ABSTRACT:

“In the past decade, the Veteran Entrepreneurship Industry (VEI) has seen a remarkable expansion in the U.S., yet its effectiveness remains largely unexplored. Utilizing data from the National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs with 2222 respondents, we delve into the effectiveness of VEI and the general Entrepreneurship Industry (EI) to address veteran-specific challenges of military veteran entrepreneurs. Building on cultural and social support theories, we broaden the existing literature on EI by focusing on the specific subset of military veteran entrepreneurs. We propose an outcome-based model to measure the impact of EI on this group, emphasizing factors such as a sense of belonging, sense of purpose, transition difficulties and social capital, thereby extending the potential benefits of EI. We find a mixed impact of VEI and EI on these key outcomes, suggesting a nuanced and equivocal role of the entrepreneurship industry on military-affiliated entrepreneurs. We highlight policy implications to better serve the diverse veteran population.”

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS:

• This study examines the association between the Veteran Entrepreneurship Industry (VEI) and sense of belonging, sense of purpose, military-to-civilian
  transition difficulty, and social capital using data collected from the 2020 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs (NSMAE).
• Among the 427 veteran entrepreneurs included in the analysis, 43% utilized at least one veteranspecific entrepreneurship resource and 42% utilized
  only non-VEI resources.
• The authors find that engagement with veteranspecific entrepreneurship resources is not significantly associated with a veteran’s sense of purpose, but VEI resources are significantly and positively associated with sense of community support and belonging. The authors also found that use of VEI and non-VEI resources is associated with greater perceived social support among veteran entrepreneurs. Finally, there is limited evidence to support the notion that VEI, relative to more general entrepreneurship resources, is more effective at addressing military-to-civilian transition concerns.