Communities of practice as a teaching tool in the development of entrepreneurial behavior

Communities of practice (Lave i Wenger, 1991) are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. In order to define the impact that communities of practice have on the development of entrepreneurial behavior, an empirical research by means of a questionnaire was carried out with a sample of 324 students of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek. Apart from the descriptive, univariate statistics, a bivariate analysis was also used, as well as a multivariate data analysis. The results of the research show that students who take part in the activities of communities of practice, demonstrate higher propensity for entrepreneurial behavior and a higher probability of starting their own business than students who are not active in communities of practice. Therefore it seems that in entrepreneurial education, where the aim is to develop entrepreneurial competences and behavior, it is vital to encourage students to join communities of practice. It is also important to give all students of the university the experience of participating in some form of communities of practice. The research has also proven that university teaching does not contribute enough to the development of entrepreneurial competences. According to the results of this research communities of practice, and particularly firsthand experience, have a more significant role in that. The research suggests that in order to develop entrepreneurial behavior it is essential to include more practical activities into the traditional teaching at the university. It is also necessary to consider ways of using the potential of firsthand experience for the development of entrepreneurial behavior through supplementing university courses with some forms of communities of practice.