DDMiers | via PRNewswire | New research reveals training boosts entrepreneurs’ earnings by 72%. | SINGAPORE — New research from SMU, INSEAD, and HEC Paris shows how growth training helps entrepreneurs improve revenue. This research initiative was developed by Profs. Reddi Kotha (SMU), Bala Vissa (INSEAD), Yimin Lin (SMU), and Anne Valerie Corboz (HEC Paris).
According to “Do Ambitious Entrepreneurs Benefit More from Training?,” training in growth-catalyst tools helped entrepreneurs raise venture revenues by 72%, or 40% more than entrepreneurs who did not obtain such training. The report also demonstrated that enterprises led by ambitious entrepreneurs enjoyed 100% revenue growth, compared to 10% for those without training.
The research findings are based on an extended field experiment encompassing interactive training sessions, workshops, and personalized coaching for 103 Singapore-based entrepreneurs (the remaining 78 were the study’s control group). New venture entrepreneurs received training in three growth-catalyst tools: business-model design, leveraging external networks, and developing internal teams.
The Strategic Management Journal article also looked at a venture’s “survival rate,” or likelihood of survival. According to the study, businesses whose founders participated had a 50% survival rate compared to 36% for those without growth-catalyst training.
Previous research on the influence of training on entrepreneurs and their companies had conflicting results – some found a beneficial benefit, while others did not. The authors of this study suggested that previous inconsistent results were due to two factors: Many past studies were done in emerging economies where entrepreneurship is often a necessity; (ii) entrepreneurs with various growth objectives may have been bundled into the same training intervention.
Prof. Vissa says, “Our research suggests that entrepreneurship training interventions in mature market economies should be designed differently for entrepreneurs that value development vs autonomy or control.”
The study’s authors say their findings can help policymakers build entrepreneur-friendly policies. “Fast-growing new ventures formed by opportunity-seeking entrepreneurs help society,” says Prof. Corboz, citing business and management experts.
Source: Singapore Management University
