The hidden link between entrepreneurship and military education

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change 2021-02, Vol.163, p.120429, Article 120429
• Main Authors: Crecente, Fernando, Sarabia, María, Teresa del Val, María
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Armed forces; Business competition; Education; Empirical analysis; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Loyalty; Mandatory military education; Military service; Sociocultural factors; Strategy; Teamwork; Total entrepreneurship activity
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120429

•Veterans have greater capacities to perceive opportunities and greater perception of fear of failure.•Mandatory military service is not a differentiating element to explain the rate of entrepreneurial activity in a country.•Mandatory military service develops key abilities to undertake that they cannot be explained when it is not mandatory.•The fear of failure is higher in countries with mandatory military service.•The stimulation of entrepreneurial programmes for veterans enhances self-employment. Nowadays, military service is mandatory in twenty-nine countries around the world. This military education develops abilities on strategy, teamwork and networking and encourages values such as loyalty, effort, and well-done work. Israel is a clear example of this behavior due to its sociocultural, educative, linguistic and policy dimensions which allow it to develop a competitive strategy based on startups with high potential growth (Haour, 2005). Authors such as Kerrick et al. (2016), Hansemark (2003) and Hatten and Ruhland (1995) show empirical results about the relationship between entrepreneurial education and its impact on entrepreneurship during adulthood. Other authors identify behaviors such as self-efficacy and a passion for inventing, founding and developing skills which could be learnt in different educational scenarios such as in the military (Dinnar and Susskind, 2019). The aim of this paper is to study the link between military education and entrepreneurship. Using a sample frame from the World Military Guide (WMG) and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), we analyze variables associated with entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial training in 42 countries worldwide for the period 2013–2018, of which 13 countries have mandatory military service. The study shows that mandatory military service does not predispose to greater entrepreneurial activity compared to other countries where military service is not mandatory.