The Efficient Market Hypothesis in Youth Entrepreneurship: Understanding, Application, and Contextual Factors — A Systematic Literature Review

Authors

• Omari Khalifa Mbura Prof,, University of Dar es SalaamFollow
• Binto M. Binto, The Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial AcademyFollow

Abstract

This systematic literature review explores how youth entrepreneurs understand and apply the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) in their decision-making, and examines the contextual factors influencing the decision-making nexus. Guided by a post-positivist framework, the review synthesises extant literature across youth entrepreneurship, finance, and digital strategy to map emerging themes and identify knowledge gaps. It covered a sample of 38 peer-reviewed articles, selected in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Findings of the systematic literature review show that youth entrepreneurs' engagement with EMH is largely experiential and indirect, influenced by digital literacy, social learning, and the realities of rapidly changing market environments. In particular, youth entrepreneurs perceiving markets as highly efficient tend to focus on innovation, branding, and operational excellence, while those sensing inefficiencies pursue arbitrage and exploit information gaps. The findings further underscore the influence of industry, technology access, entrepreneurship education, and cultural context on these strategies. Notably, digital advancements have both reduced and reconfigured information asymmetries, creating new advantages and barriers within youth entrepreneurship ecosystems. The study calls for hybrid, context-driven frameworks that integrate both rationalist and behavioural perspectives, and highlights the need for youth entrepreneurship education to balance theoretical, analytical, and digital skills. This review is subject to potential language bias arising from the restriction to English-language publications, as well as potential publication bias resulting from the exclusion of grey literature and non-peer-reviewed sources. To build upon the review findings, future research should adopt longitudinal and cross-cultural approaches to explore how youths' entrepreneurial perceptions of market efficiency evolve over time across diverse social learning contexts. Overall, the systematic literature review offers new insights into the evolving relationship between EMH and youth entrepreneurship, with implications for theory, practice, and policy.

Recommended Citation

Mbura, Omari Khalifa Prof, and Binto, Binto M. (2026) "The Efficient Market Hypothesis in Youth Entrepreneurship: Understanding, Application, and Contextual Factors — A Systematic Literature Review," Business Management Review: Vol. 29: No. 1, Article 11.
Available at: https://doi.org/doi