The role of work-integrated learning in preparing students for a corporate entrepreneurial career

Purpose In the literature there is limited knowledge about how to prepare students for a corporate entrepreneurial career. The purpose is therefore to develop a framework for understanding the role corporate development projects play in corporate entrepreneurship education, and to examine the potential role of the design of the project. The study defines a corporate development project as a project being part of an academic education to provide students with working experiences situated in an experiential learning process. Design/methodology/approach Based on work-integrated learning literature, the authors first develop a conceptual framework. Thereafter, they undertake a multiple case study using data from a Master's Program in Corporate Entrepreneurship. Starting from the conceptual framework, the authors employ deductive thematic analysis in order to analyze data and finally to develop an elaborated framework. Findings In the framework, the authors identify and label five categories of learning outcomes from the corporate development project. The framework helps understand the interplay between the different learning outcomes in students' learning process and shows how the design of the project shapes the learning process. Practical implications The framework can assist educators in designing and integrating the corporate development project as a key module within a corporate entrepreneurship academic program. Originality/value Based on the framework, the study develops the knowledge about the design of corporate entrepreneurship education. Future research should test the framework using data from other academic programs in corporate entrepreneurship.