Policy persistence without performance: compensatory legitimacy and the expansion of entrepreneurship education in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study examines why entrepreneurship education in Sub-Saharan Africa persists despite limited demonstrable impact. Drawing on institutional and compensatory entrepreneurship theory, we conduct a multi-level abductive study across Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia using 59 interviews with students, faculty, policymakers, and administrators. We show how entrepreneurship education operates as a compensatory legitimacy mechanism linking policy mandates, institutional compliance, and student dissatisfaction. Under conditions of resource constraint and high unemployment, symbolic implementation sustains governmental and university legitimacy despite weak outcomes. We specify the boundary conditions under which entrepreneurship education is likely to function symbolically rather than instrumentally and offer implications for policy design in resource-constrained contexts.