Entrepreneurial education and knowledge: empirical evidence on a sample of German undergraduate students

摘要

In this paper, we examine the current state of entrepreneurial education and knowledge of German undergraduate students. In our empirical analysis we examine a data set which comprises responses of 386 undergraduate students and which is not biased by program-specific effects. We analyze students' understanding of aspects that play a crucial role in business start-ups in order to identify gaps in knowledge and relevant competences. We find evidence that the students evaluate schools' imparting of relevant knowledge for entrepreneurs as rather moderate. Our findings indicate that students' age, their general level of entrepreneurship-related knowledge, their ambition to become entrepreneurs, the share of relevant material taught in school as well as the assessment of the transfer of competence by the school attended before the bachelors program substantially influence the gaps in knowledge and competences. Based on our findings about the current state of entrepreneurial knowledge and education in Germany, we discuss implications for relevant stakeholders.