Purpose -This paper aims to evaluate the effect of participation in business and economics education programs on the student's entrepreneurial intention in terms of perceptions of the desirability and personal feasibility of starting a business. Design/methodology/approach -The methodology used to measure the student's entrepreneurial intention is the data envelopment analysis (DEA). This approach involves mathematical programming and as a new tool in this field has permitted enrichment of the results achieved. Findings -Results reveal that the explanatory factors for both types of students are different. This could be explained because the students choose one career or another according to their expectations of employment. In this sense, the student's entrepreneurial intention decreases in the business students when they progress in their studies and they are closer in contact with the business reality. However, the student's entrepreneurial intention increases in the case of business students when they choose a future work option different to work in public administration. Research limitations/implications -Although the work reaches conclusive findings, further research is required in a longitudinal way. Practical implications -The article provides new methodology and results in the field of entrepreneurship and employability in higher education in Spain. Originality/value -In the context of the theory of planned behavior, the article is innovative on a methodological level in arguing for "connected" perceptions of the desirability and personal feasibility of starting a business with an approach toward employability and enterprise development for students. The authors think that the understanding of the sources of "entrepreneurial intention" at the students' level is crucial for policymakers to develop appropriate educational polices to improve entrepreneurship performances.

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This study investigates the determinants of firm size. Data was collected in face‐to‐face structured‐questionnaire interviews of 1314 firm founders from 14 counties in Argentina. Quantile regression was used as a more suitable methodology to measure the determinants of firm size. Our results show that the main sets of explanatory variables related to founder characteristics (age, experience, education, and vocation) provide a full explanation of firm size. We have also found evidence that a high degree strategic planning and a better competitive position are positively related to firm size as well. Finally, environmental factors were less representative. Santrauka Straipsnyje nagrinejami imones dydi lemiantys veiksniai. Duomenys buvo renkami apklausiant 1314 imo‐niu Argentinoje, pasitelkus struktūruota anketa, kuri buvo pildoma apklausos metu. Imones dydi lemian‐tiems veiksniams ivertinti buvo pritaikyta regresine analize. Rezultatai parode, kad pagrindinis aiškinamuju kintamuju rinkinys, susijes su steigejo charakteristikomis (amžiumi, patirtimi, išsilavinimu irprofesija), le‐mia imones dydi. Rasta irodymu, kad aukšto lygio strateginis planavimas ir geresne konkurencine pozicija turi tiesiogini ryši su imones dydžiu. Aplinkos veiksniai pasirode esa ne tokie reprezentatyvūs.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide new evidence about the technical efficiency and its determinants in Spanish textile sector during the period 2002-2009. The empirical results suggest that the effects of trade liberalization have led to higher levels of inefficiency in the Spanish sector, due to the lack of flexibility of firms to adjust to the environment, and perhaps to aggressive competition with fuzzy rules of the game. Controlling for specific factor like age, intensity of capital, salary by worker, regions and market share, the authors have obtained that the interaction between market share and size indicates that as firms have more size are also more inefficient. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the stochastic frontier production function is considered, specifically, a panel data version of Battese and Coelli (1995), in which the technical inefficiency is estimated from the stochastic frontier and simultaneously explained by a set of variables. This approach avoids the inconsistency problems of the two-stage approach used in other empirical works when analyzing the inefficiency determinants. Findings – This work provides new evidence about the technical efficiency and its determinants can be due to environmental or firm-specific factors in Spanish textile sector during the period 2002-2009. The authors have estimated the Cobb-Douglass stochastic production frontier following Battese and Coelli (1995) model to analyze an unbalanced panel. Originality/value – The empirical results suggest that the trend of the inefficiency shows a curvilinear behavior in the form of U (turning point third-quarter of 2004). This result is related to the efficiency analysis through Kernel distributions (in static and dynamic form) confirmed a clear process of divergence. In the period 2002-2005 the efficiency of the firms analyzed maintained higher levels than the 2005-2009 period where there is deterioration. This may be related to the increased competition due to the end of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement in January 2005 and the entry of Chinese products in 2004.