Developmental networks and entrepreneurial competence development: a survey of active and former junior entrepreneurs

In this study, we add the concept of Junior Entrepreneurship to the Entrepreneurship Education debate and investigate empirically how Junior Enterprises are related to the process of entrepreneurial competence development. We arguethat this analysis is the missing piece in the debate on the impact of Entrepreneurship Education. We draw on the developmental network perspective to propose that competence development among Junior Enterprise members is influenced by bothactive and former Junior Enterprise members. By using empirical data from a European survey, we analyse how the cognitive, functional and behaviour-related competencies of Junior Entrepreneurs are linked to their entrepreneurial intention. Overall, our study repudiates the traditional mentoring perspective in favour of the developmental network perspective. Our results support the hypotheses that certain activities carried out in developmental networks such as Junior Enterprises influence individual competencies and thereby entrepreneurial intention but also underline the significant differences in the effect of different types of activities. Key words: Junior Enterprise, developmental networks, competence development, entrepreneurial intention.