Facultad de Económicas y CC Empresariales

The study of Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFC) has found that training and education have, among other things, a positive effect on overcoming barriers when starting your own firm. Our research can be placed in this line, but with an added specificity, since it is focused firstly on women and secondly on the digital economy. Thus, we have studied the situation of women entrepreneurs in the digital economy in Spain, asking them about their personal traits, the characteristics of their ventures and the barriers they encountered. We have studied the effect of EFCs on overcoming barriers to entrepreneurship, with a special focus on training and entrepreneurship education. In addition, the effect of self-efficacy perception (the conviction of having the necessary skills to start a business) on overcoming barriers to entrepreneurship has been factored in. After the implementation of a Structural Equation Model (SEM), we show that training helps female entrepreneurs in the digital economy to overcome barriers to entrepreneurship, especially after the mediation of their self-efficacy perception, which is increased by specific entrepreneurial training. We can conclude that policy recommendations to counteract the gender gap in entrepreneurship with specific training should be promoted, specifically in such a strategic sector as the digital economy

This paper reflects on the importance of employability skills for higher education students in the present and future working environment to determine the impact these skills may have on student competitiveness and satisfaction. The study focused on university students in the Madrid region during their final academic year who participated in a teaching activity that launched real business challenges. We created a model that analyzed the impact of employability skills on student competitiveness and satisfaction and the mediating role of competitiveness in two different moments (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic). Empirical findings suggest that students' improved employability skills increased their competitiveness and satisfaction, with competitiveness as a mediating factor. Thus, academic authorities must focus on students acquiring employability skills, which are among the most valuable in the labour market and positively impact student competitiveness and satisfaction. This way, future graduates can work successfully in a changing and demanding world and find positions aligned with their training. In contrast to some studies that place the teacher as the research target, ours focused on the student and the impact these skills have on the variables mentioned.