The Curious Relationship Between Military Service and Entrepreneurial Intentions in Israel

Abstract

Our research, based on a sample of 500 veterans currently studying at Israeli colleges and universities, suggests that certain aspects of military service are associated with greater entrepreneurial intentions. Specifically, the desire to engage in entrepreneurship is higher among veterans with command experience than veterans without. Similarly, veterans of technological units generally express greater entrepreneurial interest than veterans of combat units. A comparison of commissioned and noncommissioned officers yields curious results and offers a possible direction for further investigation. Although Israel is among the few countries that maintains a mandatory draft, the general applicability of these findings to countries with volunteer forces is discussed.