Abstract
IEES investigates the phenomenon of student entrepreneurship (SE, entrepreneurial activity undertaken by university students) and focuses on its diffusion and impact in Italy across its different manifestations and on how higher education institutions (HEIs) ecosystems influence such manifestations. By students, the project refers to university students and recent graduates (within 5 Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca MUR - BANDO 2022 years after graduation; Colombo & Piva, 2020) and by entrepreneurship to the identification and exploitation of new business opportunities through venture creation or within existing organizations (Shane & Venkatamaran, 2000). Acquiring entrepreneurial skills to undertake entrepreneurial activities represents a key enabler of innovation and socio-economic development. Since students’ role in this respect is growing, HEIs around the world are prioritizing SE (Fyen et al., 2019). However, despite the growing amount of resources allocated by HEIs to stimulate SE, both scholars and policy makers indicate that the diffusion and impact of SE remain to be assessed. Studying SE in Italy is particularly relevant because the majority of students, who are looking for job opportunities in existing firms or their parents’ business (Hahn et al., 2018), could promote entrepreneurship in several types of organizations, not only through venture creation. Moreover, SE could favor higher inclusiveness for students from heterogeneous regional contexts (Annex 1, A1). Yet, while the vibrant research stream on SE has documented the role of HEIs in fostering venture creation of students and recent graduates (Colombo & Piva, 2020), we need to better understand how different manifestations of SE are diffused considering different forms (not just venture creation but also intrapreneurship in SMEs and corporations as well as succession in family firms, Hahn et al. 2021) and motivations (necessity vs. opportunity driven entrepreneurship, Fini et al., 2016); we also need more knowledge about the distinctive impact of SE across its different manifestations, given the lively debate on whether and how SE really matters (Eesley & Lee, 2021). Moreover, scholars call for a better understanding of the SE determinants (Bergmann et al., 2016). In particular, since students’ careers are largely influenced by the university context in which they are embedded (Wright et al., 2019), it is crucial to know how SE manifestations are shaped by HEIs ecosystems. These gaps lead to the following research questions, addressed through a multilevel approach: RQ1: What is the diffusion and impact of SE manifestations? RQ2: How do HEI ecosystems characteristics drive different manifestations of SE? IEES expects to contribute to entrepreneurship theory and SE literature and to provide valuable insights for policy makers, university managers and students. The project builds upon the scientific excellence of the consortium, demonstrated by recognized international research on SE and HEI ecosystems.
Results achieved
Results achieved
with the financial support received from the European Union: • The IEES project successfully completed the analysis of the diffusion of student entrepreneurship in Italy, highlighting how start-ups, succession in family businesses, and intrapreneurship represent complementary forms of entrepreneurial initiative. The results confirmed the significant contribution of these activities to innovation, economic growth, and social inclusion. • The research demonstrated the crucial role of university ecosystems in fostering student entrepreneurship. The analysis of courses, incubators, competitions, collaborations with companies, and academic culture made it possible to identify the main factors which, together with territorial characteristics, support or hinder the entrepreneurial development of young people. • IEES leveraged one of the largest Italian datasets dedicated to student entrepreneurship, created and maintained by AlmaLaurea. The project collected detailed evidence on entrepreneurial motivations, business performance, employment, innovation, skills, and graduates’ career paths, providing a resource of high scientific and institutional value. • The project produced new theoretical models and significant scientific contributions on the relationship between universities, territories, and student entrepreneurship. Through publications and datasets, IEES expanded the understanding of the processes that foster the emergence and impact of student entrepreneurial initiatives. Specifically, articles P1, P2, and P3 were published in scientific journals, while articles C1, C2, and C3 were published in conference proceedings. • IEES generated important practical and policy impacts by providing useful tools for universities and public decision-makers. The results, disseminated through workshops, focus groups, the project website, and white papers, contributed to the development of policies to support student entrepreneurship, enhance human capital, and reduce social and territorial inequalities. In particular, the report “The Missing Entrepreneurs” (R1), which introduces a specific perspective on diversity within student entrepreneurship, examines how the propensity to engage in entrepreneurial activity varies across different groups, particularly women, second-generation individuals, and people from different socio-economic backgrounds. The analysis was based on the use and integration of data from multiple sources, especially AlmaLaurea, Unioncamere, and AIDA, enabling the identification of graduate entrepreneurs and comparison of their characteristics with those of the overall graduate population. The findings highlight that access to entrepreneurship is not uniform: women are underrepresented, second-generation individuals display specific patterns but a lower overall incidence, while socio-economic background emerges as a particularly relevant factor in shaping entrepreneurial opportunities. Research outputs of the local UNIBO unit. • P1. Hess S., Wurth B., Stam E., Giones F., Fini R., Cavallo A., Wahl A., Bosma N., Theodoraki C., Chabaud D., Brem A., Kuckertz A., 2025 The Future of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Research: Toward a Policy-Oriented Research Agenda. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 23, e00538 https://ssrn.com/abstract=4956972 • P2. Wiklund J., Rasmussen E., Fini R., Aaboen L., 2025. Connecting Entrepreneurship Education and Entrepreneurship Research, Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, 8 (3), 345–370 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5108597 • P3. Fini R., Meoli A., Sobrero M., 2022. University Graduates’ Early Career Decisions and Interregional Mobility: Self-Employment vs. Salaried Job, Regional Studies, 56 (6), 972-988. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4055131 • C1. Serpente, G., & Fini, R. (2024). How Do Pre-Incubation Programs Foster New Venture Creation? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2024, No. 1, p. 19148). Valhalla, NY 10595: Academy of Management. • C2. Civera, A., Cascavilla, I., Meoli, A., Corazza, G. (2025). Exposure to women and career outcomes: understanding the path to entrepreneurship of Italian university students. o DIANA 2025 (1-4 July 2025), Auckland, New Zealand o Proceedings of 36th AIIG Conference (5-6 February 2026), Udine, Italy. • C3. Corazza, G., Fini, R., Meoli, A. (2025). The Structure of University Curricula and its Influence on Entrepreneurial Choices o Proceedings of 36th AIIG Conference (5-6 February 2026), Udine, Italy. • R1. Corazza, G., Fini, R., Meoli, A. (2025) “THE MISSING ENTREPRENEURS: Exploring student and graduate entrepreneurship in Italy among women, second-generation immigrants, and socio-economic backgrounds” (AlmaLaurea report).Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Riccardo Fini
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Scienze Aziendali
Coordinatore:
Università degli Studi di Bergamo(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 58.412,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
28/09/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
