Business Creation Among Participants in Entrepreneurship Education Programs: A Case Study Among University-Level Participants in a Context of Adverse Business Environment

Abstract

There is a scarcity of studies that investigate the underlying factors that boost aspiring entrepreneurs to effectively start a business after attending entrepreneurship education (EE) programs, particularly in an adverse business environment. To fill out this gap, this exploratory research answers the following question: What differentiates business creators from non-creators among participants after entrepreneurship education? To answer this question, we compare a group of 64 business creators to a group of 50 non-business creators, both groups selected randomly among 912 participants to an EE program in Haiti three years after the end of the program. Based on an institutional perspective, our results show that, in the context of an adverse business environment, participants who came from a family with an entrepreneurial background, have a useful network of contacts, and showed adaptive institutional reaction were more likely to create their business, in comparison to the others. Based on these results suggestions for EE training and future studies are provided.