You say you can, but can you? The impact of entrepreneurship education on unwarranted and gendered entrepreneurial self-efficacy - a calibration study
| dc.contributor.author | Rienke Van Ewijk,Anne | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-01-14T04:57:59Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-01-14T04:57:59Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description | Entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), as domain-specific application of Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977, 1997), is rooted in agency theory (Newman et al., 2019) and refers to an individual’s belief in his/her capability to perform tasks and roles aimed at entrepreneurial outcomes (Chen et al., 1998). ESE is highly relevant for key aspects of entrepreneurship, such as risk-taking, creativity, leadership, proactivity, persistence and passion (Newman et al., 2019). According to Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior and Shapero’s entrepreneurial event model (Boyd and Vozikis, 1994; Krueger Jr et al., 2000), ESE is a proven determinant of entrepreneurial intentions, fostering entrepreneurial behavior. | |
| dc.description.abstract | Purpose: Entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) has a dark side largely ignored in the field of entrepreneurship education. Research in educational psychology indicates that self-efficacy is prone to misjudgment, with novice learners often displaying overconfidence. Furthermore, this misjudgment is gendered; studies suggest that men are more likely to display overconfidence and less likely to correct erroneous self-assessments. However, realistic self-assessments are essential for effective learning strategies, pivotal for performance in the ambiguous entrepreneurial context. Therefore, this study explores whether entrepreneurship education helps mitigate overconfidence, and if this impact varies by gender. Design/methodology/approach: Common in educational psychology, but new in the field of entrepreneurship education, a calibration design captures discrepancies between perceived and actual performance. Data from before and after an introductory undergraduate entrepreneurship course (N = 103) inform descriptive analyses, statistical comparison tests and calibration plots. Findings: As expected, nearly all novice students showed significant overconfidence. Curiously, gender difference was only significant at the end of the course, as overconfidence had decreased among female students and increased among male students. Originality/value: The paper advocates a more nuanced stance toward ESE, and introduces ESE accuracy as a more fitting measure of entrepreneurial overconfidence. The findings flag the common use of self-perception as a proxy for actual competence, and evoke new research avenues on (gender differences in) learning motivations of aspiring entrepreneurs. Finally, the study shares guidance for entrepreneurship educators on fostering a “healthier” level of self-efficacy for better entrepreneurial learning. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Education, Gender, Self-efficacy, Overconfidence, Competence, Calibration | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Van Ewijk, A. R. (2025). You say you can, but can you? The impact of entrepreneurship education on unwarranted and gendered entrepreneurial self-efficacy-a calibration study. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 31(8), 1915-1940. | |
| dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-08-2023-0803 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://repository.adu.ac.ae/handle/1/7967 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Emerald Publishing | |
| dc.title | You say you can, but can you? The impact of entrepreneurship education on unwarranted and gendered entrepreneurial self-efficacy - a calibration study | |
| dc.type | Article |