Does Entrepreneurial Education Matter for the Performance for Medium-Sized Venture Entrepreneurs?

We explore the question of whether entrepreneurial education matters for medium-sized venture performance. We do so to better understand the conflicting evidence where such education appears to have significant positive micro-level effects while also indicating no significant macro-level effects. The growing investment in entrepreneurial education increases intentions and start-up rates in treatment effects studies, but such investments in that education do not appear to increase national start-up or survival rates. We apply a different empirical approach – based on the capabilities view – of surveying venture entrepreneurs about their performance and their education in order to determine whether their skills-enhancing entrepreneurial training is a driver of success. We find that while that training significantly increases their confidence, when taken as a whole – as a multidimensional measure – it is not a significant influence on venture performance. We discuss the implications for research, policy and education.