Exploring the Value Proposition of the Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Major and Elective Based on Student Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectations

Andrew Bernstein () and Elias Carayannis ()

Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2012, vol. 3, issue 3, 265-279

Abstract: Research suggests that students with undergraduate entrepreneurship education are more successful entrepreneurs than those without such education. However, since this type of education is not a prerequisite for prospective entrepreneurs, one should understand the value proposition of such entrepreneurship education. Based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory, this research examines the effects of self-efficacy and outcome expectations on interest in an entrepreneurship major and elective. Findings suggest students’ self-efficacy for having a successful career as an entrepreneur increases their interest in entrepreneurship education; however, outcome expectations for such education differ based on the students’ level of self-efficacy. The authors believe that these results identify a disconnection between the intent of entrepreneurship education compared to its perception by undergraduate students. The implications of the findings of this research suggest that increasing the secondary school students’ understanding and awareness of entrepreneurship could lead to greater levels of interest in entrepreneurship careers and undergraduate entrepreneurship education regardless of the students’ intended field of study, and the integration of entrepreneurship education components into non-entrepreneurship undergraduate curricula could lead to an increased interest in entrepreneurship careers and entrepreneurship education. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2012

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Education; Entrepreneurship education; Self-Efficacy; Social Cognitive Career Theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s13132-011-0041-z (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:3:y:2012:i:3:p:265-279

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/13132

DOI: 10.1007/s13132-011-0041-z

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of the Knowledge Economy is currently edited by Elias G. Carayannis

More articles in Journal of the Knowledge Economy from Springer, Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().