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This chapter extends and elaborates the individual-opportunity nexus framework on entrepreneurship. First, the chapter discusses in detail the existence of entrepreneurial opportunities, and the processes of opportunity discovery and exploitation. Second, the chapter describes several typologies of opportunities. Third, the chapter discusses the importance of the locus of opportunity discovery and exploitation.
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... He argues that individuals make occupational choices based on compatibility with their predominant personality characteristics (realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional) measured by the Vocational Preference Inventory (Holland, 1978). A related or equivalent concept to Holland's theory of vocational personalities and work environments which essentially investigates and predicts the person-work environment fit, can be found in the Entrepreneur-Opportunity Nexus concept by Shane (2003), Eckhardt and Shane (2010), and Sarason et al. (2006). Concerning opportunity recognition, the authors Shane and Venkataraman (2000); Venkataraman (1997) establish three critical components of the field: a) the sources of opportunities, b) the processes of discovery, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities; and the set of individuals who discover, evaluate, and exploit them. ...
... Gottfredson and Duffy, 2008). Finally, the person-related Ikigai components ("What you love" and "What you are good at") are a balanced counterpart of environment and market-related components ("What the world needs" and "What you can be paid for) that can be associated with the Entrepreneur-Opportunity Nexus (Shane, 2003;Eckhardt and Shane, 2010;Sarason et al., 2006). ...
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Entrepreneurship has gained increased attention over the last decades. This article evaluates modern entrepreneurship approaches based on the Ikigai framework, a traditional Japanese concept of "life worth living", and the Entrepreneur-Opportunity Nexus, which both holistically address and integrate personal (internal) and environmental (external) criteria. This article argues that modern approaches, such as Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Business Model Canvas and Effectuation, are not sufficiently integrating the internal perspective of the entrepreneurial individual. Further, this paper evaluates Ikigai's usefulness in expanding entrepreneurship education towards an entrepreneur-centred view for a holistic approach to entrepreneurship. Using Ikigai and extending the existing double diamond model with the "entrepreneur space", we are integrating life design into the entrepreneurial process.
... As a theory and a practice, entrepreneurship has relied on the abstract (based on the creative view) and actual (based on the discovery view) instantiation of the opportunity to develop it as a conceptual anchor for entrepreneurship research. Opportunity is formed at the interface between the entrepreneurs and their environments or in Shane and Eckhardt's individual-opportunity nexus (Eckhardt & Shane, 2010;. What happens in the individual-opportunity nexus? ...
... The central theme of the Shanian (2003) discovery view is the individualopportunity nexus, where the opportunities are independently existing in agentindependent external circumstances. Implicitly, the existence of opportunity precedes discovery/exploitation (Eckhardt & Shane, 2010). The information value of the opportunity depends on the interpretation by the different observers. ...
Article
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Entrepreneurship must necessarily involve actions under uncertainties. How is opportunity discovered and perceived that will eventually trigger and stimulate entrepreneurial action? An ongoing conversation in entrepreneurship concerns the clumsiness in the definition of opportunity – whether discovered or created, objective or subjective. Can opportunity exist independently, as a pre-existing object, even without being observed by any actors? Or is opportunity subjectively and socially constructed? Are they real or artificial? This paper articulates opportunity as a holographic representation that provides cues and signals to alert entrepreneurs to act. We attempt to explain how opportunity-as-hologram inspires and motivates entrepreneurial action. The proposed opportunity-as-hologram construct (or holographic opportunity) is representationally valuable as it embraces the various definitional variations and clarifies the opportunity concepts underpinning entrepreneurship. Central to this paper are the re-casted perspectives on opportunities by addressing the major conceptual issues at the core of entrepreneurship theories. The three views – discovery, creation, and actualisation of opportunities – can be valid and mutually non-exclusive in holographic terms. This paper explores implicate and explicate orders and quantum theory concepts theorised by physicist David Bohm. This conceptual construct of holographic opportunity contributes to the ongoing dialogues on the opportunity, improves the conceptual clarity of opportunity, and opens new research and practice possibilities.
... As a theory and a practice, entrepreneurship has relied on the abstract (based on the creative view) and actual (based on the discovery view) instantiation of the opportunity to develop it as a conceptual anchor for entrepreneurship research. Opportunity is formed at the interface between the entrepreneurs and their environments or in Shane and Eckhardt's individual-opportunity nexus (Eckhardt & Shane, 2010. What happens in the individual-opportunity nexus? ...
