Who intends to enroll in entrepreneurship education? Entrepreneurial self-identity as a precursor

Entrepreneurial self-identity is attracting increasing attention as a potentially relevant variable in explaining the entrepreneurial process. So far, most research treats entrepreneurial self-identity as a consequence of, or, at the most, as being developed through the start-up process. In this paper, in contrast, we analyze its role as a previous element that helps determine the entrepreneurial intention of individuals, the perceived usefulness of entrepreneurship education and, indirectly, their interest in participating in entrepreneurship education courses. Our hypotheses are tested on a sample of Italian university students and graduates (N=88) with no previous participation in entrepreneurship education or self-employment experience. The results clearly support the proposed model. The implications of these results, if further confirmed, are highly relevant. They indicate that there is a strong risk of self-selection bias in most entrepreneurship education evaluation studies. This is due to an element of reversed causation in which participants who already exhibit a higher entrepreneurial self-identity are more interested in entrepreneurship. At the same time, these results also suggest that professionals and public decision-makers involved in fostering entrepreneurship should pay attention to the development of this entrepreneurial self-identity in childhood and adolescence.