IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v26y2001i1p37-54.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Some Problems in Using Subjective Measures of Effectiveness to Evaluate Entrepreneurial Assistance Programs

Author

Listed:
  • Ed McMullan
  • James J. Chrisman
  • Karl Vesper

Abstract

Two samples of entrepreneurs and small business owners who received assistance from entrepreneurship training programs were used to Investigate the relationships between (1) subjective measures of client satisfaction, (2) perceptions of performance Improvements attributable to the programs, and (3) objective measures of post-assistance business performance. The results show that subjective measures are not correlated with either attributions of performance or actual performance. Clients’ attributions of the portion of performance improvements attributed to the programs are generally correlated with the objective measurements. An implication seems to be that program evaluations relying exclusively upon participants’ satisfaction or subjective judgments of program effectiveness may lead to erroneous conclusions about a program's impact on venture performance. Conversely, measures of attribution, used In conjunction with objective measures, may be useful to support claims for causal connections between assistance programs and subsequent client performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Ed McMullan & James J. Chrisman & Karl Vesper, 2001. "Some Problems in Using Subjective Measures of Effectiveness to Evaluate Entrepreneurial Assistance Programs," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 26(1), pages 37-54, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:26:y:2001:i:1:p:37-54
    DOI: 10.1177/104225870102600103
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/104225870102600103
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/104225870102600103?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jon M. Hawes & William F. Crittenden, 1984. "A taxonomy of competitive retailing strategies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(3), pages 275-287, July.
    2. Timothy J. Bartik, 1994. "Better Evaluation Is Needed for Economic Development Programs to Thrive," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 8(2), pages 99-106, May.
    3. George T. Solomon & K. Mark Weaver, 1983. "Small Business Institute Economic Impact Evaluation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 8(1), pages 41-51, July.
    4. Alfred M. Pelham, 1985. "Should the SBDC Program be Dismantled?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 10(2), pages 41-51, October.
    5. Afsaneh Nahavandi & Susan Chesteen, 1988. "The Impact of Consulting on Small Business: A Further Examination," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 13(1), pages 29-40, October.
    6. Chrisman, James J., 1989. "Strategic, administrative, and operating assistance: The value of outside consulting to pre-venture entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 4(6), pages 401-418, November.
    7. Laura A. Reese & David Fasenfest, 1997. "What Works Best?: Values and the Evaluation of Local Economic Development Policy," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 11(3), pages 195-207, August.
    8. Robinson, Peter B. & Sexton, Edwin A., 1994. "The effect of education and experience on self-employment success," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 141-156, March.
    9. McMullan, W. Ed & Long, Wayne A. & Graham, James B., 1986. "Assessing economic value added by university-based new-venture outreach programs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 225-240.
    10. Hugh Sherman & David S. Chappell, 1998. "Methodological Challenges in Evaluating Business Incubator Outcomes," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 12(4), pages 313-321, November.
    11. Timothy J. Bartik, "undated". "Better Evaluation is Needed for Economic Development Programs to Survive," Upjohn Working Papers tjb1994edq, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    12. Chrisman, James J. & Carsrud, Alan L. & DeCastro, Julio & Herron, Lanny, 1990. "A comparison of assistance needs of male and female pre-venture entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 235-248, July.
    13. James J. Chrisman, 1997. "Program Evaluation and the Venture Development Program at the University of Calgary: A Research Note," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 22(1), pages 59-73, October.
    14. Brush, Candida G. & Vanderwerf, Pieter A., 1992. "A comparison of methods and sources for obtaining estimates of new venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 157-170, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Abu Syeed Muhammed Abdullah & Abdul Latif, 2014. "Evaluation of Entrepreneurship Development Training Program of Bangladesh Small & Cottage Industries Corporation: A Study on 3-Days Long Workshop on Entrepreneurial Development Arranged by BSCIC, Sylh," Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, Educational Research Multimedia & Publications,India, vol. 5(2), pages 53-61, May.
    2. James J. Chrisman & Elizabeth Gatewood & Leo B. Donlevy, 2002. "A Note on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Outsider Assistance Programs in Rural versus Non-Rural States," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 26(3), pages 67-80, April.
    3. Wudu Melese Tarekegne & Alebachew Hailu Gelaneh, 2019. "The Integration of Entrepreneurship Education in to Ethiopian Universities Formal Curriculum," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 8(2), pages 61-73, April.
    4. Phillip A. Singerman & Kenneth P. Voytek, 2023. "Measuring What Matters in Business Support Programs," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 37(1), pages 106-114, February.
    5. VANDERSTRAETEN, Johanna & MATTHYSSENS, Paul & VAN WITTELOOSTUIJN, Arjen, 2012. "Measuring the performance of business incubators," Working Papers 2012012, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    6. Nicole E. Peterman & Jessica Kennedy, 2003. "Enterprise Education: Influencing Students’ Perceptions of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 28(2), pages 129-144, March.
