Determinants and success factors of student entrepreneurship: evidence from the University of Padova

Studying student entrepreneurship is an innovative way of examining the impact of universities on a territory. This study of the entrepreneurial activities of the 119,347 graduates of the University of Padova between 2000 and 2010 sheds light on the determinants of student entrepreneurship and of the success of entrepreneurial action. The analysis reveals that student entrepreneurship is 1) gender- biased, 2) positively correlated with entrepreneurship education, 3) dependent on the university course attended by the entrepreneur, and 4) negatively affected by a period of study abroad. The success of entrepreneurial action is 1) positively dependent on proximity between the type of activities performed by the company and the type of university course attended and 2) not influenced by proximity between the location of a start-up and the founder’s place of residence. The implications of these results for the organization of university curricula and possible actions to support student entrepreneurship are discussed.