The Role of Entrepreneurship Education in Fostering Entrepreneurial Intentions and Performances: A Review of 30 Years of Research

Abstract

Many scholars have stressed on the strong relationships between entrepreneurship, self-employment and the labor market growth in contemporary society. Several training and academic programs have been designed and developed all around the world to increase entrepreneurial propensity. This article aims to show the empirical evidences about the effects of entrepreneurship education programs on perceived attractiveness and perceived feasibility of new venture initiation, entrepreneurship-related human capital assets and entrepreneurship outcomes. Moderators affecting the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions and outcomes—such as the attributes of education itself, the individual’s background, and the contextual factors—have been analyzed. Explorations of the main theoretical frameworks that argue the positive relationships between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions and performance have been conducted. Different pedagogical models adopted for entrepreneurship education programs have been compared. The study was conducted through the systematic literature review method, allowing the suggestion of evidence-based policies at an organizational and a national level of analysis. The role of entrepreneurship education in adjusting and refining the participants’ assessment of their own entrepreneurial aptitude can explain the small positive relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions revealed by several meta-analyses.