation and participate via video conference.

Question language: English
Answer language: English
Examination time: Term time
Examination execution: Asynchronous
Examination location: Off Campus
Grading type: Group work group grade
Weighting: 35%

Students are generally free to choose aids. Any restrictions are defined by the faculty members responsible for the examination under supplementary aids.

Examination sub part 2: Written online open-book examination (50%)

The written examination is a digital, synchronous, individual examination completed off campus. It lasts 60 minutes and takes place during the term.

The examination covers all topics addressed and discussed as part of the course, including lecture slides, videos, discussions, exercises, mandatory readings, content discussed during the sessions, and the guest lecture.

The following content is relevant for the examination:

• all content on the foundations of psychology, entrepreneurship, and the relationship between psychology and entrepreneurship;
• all content on personality, cognition, including growth mindset, and emotion from both a general psychology perspective and as applied to entrepreneurship;
• all content on entrepreneurial well-being, motivation, and social entrepreneurship.

Question language: English
Answer language: English
Examination time: Term time
Examination mode: Digital
Examination execution: Synchronous
Examination location: Off Campus
Grading type: Individual work individual grade
Weighting: 50%
Duration: 60 minutes

The examination is open book. Students are free to choose aids apart from the restrictions specified in the examination regulations.

AI tools, including ChatGPT, large language models, and automated answer generators, are strictly prohibited. Only course materials that have been provided or explicitly approved may be consulted.

Examination sub part 3: Active participation (15%)

Active class participation takes place during the online sessions and is assessed individually. It comprises proactiveness and the quality of contributions during class. The course provides opportunities for participation through small exercises, discussions of mandatory readings, and case study discussions.

Question language: English
Answer language: English
Examination time: Term time
Examination mode: Digital
Examination execution: Synchronous
Examination location: Off Campus
Grading type: Individual work individual grade
Weighting: 15%

Examination literature

Literature relevant for the examination comprises both the mandatory articles and the lecture slides, as well as the content covered in class, including the guest lecture, discussions, videos, and exercises. The mandatory articles and lecture slides will be made available on StudyNet/Canvas one week before the respective session for sessions 1–4 and two weeks before session 5, so that all materials are accessible at least two weeks before the examination.