Gendered impact of training on entrepreneurial self-efficacy: a longitudinal study of nascent entrepreneurs

Abstract Entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) is a central concept for understanding the entrepreneurial process. Studies show that ESE differs between men and women. Does training have a gender-specific effect on ESE? To answer this question, we followed 238 nascent entrepreneurs who received 330 hours of training and we measured their level of ESE before training, six months after the initial assessment, then 6 and 12 months after that (final sample of 42). We found that gender had a significant effect on ESE change throughout the periods. Women had lower levels of ESE than men before training, but this difference was no longer significant after. We also found a quadratic effect of gender: while ESE was boosted in women after training, this effect did not remain constant in the ensuing periods. For men, we found the opposite quadratic effect: training slightly reduced their ESE, and the level increased slightly in the ensuing periods. For both genders, training appears to have had a short-term effect on their ESE. This highlights the necessity to study changes in ESE from a long-term perspective, and also the need to investigate how training or other support can lead to ESE improvement for female entrepreneurs.