Entrepreneurship Competencies and Management Capabilities for Innovation and sustainable Growth: Empirical Study

The aim of this chapter is to challenge the context of entrepreneurship competences and management capabilities needed for innovation. We build our arguments in step with actual practice analyzing data from over 200 innovative companies which have been created under the formal requirements of a regional business plan competition during the last 10 years. This study explores the crucial capabilities to start an innovative business and discuss the capabilities have to be developed to sustain innovation and business growth. Therefore, it can be hypothesised that entrepreneurship and innovation education provided by Universities, Centres for Entrepreneurship and through coaching by Business Plan Competitions should focus on building awareness for the necessity of innovations and prepare inventors, entrepreneurs and students for not simply starting an enterprise but the change process in growing companies. The questions are not of whether or not to educate people about entrepreneurship and innovation but rather what are the context and the capabilities needed to sustain business and become an innovative and successful entrepreneur?