Impact of Entrepreneurial Education Programs on Total Entrepreneurial Activity: The Case of Spain

Abstract

There is a need to evaluate entrepreneurial education programs (EEPs) to see the impact they have on a country’s development. Previous work has focused mostly on entrepreneurial intentions, mainly in a university context. Additionally, literature reviews on the impact of entrepreneurial education have not yet been conclusive, mainly due to the use of subjective indicators and a low consideration of objective indicators. The purpose of this article is to respond to some of these challenges. Specifically, this study used an objective indicator, Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA), in a non-university context. A database was created that included programs categorized by autonomous communities. The analysis showed that EEPs significantly influenced the entrepreneurial activity of autonomous communities. This implies that entrepreneurial education should be a prioritized objective in the educational policy of these communities. The recommendations derived from these results are, among others, to promote role models, continue supporting the financing of entrepreneurial initiatives through education and training, continue implementing government policies to support entrepreneurship, and carry out evaluations on the impact that these programs have on skills acquired in the short and medium terms, as well as their maintenance over time.

Exploring Teachers’ Satisfaction and Students’ Entrepreneurial Competencies in Four Entrepreneurial Programs Carried Out in Extremadura (Spain) Schools

“…Our study contributes to support the effectiveness of entrepreneurial education and previous findings in this regard. For example, in Spanish context Hernández-Sánchez et al (2019) evaluated the relationship between programs of entrepreneurial education and the rating of entrepreneurial activity in a number of regions in Spain. Conclusions show the real effectiveness of entrepreneurial programs for this purpose and suggest a number of implications for practice including the necessity to change entrepreneurial subject taught in classroom from optional to compulsory.…”

Entrepreneurial Intentions in Students from a Trans-National Perspective

“…It is of common acceptance by now of the growing interest in entrepreneurship at a worldwide scale (Fontenele 2010; Parra 2013) because, fundamentally, it is useful for improving the economy and societal development (Audretsch and Thurik 2001;Reynolds et al 2005;Storey 1999;White and Reynolds 1996). Entrepreneurship's usefulness stems from its capacity of innovation, competive nature, and the inherent tendency of entrepreneurs to look into solving problems in order to exploit business opportunities (Hernández-Sánchez et al 2019). These, and other entrepreneurial traits are thought to be plastic, rather than static (Kuratko 2005); therefore, entrepreneurship education has surfaced as an attempt to train people into acquiring a mindset and competence for business.…”

“…This, together with global competition, a scientific-technical revolution and progressive interest in welfare economics, educational centers in countries with competitive economies where the third mission is being increasingly adopted in the field (Campos 2007; Commission of the European Communities 2006; Gulbrandsen and Slipersaeter 2007;Palomares-Montero et al 2008) make entrepreneurship education one of the central axes that can actively contribute to the acceleration of the economy. Recent strides to look upon the benefits of entrepreneurship embedded in education show that this actually relates to TEA values (Hernández-Sánchez et al 2019). Universities that employ entrepreneurship programs or links with outside sources lead to knowledge commercialization and spillover (Acs et al 1994;Caiazza et al 2014).…”

Are European Part-Time MBA Programs Designed to Foster Entrepreneurial Minds? An Exploratory Study

“…Although the presence of some of these entrepreneurial features in several Spanish universities has been analyzed (Fernández-Nogueira et al 2018;Sánchez-García et al 2013), there is a lack of empirical studies that analyze the presence of these factors in the European MBA programs, so this study is relevant because it analyzes the presence or not of these features in a sample of 99 executive MBA programs at an international level. This study allows us to know the entrepreneurial level of the European business schools and universities, and to analyze what are the main areas of improvement in order to foster entrepreneurial thinking among the students (Hernández-Sánchez et al 2019).…”