Eco-labelling and firm financial performance

Eco-labels are alleged to attain the labelled firm with enhanced financial performance. However, there is virtually no empirical evidence on the impact of eco-labelling on firm financial performance. This study seeks to fill this gap by determining whether eco-labelled firms report superior financial performance compared to equivalent firms without an eco- label. Regression analyses of secondary accounting data of 858 firms indicate that eco- labelled firms report superior return on sales. Contrary to suggestions from the CSR literature and the resource-advantage theory, the findings suggest that the positive effect diminishes and that financial returns are hampered over time. This contradict that eco-labelling induce innovative learning effects resulting in a long term comparative advantage. These findings have practical and academic implications related to the design and implementation of eco- labels and the study significantly contribute to the emerging debate concerning the financial value of environmental investments. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed

Graduates of venture creation programs - where do they apply their entrepreneurial competencies?

The assessment of entrepreneurship education outcomes should move beyond a focus on firm creation and associated economic impact to consider a more nuanced view that pays attention to graduates and their entrepreneurial competencies. There is currently limited understanding to what extent entrepreneurial competencies developed through entrepreneurship education are applied in graduates\u27 subsequent careers across various occupational roles, either as employees or as self-employed. Our analysis is based on a survey administered to 556 graduates from three Nordic master-level entrepreneurship education programs (1997-2018), all identified as venture creation programs. We find that, to a large extent, entrepreneurial competencies developed through venture creation programs are applied in subsequent careers across multiple occupational roles encompassing self-employment, hybrid entrepreneurship, and intrapreneurship. Entrepreneurship education is relevant not only to new firm creation but also to entrepreneurial positions in established organizations when it comes to graduates\u27 application of entrepreneurial competencies in subsequent careers. Plain English Summary Entrepreneurial competencies developed through entrepreneurship education are applicable to careers other than "start-up entrepreneur." This article examines graduates from three entrepreneurship education programs in Northern Europe where students experienced venture creation as part of the education. Graduates report the extent to which they apply entrepreneurial competencies (AECs) in their subsequent career. The most common career among graduates is self-employed entrepreneur, closely followed by a career as intrapreneur, where graduates apply their entrepreneurial competencies in established organizations. A smaller group of graduates have careers as hybrid entrepreneurs, where they combine paid employment with self-employment. A minority group of graduates have more conventional careers as full-time employees in established companies, where entrepreneurial tasks are not their main activities. The results indicate that venture creation programs provide fertile ground for graduates to engage in a broad spectrum of entrepreneurial careers. From the analysis, we found that a career as an intrapreneur is more similar to a self-employed entrepreneur than to a conventional employee. An implication for entrepreneurship education is that real-life educational experience through venture creation is applicable to entrepreneurial careers beyond start-ups. Additionally, the study provides a first attempt to connect entrepreneurial competencies developed through education with how such competencies are manifested in graduates\u27 subsequent careers, motivating a discursive shift in how policies could spur a more entrepreneurial society that goes beyond a narrow start-up perspective

The Social Structure of Entrepreneurial Education as a Scientific Field

Entrepreneurial education as a scientific field can be regarded as an emerging and growing area of research. In this study we pay particular attention to the community of scholars involved in entrepreneurial education. The aim of the paper is to explore how scholars within the field have integrated into larger scholarly communities. Based on a unique database and web-based responses from 313 entrepreneurial education scholars, we demonstrate that scholars within the field exhibit great variety in their scientific outlooks and appreciation of communication systems. However, we find that the field consists of four scholarly communities characterized by a specific combination of scholarly inspirations, favorite meeting places, and publication channels, of which three clusters are anchored in the field of entrepreneurship, and only one cluster shows a strong entrepreneurial education research identity. Finally, the results indicate a low consolidation across the scholarly communities, which highlights the need for reflections on how the field can achieve increased integration and cohesion in the future

Graduates of venture creation programs - where do they apply their entrepreneurial competencies?

The assessment of entrepreneurship education outcomes should move beyond a focus on firm creation and associated economic impact to consider a more nuanced view that pays attention to graduates and their entrepreneurial competencies. There is currently limited understanding to what extent entrepreneurial competencies developed through entrepreneurship education are applied in graduates’ subsequent careers across various occupational roles, either as employees or as self-employed. Our analysis is based on a survey administered to 556 graduates from three Nordic master-level entrepreneurship education programs (1997–2018), all identified as venture creation programs. We find that, to a large extent, entrepreneurial competencies developed through venture creation programs are applied in subsequentcareers across multiple occupational roles encompassing self-employment, hybrid entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Entrepreneurship education is relevant not only to new firm creation but also to entrepreneurial positions in established organizations when it comes to graduates’ application of entrepreneurial competencies in subsequent careers