Mitigating the role of prior entrepreneurial experience and exposure through entrepreneurship education

Journal article, 2024

Purpose: To increase the understanding of how entrepreneurship education impacts
entrepreneurial careers, the purpose of the paper is to investigate the role that a venture creation
program (VCP) might have on mitigating or surpassing a lack of other antecedents of
entrepreneurial careers. In particular, we focus on entrepreneurial pedigree and prior
entrepreneurial experience.
Approach: Data from graduates of VCPs at three universities in Northern Europe was collected
through an online survey. Questions addressed graduate background prior to education, yearly
occupational employment subsequent to graduation, and graduates’ own perception of
entrepreneurial activity in employment positions. The survey was sent to 1326 graduates and
received 692 responses (52.2% response rate).
Findings: The type of VCP, either independent (Ind-VCP) or corporate venture creation (Corp-
VCP), influenced mitigation of prior entrepreneurial experience. Prior entrepreneurial
experience together with Ind-VCP made a career as self-employed more likely. However, this
was not the case for Corp-VCP, in subsequently choosing intrapreneurial careers.
Entrepreneurial pedigree had no significant effect on career choice other than for hybrid careers.
Implications: Entrepreneurial experience gained from VCPs seems to influence graduates
towards future entrepreneurial careers. Evidence supports the conclusion that many VCP
graduates who lack prior entrepreneurial experience or entrepreneurial pedigree, can develop
sufficient entrepreneurial competencies through the program.