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Introduction
Competence is a concept that has many faces and applications, and models of entrepreneurial competence are grounded in these various approaches to and notions of the concept of competence. Research and practice related to competence is typically driven by aspirations to achieve superior performance, and the potential for, in turn, economic gain or business success ([84] Spencer and Spencer, 1993). On the other hand, one of the key challenges in the competence literature is that there are many definitions of competence ([89] Van Overveld and Van Goudoever, 1997; [13] Bron, 1999; [38] Hayton and McEvoy, 2006; [44] Hoffmann, 1999). Further, the terms "skills", "expertise", "acumen" and "competency" are all interrelated and are sometimes used interchangeably in the literature ([83] Smith and Morse, 2005). Indeed, [47] Hunt (1998) suggests that competent behaviour results from a variety of factors including an individual's motivation, personality traits, self-concept, knowledge or skill and it is perhaps therefore not surprising that the boundaries and relationships between these terms are ill-defined. The ambiguity is further fuelled by the use of the concept competency by a range of stakeholders with differing objectives ([16] Burgoyne, 1993). Therefore, this article undertakes a literature review of research on entrepreneurial competence in order to: provide an integrated account of contributions relating to entrepreneurial competencies by different authors working in different countries and different industry sectors and at different points in time; and, develop an agenda for future research, and practice in relation to entrepreneurial competencies.
There are at least two key meanings or uses of the term competency: competency as behaviours that an individual demonstrates; and, competencies as minimum standards of performance ([85] Strebler et al. , 1997). Competency, preferred by the American school and promoted by Boyatzis is seen as an underlying characteristic of a person which results in effective action and/or superior performance in a job. Competence, on the other hand, has been preferred in the UK and developments have been supported by government, since 1988, through the Management Charter Initiative. Competence is seen as a description of something which a person who works in a given occupational area should be able to achieve, it is a description of an action, behaviour or outcome which a person should be able to demonstrate. ([23]...