Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Bruno Ferreira <bsimoes@ncsu.edu> is a doctoral student in Equitable and Sustainable Tourism at North Carolina State University. His research focuses on the psychological antecedents of tourism microentrepreneurship, in particular the role of the tourism e-microentrepreneurial self-efficacy mechanism in human agency among individuals with vulnerable livelihoods. Other areas of interest include tourism management, performance-based management systems, social entrepreneurship and development through sport. Prior to his studies at NC State, Bruno worked in Europe, Africa and South America, as a project manager and consultant in community development projects.

Abstract (150 Words)

This paper is a report of a study to measure changes in tourism e-microentrepreneurial self-efficacy (TeMSE) in undergraduate students after attending an introductory survey course on tourism management. Given that high entrepreneurial self-efficacy is associated with enterprise success, enhancing levels of TeMSE is warranted to grow a more just tourism economy in a sector largely controlled by profit-oriented large corporations. This need is stronger among women, who may doubt their entrepreneurial competences due to stereotyped gender-role socialization. Consequently, universities have become aware of the importance of developing entrepreneurial potential, and are focusing on equipping students with skills and abilities necessary to pursue their own microenterprises. Accordingly, we developed a battery of hands-on learning tools to enhance efficacy beliefs in tourism entrepreneurial skills. Analysis of pre-post data suggests improvements only in the Pursuing Innovation dimension of TeMSE. Moreover, unlike previous research, we found no evidence of baseline lower self-efficacy among females.

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Entrepreneurship in tourism education: a self-efficacy approach

This paper is a report of a study to measure changes in tourism e-microentrepreneurial self-efficacy (TeMSE) in undergraduate students after attending an introductory survey course on tourism management. Given that high entrepreneurial self-efficacy is associated with enterprise success, enhancing levels of TeMSE is warranted to grow a more just tourism economy in a sector largely controlled by profit-oriented large corporations. This need is stronger among women, who may doubt their entrepreneurial competences due to stereotyped gender-role socialization. Consequently, universities have become aware of the importance of developing entrepreneurial potential, and are focusing on equipping students with skills and abilities necessary to pursue their own microenterprises. Accordingly, we developed a battery of hands-on learning tools to enhance efficacy beliefs in tourism entrepreneurial skills. Analysis of pre-post data suggests improvements only in the Pursuing Innovation dimension of TeMSE. Moreover, unlike previous research, we found no evidence of baseline lower self-efficacy among females.