• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.135-146
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• 2017

Entrepreneurship based on valuable opportunities has a positive effect on long-term economic growth. This study examines the entrepreneurship education offered to small business entrepreneurs from the perspective of opportunity-driven entrepreneurship in order to suggest improvements and future direction for small business entrepreneurship education. Also, we tried to investigate entrepreneurial behaviors related to opportunity development more effectively by considering entrepreneurial self-efficacy and regulatory focus that play a crucial role in opportunity development process as mediating variables. Conducted was an online survey of small business owners nationwide who have completed entrepreneurship education provided by the government, and 345 online survey data were used for empirical analysis. The results show that entrepreneurship education for small business entrepreneurs positively influences entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy is positively related to both opportunity recognition and evaluation as well as the promotion and prevention focus. Entrepreneurship education, which includes theoretically and practically oriented courses, has a positive impact on both the promotion and prevention focus. The promotion focus of small business entrepreneurs was found to have a positive effect on opportunity recognition, but not on opportunity evaluation. Also, the preventive focus of small business entrepreneurs does not have a significant effect on both opportunity recognition and evaluation. The current entrepreneurship education for small business entrepreneurs does not have a significant impact on their opportunity recognition and evaluation. These results suggest that the current entrepreneurship education for small business entrepreneurs needs improvements to promote opportunity-driven entrepreneurship.