PhD defence M. (Maike) Liu

Dissertation in short:

The number of entrepreneurship courses and programs in higher education has grown rapidly worldwide, and this growth reflects the increasing recognition that university-based support and education should foster students’ entrepreneurship outcomes. While most studies showed the importance of entrepreneurship education, little attention has been paid to the differential impact of different educational characteristics, the mechanisms through which these characteristics may have their impact, and whether and how students respond to these characteristics differently. Building on various theoretical perspectives, the studies presented in this dissertation help advance entrepreneurship education literature and practice. This dissertation shows that supportive social resources are more essential in experiential entrepreneurship programs, as compared to more traditional courses. Though both teacher-student and student-student relationships foster study engagement, regarding more practical feedback seeking process, collaborations between students contribute better than guidance from teachers. In contrast, in more traditional courses offering more challenging assignments plays a more important role. Previous studies have investigated the cognitive pathways through which entrepreneurship support and education relate to students’ entrepreneurship outcomes, whereas affective and behavioral processes have received scant attention in the literature. Our research is among the first that disentangle the affective and behavioral mechanisms from various theoretical perspectives. Furthermore, a one-size-fits-all solution may not be appropriate. Our studies show that psychological needs and regulatory focus are moderators of the way the study environment relates to study outcomes. Several new and unexplored research avenues have been recommended for future studies that may help further advance theoretical and practical implications.