... The central theme of the Shanian discovery view is the individual-opportunity nexus, where the opportunities are independently existing in agent-independent external circumstances (Shane, 2003). Implicitly, the existence of opportunity precedes discovery/exploitation (Eckhardt & Shane, 2010). The information value of the opportunity depends on the interpretation by the different observers. ...
Thesis
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Despite extensive research on entrepreneurship, the catalysts that propel entrepreneurs into action remain underexplored. Entrepreneurs are driven by the emergence of an opportunity they perceive as potentially profitable. This study introduces a new perspective by emphasizing the triggering forces initiated by these emerging opportunities. The entrepreneur's perception of opportunities is not always clear-cut; while they may have a mental representation of potential prospects, realizing these opportunities can be challenging. This work posits that opportunities arise from the intricate interplay or "entanglement" of factors, where potentialities present themselves and can be realized through persistence and iterative efforts. This research proposes a theoretical framework centered around the concept of entanglement in entrepreneurship. It redefines opportunity as a holographic, information-rich entity driving action and elucidates how an entrepreneur's interactions with their environment give rise to opportunities. The dynamics of these interactions, the evolution of entrepreneurial action, and the underlying driving forces in entrepreneurship are thoroughly discussed. Drawing from quantum mechanics, the study delves into the concept of "propensity", suggesting opportunities, as propensities, are both discovered and socially constructed through action amidst uncertainty. Building on the foundational work of Ramoglou and Tsang, the dissertation explores opportunities as propensities, which are understood and acted upon based on available information. The role of the observer in shaping reality, including opportunities, is emphasized. In entrepreneurship, the interplay between various components, such as stakeholders and resources, presents opportunities with certain propensities. To understand the entire process, one must consider these components in their entirety rather than in isolation. In essence, this study, through its five published papers, offers a novel perspective on entrepreneurial opportunities and the mechanisms of action. It highlights both intuitive and deliberate entrepreneurial behaviors. The research underscores the importance of understanding opportunity as a dynamic, holographic concept loaded with information that signals entrepreneurs. Practical implications include a fresh view of opportunities as dynamic entities and insights into how entrepreneurs should respond to these signals. In conclusion, entrepreneurial ventures are fraught with uncertainties. Understanding these nuances allows entrepreneurs to recognize and act upon opportunities inherent in the complex market environment. The ultimate entrepreneurial success hinges on intentional and informed action.
... Finally, we know prior work shapes opportunity identification and exploitation via the accumulation of specialized knowledge (Eckhardt & Shane, 2010;Shane, 2000), but O*Net enables scholars to link occupations to opportunity identification and exploitation in new ways. ...
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Research studying employment before, during, and after spells of entrepreneurship is growing in both popularity and importance for understanding the antecedents and consequences of entrepreneurship. However, methodological challenges (e.g., retrospective bias, limitations of archival data sources) hinder further development and refinement. The Occupational Information Network, better known as O*Net, is a database of occupational characteristics that is scarcely used in entrepreneurship research, yet can help scholars overcome these challenges. In this article, I provide a brief primer on O*Net, illustrate how it can be used to advance entrepreneurship research, and offer summaries of best practices.
Article
How are entrepreneurs able to optimize their ability to persuade angel investors to commit resources? Narrative transportation theory suggests that familiar elements of a story can change an audience's perceptions of, and attitudes about, the opportunity by influencing their cognition. When experiencing the effects of narrative transportation, individuals are “transported” into the story and begin to accept the narrative world as created by the story in lieu of personal knowledge, experiences, or real-world facts. In an entrepreneurship context, we posit that if investors are narratively transported through a familiar pitch narrative, they may envisage a favorable outcome of what is pitched and adapt the opportunity in their minds with the result of, ultimately, committing resources. The findings from our study of investors who watched and reported on multiple pitches suggest that cognitive processes induced by narrative transportation explain the relationship between familiarity and entrepreneurial opportunity adaptation, which—in turn—increase the likelihood of angels' resource commitment. The key insight of our study reveals that when the investors are mentally transported into the story contained within a pitch narrative, they will be more likely to adapt the opportunity and more likely to commit their resources.
