Testing the EntreComp framework and its relation to start-up behaviour in seven European countries
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
ISSN: 1462-6004
Article publication date: 4 January 2022
Issue publication date: 20 September 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The European Commission has published a general framework of entrepreneurship competence (EC), EntreComp, to create a shared definition and support its development. This study proposes and tests a scale to measure EC based on the EntreComp framework and examines its relation to start-up behaviour using data from seven European countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were gathered from seven European countries and consist of 1,128 answers from both secondary and higher education level students. The authors use explorative factor analysis (EFA), analysis of variance and logistic regression analysis as data analysis methods.
Findings
The results show that EC is related to start-up behaviour and sensitive to role models and prior experience of entrepreneurship but is not sensitive to gender or level of education. The results also show that although the framework proposes three distinct areas, EC is unidimensional.
Originality/value
The study tests the EntreComp framework and introduces a scale for measuring EC based on the framework. The results show that EC can be addressed as unidimensional construct and that it explains start-up behaviour and develops through enterprising activities. The study also shows the impact of role models on EC. No difference in EC between genders is observed, suggesting the gender differences in entrepreneurship arise from factors other than competence.
Keywords
Citation
Joensuu-Salo, S., Viljamaa, A. and Varamäki, E. (2022), "Testing the EntreComp framework and its relation to start-up behaviour in seven European countries", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 29 No. 6, pp. 920-939. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-04-2021-0156
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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