Entrepreneurial education and opportunity entrepreneurship: the mediation of self-efficacy belief

Abstract

This paper studies the mediating role of self-efficacy belief in explaining the effect of entrepreneurial education on opportunity-driven entrepreneurship. The influence of education on entrepreneurship is a top concern of both researchers and policymakers, who often struggle to understand how this influence occurs. Looking through the theoretical lens of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study contributes to a better understanding of the nomological network of opportunity-driven entrepreneurship. Data from the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey yielding a sample of 1,008 entrepreneurs from various Spanish regions with diverse levels of development were used. The results of this study show that self-efficacy belief represents the generative mechanism by which entrepreneurial education influences opportunity-driven entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the results provide evidence of the importance of supporting entrepreneurship education. Policymakers should be focused on reinforcing those skills and competencies that increase self-efficacy belief, enable the individual capability for action and provide a better understanding of business opportunities in the contemporary environment.

Keywords:

• entrepreneurship education
• GEM
• opportunity-driven entrepreneurship
• mediation
• self-efficacy belief

JEL CODES:

• L26; M53; O38

Notes

1 https://www.gemconsortium.org/

2 For a complete list of terms and definitions see the Appendix.