Modelling the relationship between prior entrepreneurialexposure, entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial action using neural networks

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Botha, Melodi
Pohl, Marthi
Mubita, Lubinda

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Routledge

Abstract

Previous work on the relationships between entrepreneurship education, prior entrepreneurial exposure and entrepreneurial action has resulted in mixed findings. However, this work typically relies on linear models which may not adequately account for the relationships. Therefore, we explore artificial neural networks (ANN) to test non-linear relationships and compare these results with a linear regression model to understand the previous mixed findings. Data from 125 entrepreneurship graduates in Zambia revealed that a non-linear model best explained the variation in entrepreneurial action, whereby the relationship was cubic. These results explain some of the previously mixed findings and demonstrate the importance of educators, policy makers and scholars paying attention to non-linear relationships when aiming to promote and further understand entrepreneurship. Therefore, this paper has implications for educational initiatives aiming to augment entrepreneurship education, while also contributing to the development of theory explicating the relationship between entrepreneurial exposure, education and action.

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Entrepreneurial action, Artificial neural network (ANN), Entrepreneurship education, Prior entrepreneurial exposure, Emerging economy context, Neural networks, Non-linear relationship

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Citation

Melodi Botha, Marthi Pohl & Lubinda Mubita (2021) Modelling the relationship between prior entrepreneurial exposure, entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial action using neural networks, Development Southern Africa, 38:2, 264-281, DOI:10.1080/0376835X.2020.1826291.