Leonie Baldacchino (The Edward de Bono Institute, University of Malta): “The Development, Piloting and Evaluation of an Entrepreneurial Intuition Training Programme”

Date: Wednesday, 13 March 2024, at 12:00 pm

Venue: Seminar Room Bruguier Pacini, DEM

Speaker: Leonie Baldacchino (The Edward de Bono Institute, University of Malta)

Title: “The Development, Piloting and Evaluation of an Entrepreneurial Intuition Training Programme”

Abstract:

This research outlines the development, piloting and evaluation of an entrepreneurial intuition training programme. Entrepreneurs face many situations that are fraught with uncertainty, and they frequently need to make decisions under time pressure and limited or inaccurate information. Under such conditions, the rapid and holistic nature of intuition is likely to be more effective than slower, detail-oriented analysis. Most entrepreneurs – including novices – are able to engage in analysis, but intuition derives from domain-relevant experience, such that seasoned entrepreneurs are better able to employ intuition and with superior effects. Although this suggests that entrepreneurs need to wait until they gain experience to develop their intuition, the literature indicates that the ability to engage in effective intuitive processing may be enhanced in a variety of ways.

In earlier work, a training programme outline was proposed, composed of six steps namely (1) recognise intuition, (2) explore intuition, (3) enable intuition, (4) strengthen intuition, (5) challenge intuition, and (6) blend intuition with analysis.

The present paper builds upon that work by describing how the six-step outline was fleshed out into a training programme including learning outcomes, training content and practice activities tailored specifically for the entrepreneurship domain. The programme was piloted over three sessions with a sample of 12 participants, who were entrepreneurship students or incubatees at the University of Malta. The evaluation involved a mixed methods approach with the involvement of two stakeholder groups, namely the training participants and a sample of five entrepreneurship educators. The training participants completed the Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI-40: Pacini and Epstein, 1999) before and after the programme, and filled in feedback forms after each training session, while the educators participated in semi-structured expert interviews. Overall, participants provided positive feedback and agreed that the learning outcomes were largely achieved.