    7. Dirk Oberschachtsiek & Patrycja Scioch, 2015. "The outcome of coaching and training for self-employment. A statistical evaluation of outside assistance support programs for unemployed business founders in Germany [Die Erfolgswirkung von Gründer," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 48(1), pages 1-25, March.
    8. Sarah Kösters & Martin Obschonka, 2011. "Public Business Advice in the Founding Process: An Empirical Evaluation of Subjective and Economic Effects," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 29(4), pages 577-604, August.
    9. Ehrhardt, Andreas & Nippa, Michael, 2005. "Far better than nothing at all: Towards a contingency-based evaluation of management consulting services," Freiberg Working Papers 2005/09, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    10. Lovgren, Adam & Ross, R. Brent & Peterson, H. Christopher, 2012. "Overcoming Selection Bias in Measuring the Effect of Entrepreneurial Assistance Programs," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124815, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. A. Herrero de Egaña Espinosa de los Monteros & Cornelis Adrianus (Kees-Jan) van Dorp, 2011. "Methodology and Evaluation of Entrepreneurship Courses," International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), Computer Science Journals (CSC Journals), vol. 1(3), pages 132-155, February.
    12. Lovgren Adam & Ross R. Brent & Peterson H. Christopher & Leschewski Andrea, 2020. "Do Entrepreneurial Assistance Programs Create Value for Agri-Food Entrepreneurs?," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
    13. Paul Harrison Adjimah & Akli Lawrence Perry, 2014. "Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Development Programs in Ghanaian Polytechnics," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 4(1), pages 78-89.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James J. Chrisman, 1997. "Program Evaluation and the Venture Development Program at the University of Calgary: A Research Note," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 22(1), pages 59-73, October.
    2. James J. Chrisman & Elizabeth Gatewood & Leo B. Donlevy, 2002. "A Note on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Outsider Assistance Programs in Rural versus Non-Rural States," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 26(3), pages 67-80, April.
    3. Chrisman, James J. & McMullan, Ed & Hall, Jeremy, 2005. "The influence of guided preparation on the long-term performance of new ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 769-791, November.
    4. James J. Chrisman & John Leslie, 1989. "Strategic, Administrative, and Operating Problems: The Impact of Outsiders on Small Firm Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 13(3), pages 37-52, April.
    5. James J. Chrisman & W. Ed McMullan, 2000. "A Preliminary Assessment of Outsider Assistance as a Knowledge Resource: The Longer-Term Impact of New Venture Counseling," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 24(3), pages 37-53, April.
    6. Ratinho, Tiago & Amezcua, Alejandro & Honig, Benson & Zeng, Zhaocheng, 2020. "Supporting entrepreneurs: A systematic review of literature and an agenda for research," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    7. Jill L. Tao & Richard C. Feiock, 1999. "Directing Benefits to Need: Evaluating the Distributive Consequences of Urban Economic Development," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 13(1), pages 55-65, February.
    8. Darin Wohlgemuth & Maureen Kilkenny, 1998. "Firm Relocation Threats and Copy Cat Costs," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 21(2), pages 139-162, August.
    9. Andrew M. Isserman, 1993. "State Economic Development Policy and Practice in the United States: A Survey Article," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 16(1-2), pages 49-100, April.
    10. Rice, Mark P., 2002. "Co-production of business assistance in business incubators: an exploratory study," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 163-187, March.
    11. Ted K. Bradshaw, 2002. "The Contribution of Small Business Loan Guarantees to Economic Development," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 16(4), pages 360-369, November.
    12. Seo, Joo Hwan & Perry, Vanessa G. & Tomczyk, David & Solomon, George T., 2014. "Who benefits most? The effects of managerial assistance on high- versus low-performing small businesses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 2845-2852.
    13. Anna, Alexandra L. & Chandler, Gaylen N. & Jansen, Erik & Mero, Neal P., 2000. "Women business owners in traditional and non-traditional industries," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 279-303, May.
    14. Ruwan Abeysekera & Dean Patton & Andrew Mullineux, 2015. "Co-Production in Business Counselling in Microfinance Setting: A Conceptual Approach," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(03), pages 299-319, September.
    15. Walter, Sascha G. & Dohse, Dirk, 2009. "The interplay between entrepreneurship education and regional knowledge potential in forming entrepreneurial intentions," Kiel Working Papers 1549, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    16. Mustafa Dinc & Kingsley E. Haynes, 1999. "Regional Efficiency in the Manufacturing Sector: Integrated Shift-Share and Data Envelopment Analysis," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 13(2), pages 183-199, May.
    17. Dirk Dohse & Sascha G. Walter, 2010. "The role of entrepreneurship education and regional context in forming entrepreneurial intentions," Working Papers 2010/18, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    18. Haber, Sigal & Reichel, Arie, 2007. "The cumulative nature of the entrepreneurial process: The contribution of human capital, planning and environment resources to small venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 119-145, January.
    19. Bill Farley, 2020. "Self-Report Accuracy in Local Economic Development Programs," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 34(4), pages 315-324, November.
    20. Candida G. Brush, 1992. "Research on Women Business Owners: Past Trends, a New Perspective and Future Directions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 16(4), pages 5-30, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:26:y:2001:i:1:p:37-54. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.