The Language of Opportunity

The validity of entrepreneurship scholars' tendency to regard opportunities as concrete realities waiting to be discovered by entrepreneurs is questioned. Based on economics literature, the "opportunity discovery" perspective, embraced by so many scholars, emphasizes the importance of observation and information asymmetries. However, it may ignore important characteristics of opportunity as a phenomenon.In this study, written responses from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED), a national longitudinal survey of nascent entrepreneurs, were analyzed to determine how the original idea for starting their businesses was developed. The responses suggest that many entrepreneurs entertain an "opportunity enactment" perspective. In other words, opportunities only become apparent through the ways that entrepreneurs make sense of their experiences. Although they may talk about "discovering" opportunities because academic scholars describe opportunities as discoverable, entrepreneurs actually imagine opportunities through their actions and their interactions with others. Rather than preexisting, then, opportunities emerge from the individual entrepreneur's imagination. The favorable circumstances that entrepreneurs are likely to recognize are the product of their own initiative.(SAA)