Talent, training and experience: the nuanced role of the entrepreneur's human capital in his business.

Summary Entrepreneurship has aroused a strong interest, both scientific and political, which has resulted in substantial public investments aimed at supporting entrepreneurs and encouraging the development and sustainability of their activity. The very interest in promoting entrepreneurship calls for a rigorous evaluation. Following a quantitative approach, the present PhD thesis focuses specifically on the role played by the entrepreneur's human capital stock, measured by his or her level of education, training and entrepreneurial experience, in his or her activity. The empirical results indicate that it is not relevant to consider the entrepreneur's human capital stock in a global way. Moreover, none of these components has an unequivocal effect on the three dimensions of entrepreneurial performance considered: duration of activity, job creation and financial results.