Does Entrepreneurial Education Matter for the Performance of 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 indicating that, while such education appears to have significant positive micro-level effects, it has no significant macro-level effects. The growing investment in entrepreneurial education has increased intentions and start-up rates in treatment effects studies but has yet to make an impact on national start-up or survival rates. To address the contradiction, we apply a different empirical approach—one based on the capabilities view—where we survey venture entrepreneurs about their firm’s performance and their education in order to determine whether their skills-enhancing entrepreneurial training is or is not a key driver of success. We find that while that training significantly increases their confidence, when taken as a whole—as a multidimensional measure—that entrepreneurial education does not significantly influence venture performance. We discuss the implications for research, policy, and education.