Title: Entrepreneurial intention benefitting from education, training and competence: Egypt and Iran

Authors: Shayegheh Ashourizadeh; Niloofar Nasiri; Thomas Schøtt

Addresses: Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Farshi Moghaddam St., Kargar Shomali St., 439813141, Tehran, Iran ' Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Farshi Moghaddam St., Kargar Shomali St., 439813141, Tehran, Iran ' Dept of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, University of Southern Denmark, Engstien 1, 6000 Kolding, Denmark

Abstract: The question is, for adults in Egypt and Iran, are education, training and competencies positively interrelated and is this human capital benefitting intention to start a business?- Data on people's human capital and intentions have been collected by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in 2008. The sample is 2,068 adults in Egypt and 2,610 adults in Iran who were not owning-managing a starting or operating business. Multivariate analyses reveal considerable effects of human capital in Egypt and Iran. Education benefits training, training during schooling benefits training after schooling, education and training largely benefit competencies such as self-efficacy and opportunity-alertness and education, training and competencies all benefit intention to start a business, but effects differ between Egypt and Iran. The study is valuable and original by demonstrating considerable effects of higher education that are channelled through training and competencies and raise performance, with generalisation from samples to adults in Egypt and Iran.

Keywords: higher education; business training; business competence; entrepreneurial intentions; Egypt; Iran; entrepreneurs; competencies; human capital; Global Entrepreneurship Monitor; GEM; MVA; multivariate analysis; self-efficacy; opportunity alertness; performance raising.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2014.065301

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2014 Vol.23 No.1/2, pp.94 - 109

Published online: 31 Oct 2014 *

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