The effects of entrepreneurial education on the performance prospects of young firms in the Netherlands
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2022-08-25
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en
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This qualitative study seeks to determine if and to what extent entrepreneurial education (EE) impacts the performance prospects of young firms in relation to environmental influences and personality traits. Literature on EE tends to accentuate or even confirm the importance of EE for new firm survival and performance, however it is still unclear to this day how effective EE is for assessing start-up future survival and growth performance compared to (two major) alternative approaches.
To get a deeper understanding of the effects of EE in relation to external influences and personality characteristics, desk research has been conducted in combination with the usage of different interview techniques, namely strongly structured as well as less structured questions. This method was chosen to provide a new angle on the existing entrepreneurship research that is out there and to create more in-depth knowledge about the topic.
The results of this thesis indicate that comprehensive and practical EE improves the performance prospects of new firms. However, EE does not appear to be crucial for firm performance, rather, it may be viewed as a promising method for both new and existing entrepreneurs to improve firm performance. The findings show that the effects of EE alone are not necessarily adequate for enhanced firm performance, rather a combination of comprehensive EE with certain personality traits such as goal orientation, perseverance and adaptability turns out to be the best scenario for greater start-up performance. Only after EE and personality characteristics are external influences deemed important for firm performance, however to u much lesser degree.
This thesis has contributed to the qualitative body of research on the effects of entrepreneurial education and provided new insights on the topic. This thesis also gives a unique perspective on the rationale and attitude of entrepreneurs and their backgrounds, shedding light on EE, personality traits, and external circumstances and how it affects start-up performance.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen