Entrepreneurial support organizations as providers of entrepreneurial education and training

Entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs), such as pre-incubators, incubators, and accelerators, have gained significant attention for their role in fostering entrepreneurship. Among their key functions is bridging theoretical and practical knowledge, making them important settings for entrepreneurial education and training. This research provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge regarding entrepreneurial education and training offered by ESOs. Through a systematic literature review of 64 peer-reviewed articles, we examine the factors that motivate and influence the variety of entrepreneurship teaching and learning initiatives within ESOs, as well as their outcomes. The key findings of this study are as follows: organizational and institutional factors are the primary “antecedents” of entrepreneurial education and training in ESOs. These factors influence the “variety” of initiatives within ESOs (e.g., selection practices, program duration, teaching and evaluation methods) and the “outcomes” at both the individual and organizational levels. Based on these findings, we develop a taxonomy of educational ideotypes for ESOs. This work contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial ecosystems, providing valuable policy and practice recommendations.