IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v14y2024i2p21582440241256780.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Entrepreneurial Potential in Secondary School Students. An Exploratory Evaluation

Author

Listed:
  • Antonio Bernal-Guerrero
  • Antonio Ramón Cárdenas-Gutiérrez
  • Ana María Domínguez-Quintero
  • à ngela Martín-Gutiérrez

Abstract

Over the last decade, various entrepreneurial school practices have proliferated, including the creation of mini-companies. In the Spanish context, the Empresa Joven Europea (EJE) program has been the most widely employed educative program in this respect. Empresa Joven Europea is an educational program that proposes that secondary education students create and manage their own mini-businesses, thereby taking the legal form of a cooperative society and facilitating the acquisition of all basic educational skills through the cultivation of entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, there is still a gap between the theory and the practice of entrepreneurship education which, together with the conceptual expansion experienced in recent years, increases the need to assess the effectiveness of this type of programs. By means of an explanatory and cross-sectional study, we evaluated the impact of the program on the configuration of the entrepreneurial potential of the participating adolescents ( N  = 270). The analysis has been carried out utilizing PLS-SEM with SmartPLS software version 3.3.9 and SPSS version 25. None of the six hypotheses formulated have been confirmed, which means that the desired effects have not been achieved in any of the three variables under study: attitudes, knowledge, and entrepreneurial skills. Such results may be related to aspects of curricular organization, the type of experiences based on cooperatives, a certain structural and conceptual lack of definition of the pedagogical methodology used, and the development of skills linked to identity. Moreover, it is possible that, although it is not evident in the competencies acquired, the program has influenced the apperception of what it means to be an entrepreneur and of the creation of critical awareness, which is associated with entrepreneurial potential. Our study, in addition to opening suggestions for further research along the same lines, presents several implications related to administrative and organizational aspects, to the design of the different pedagogical elements of the programs and to the evaluative criterion adopted.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio Bernal-Guerrero & Antonio Ramón Cárdenas-Gutiérrez & Ana María Domínguez-Quintero & à ngela Martín-Gutiérrez, 2024. "Entrepreneurial Potential in Secondary School Students. An Exploratory Evaluation," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:14:y:2024:i:2:p:21582440241256780
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440241256780
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440241256780
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440241256780?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Antonio Ramón Cárdenas-Gutiérrez & Antonio Bernal-Guerrero & Elisabet Montoro-Fernández, 2021. "Construction and validation of the Basic Scale of Entrepreneurial Competencies for the Secondary Education level. A study conducted in Spain," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(4), pages 1-21, April.
    2. Gudergan, Siegfried P. & Ringle, Christian M. & Wende, Sven & Will, Alexander, 2008. "Confirmatory tetrad analysis in PLS path modeling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(12), pages 1238-1249, December.
    3. Norris Krueger, 2020. "Entrepreneurial potential and potential entrepreneurs: 25 years on," Journal of the International Council for Small Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 52-55, January.
    4. Antonio Bernal-Guerrero & Antonio Ramón Cárdenas-Gutiérrez & Elisabet Montoro-Fernández, 2020. "Basic business knowledge scale for secondary education students. Development and validation with Spanish teenagers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, July.
    5. Héctor Cuevas-Vargas & Neftalí Parga-Montoya & Rudy Fernández-Escobedo, 2019. "Effects of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Business Performance: The Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction—A Formative–Reflective Model Analysis," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, June.
    6. Sarstedt, Marko & Hair, Joseph F. & Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Becker, Jan-Michael & Ringle, Christian M., 2019. "How to specify, estimate, and validate higher-order constructs in PLS-SEM," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 197-211.
    7. Susan Polirstok, 2017. "Strategies to Improve Academic Achievement in Secondary School Students: Perspectives on Grit and Mindset," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(4), pages 21582440177, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaokang Zhao & Nyo Me Hlaing & Huali Shen & Pan Xiao & Tessema Shimelis Adugna, 2025. "The Role of Sustainable Business Environment in Shaping Entrepreneurs’ Performance: Evidence from Myanmar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-26, January.
