Entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship policy and entrepreneurial competence: mediating effect of entrepreneurship competition in China
ISSN: 0040-0912
Article publication date: 14 February 2022
Issue publication date: 9 August 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurial competence plays a decisive role in entrepreneurship success. To promote the employment of college students and accelerate economic growth through entrepreneurial activities, the Chinese government and universities encourage the use of multiple inputs to boost holistic entrepreneurship education and training. This study aims to assesses the entrepreneurial competence of college students by analysing the effects of entrepreneurship education and policy implementation in China.
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative approach considered a large sample of 12,269 students, who participated in entrepreneurship education in Chinese “double-first-class” universities, to construct a theoretical model of their entrepreneurial competence. Entrepreneurship competition was introduced as a mediating variable in this model.
Findings
This study revealed that college students develop entrepreneurial competence by participating in entrepreneurship competitions unlike students who participate in regular entrepreneurship education. Additionally, there was a significant difference in the measured impact of entrepreneurship policy between students who participated in entrepreneurship competitions and those who did not.
Originality/value
The effects of the implementation of entrepreneurship education and policy were studied using a quantitative design. Additionally, this study highlights the effect of entrepreneurship competitions with empirical evidence from China, and contributes to the discussion of entrepreneurship education at schools and entrepreneurship policy for policymakers.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Guobiao Li, Zehai Long, Yujia Jiang as co-first authors, and Yangjie Huang, Peng Wang and Zhaoxin Huang as co-corresponding authors.
Funding: This work was completed with the support of the key project of the National Social Science Fund of China “Research on the mechanism of improving the employability and entrepreneurial competence of college students in the Digital Era” (21ASH008).
Citation
Li, G., Long, Z., Jiang, Y., Huang, Y., Wang, P. and Huang, Z. (2023), "Entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship policy and entrepreneurial competence: mediating effect of entrepreneurship competition in China", Education + Training, Vol. 65 No. 4, pp. 607-629. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2021-0218
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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