Article
This study explores the modes of exploitation of business opportunities among the next generation of entrepreneurs (NGEs) and how the family firm context influences the choice of mode. This is an area of limited knowledge. I argue that aside from adhering to existing family firms, NGEs also develop new ventures independent of their family firms. For this purpose, a multi-case study was conducted based on 15 Colombian entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs were second and third-generation family firms, were involved within the FF or with their leaders, and demonstrated experience in exploiting business opportunities. The findings show that NGEs exploit business opportunities in their family firms, independently and simultaneously in both modes. NGEs that opt for the hierarchical mode experience cohesive family contexts and inclusive leadership focused on the family or the family firm. NGEs that opted for market mode by performing independent ventures were guided by leaders focused on entrepreneurship and who also promoted the formation of informal groups among NGEs. These results extend our comprehension of the influence of family firms in entrepreneurship and set the importance of fostering entrepreneurship among NGE to increase the opportunities to develop their interests without depending on the family firm.
Chapter
Intrapreneurship, or entrepreneurial behaviors such as proactivity, innovativeness and risk taking in existing organizations is more relevant than ever before. For social organizations encompassing both corporate entrepreneurship (i.e., top down practices) and intrapreneurial behavior (bottom up behavior from employees) is crucial. Yet, corporate entrepreneurship has received substantially more research attention than intrapreneurial behavior, and often both are used interchangeably by authors. This paper aims to shed a light on the literature on corporate entrepreneurship, intrapreneurial behavior, and intrapreneurship. Additionally, we will give a literature overview on how team and top leaders affect intrapreneurial behavior. Finally, we will reflect further on the idea of social entrepreneurship as active resistance, how this related to intrapreneurship and its relevance for intrapreneurship as a job requirement, teamwork, and organizational policies as well as share some interesting avenues for further research on intrapreneurial behavior.
Thesis
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A corrupção é um fato social capaz de gerar consequências extremamente danosas para a sociedade, atingindo diretamente o sistema democrático, onde os agentes almejam ganhos privados em detrimento do interesse público. A Operação Lava Jato, realizada pela Polícia Federal em conjunto com o Ministério Público Federal, investigou uma série de crimes relacionados com corrupção na empresa estatal, envolvendo a participação de agentes públicos, políticos, empresários e doleiros. Portanto, esta tese tem como objetivo compreender teoricamente como ocorre a corrupção pela lente da ação empreendedora e empiricamente entender a Operação Lava Jato. A tese está dividida em duas grandes partes. A primeira parte é constituída pela introdução, referencial teórico, e aspectos metodológicos. A introdução apresenta a contextualização do tema, a tese, o problema de pesquisa, o objetivo geral e específico, as justificativas teóricas, práticas e sociais, e a organização da tese. Já o referencial teórico disserta sobre a natureza da corrupção, a natureza do empreendedorismo e sobre o empreendedorismo corrupto. Os aspectos metodológicos são formados pela natureza ontológica e epistemológica da pesquisa, pela abordagem qualitativa, pela classificação como pesquisa exploratória e descritiva e pela sistematização metodológica. Já a segunda parte foi dividida em três artigos. O primeiro artigo consiste em uma revisão integrativa com o objetivo de explorar as discussões teóricas que relacionam corrupção e empreendedorismo, evidenciando as críticas, limitações e gaps de pesquisa. Este artigo permitiu a verificação de oportunidades de pesquisa sobre a temática, possibilitando a determinação do caminho a ser seguido na elaboração dos demais artigos que irão compor a tese. O segundo artigo é uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre o empreendedorismo corrupto como um subtipo do empreendedorismo criminoso. Foi realizada uma análise de conteúdo, a partir das seguintes categorias: terminologias relacionadas ao empreendedorismo criminoso; limitações da literatura; empreendedorismo criminoso x legal: características dos fenômenos; teorias utilizadas para analisar o empreendedorismo criminoso. Na sequência, foi identificado o empreendedorismo corrupto e o seu atual estágio na literatura. O terceiro artigo tem como objetivo propor um esquema para compreender a corrupção a partir da ação empreendedora, como um guia metodológico para analisar o fenômeno da corrupção. Para aplicação do esquema, foi realizado um estudo de caso da Operação Lava Jato. Verificou-se que o cruzamento entre as tensões na lógica institucional e a orientação de vida dos indivíduos faz com que o agente corrupto utilize os meios ao seu alcance para desenvolver a oportunidade de ocorrência da ação corrupta e uma prática inovadora para auferir vantagens indevidas.
Chapter
This entry discusses the main theories of entrepreneurship. It distinguishes between the different schools of thought but also the current thoughts on the subject, such as effectuation theory.
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