    2. Md Rabiul Awal & Md.Shakhawat Hossain & Md. Alamgir Hossain & Sangeetha P. & Sujan Karki & Aditi Mutha, 2025. "Cultivating entrepreneurial aspirations: a comprehensive examination of university support, family support, and digital entrepreneurial knowledge on students’ digital entrepreneurial intention," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lim, Xin-Jean & Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Ngo, Liem Viet & Chan, Kara & Ting, Hiram, 2023. "How do crazy rich Asians perceive sustainable luxury? Investigating the determinants of consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Keonhyeong Lee & Liyuan Wang, 2023. "Chinese High-Tech Export Performance: Effects of Intellectual Capital Mediated by Dynamic and Risk Management Capabilities," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, February.
    3. Troiville, Julien, 2024. "Connecting the dots between brand equity and brand loyalty for retailers: The mediating roles of brand attitudes and word-of-mouth communication," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    4. Akter, Mansura & Akter, Shahriar & Rahman, Mahfuzur & Priporas, Constantinos Vasilios, 2023. "Mapping the barriers to socio-economic freedom in internationalisation of women-owned SMEs: Evidence from a developing country," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(6).
    5. Nicole F. Richter & Sven Hauff & Christian M. Ringle & Siegfried P. Gudergan, 2022. "The Use of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling and Complementary Methods in International Management Research," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 449-470, August.
    6. Luis Miguel Bolívar & José Luis Roldán & Ignacio Castro-Abancéns & Cristóbal Casanueva, 2022. "Speed of International Expansion: The Mediating Role of Network Resources Mobilisation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 541-568, August.
    7. Aldhamiri, Ali & Carlson, Jamie & Vilches-Montero, Sonia & Rahman, Syed Mahmudur & Gudergan, Siegfried P., 2024. "What drives higher active customer engagement in luxury brands’ social media? Measurement and contingencies," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Jiatong Yu & Jiajue Wang & Taesoo Moon, 2022. "Influence of Digital Transformation Capability on Operational Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, June.
    9. Kusa, Rafał & Suder, Marcin & Duda, Joanna, 2023. "Impact of greening on performance in the hospitality industry: Moderating effect of flexibility and inter-organizational cooperation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    10. Carlos Bazan, 2022. "Effect of the University’s Environment and Support System on Subjective Social Norms as Precursor of the Entrepreneurial Intention of Students," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, October.
    11. Deng, Qian (Claire) & Messinger, Paul R., 2022. "Dimensions of brand-extension fit," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 764-787.
    12. Zhikun Ding & Xinyue Huang & Xinrui Wang & Qiaohui Chen & Jiasheng Zhang & Zezhou Wu, 2024. "Investigating the Determinants of Construction Stakeholders’ Intention to Use Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Products Based on the S-O-R Model in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-17, March.
    13. Febrianur Ibnu Fitroh Sukono Putra & Awanis Linati Haziroh & Risanda Alirastra Budiantoro & Selvia Puji Lestari & Tiara Daffa Arsanda, 2023. "AMOBA: Innovation barriers of the millennial generation," Asian Management and Business Review, Master of Management, Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 3(1), pages 1-13.
    14. Rahila Huma Anwar & Sajida Zaki & Natasha Memon & Ramayah Thurasamy, 2021. "Exploring the Interplay of Trait Emotional Intelligence and ESL Teacher Effectiveness: Is Self-Efficacy the Mechanism Linking Them?," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    15. Tarcia Camily Cavalcante Quezado & Nuno Fortes & William Quezado Figueiredo Cavalcante, 2022. "The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics on Brand Fidelity: The Importance of Brand Love and Brand Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, March.
    16. Luther Yuong Qai Chong & Thien Sang Lim, 2022. "Pull and Push Factors of Data Analytics Adoption and Its Mediating Role on Operational Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-19, June.
    17. Ahrholdt, Dennis C. & Gudergan, Siegfried P. & Ringle, Christian M., 2019. "Enhancing loyalty: When improving consumer satisfaction and delight matters," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 18-27.
    18. Sarstedt, Marko & Wilczynski, Petra & Melewar, T.C., 2013. "Measuring reputation in global markets—A comparison of reputation measures’ convergent and criterion validities," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 329-339.
    19. Meena Madhavan & Mohammed Ali Sharafuddin & Thanapong Chaichana, 2022. "Impact of Business Model Innovation on Sustainable Performance of Processed Marine Food Product SMEs in Thailand—A PLS-SEM Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-33, August.
    20. David Giauque & Frédéric Cornu & Karine Renard & Yves Emery, 2023. "Opportunity to Use New Ways of Working: Do Sectors and Organizational Characteristics Shape Employee Perceptions?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-21, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:14:y:2024:i:2:p:21582440241256780. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.