Opportunity Finding by Nascent Entrepreneurs: Accidental or Purposeful?

PurposeThis research studies an important, but relatively unexplored entrepreneurial aspect: motivation and aspiration on opportunity finding/discovery.Design/Methodology/ApproachThis study surveyed 230 nascent entrepreneurs on their opportunity finding behavior. A poisson regression and a logistic analysis were conducted to discover the relationship between motivation/aspiration and opportunity search behavior.FindingsMotivation and aspiration interact to influence active search in a positive way. However, only willingness to become an entrepreneur is found to search for opportunities purposefully.Research Limitations/ImplicationsParticipants of the research are from a Midwest state in United States. Future research may collect sample from more and larger areas.Practical ImplicationsBankers may use entrepreneurial opportunity search behavior as one criterion determining if to fund a person or not.Originality/ValueThis article answers the call to study motivation/aspiration on opportunity finding (Yitshaki and Kropp, 2018; Murnieks et al., 2020). It is one of the first studies to explore the above relationship.

Data capital can boost global productivity growth

Subject The rise of data capital. Significance The importance of data to business decision-making and opportunity-finding has been touted in recent years. Nevertheless, many companies fail to realise the value of this asset, even as they sit on great stores of data. A recent survey of 180 large firms found that those using 'data-driven decision-making' see a 5-6% increase in output and productivity over corporations that do not make full use of data. Intangible assets make up 84.0% of the market value of S&P 500 companies, up 9.5% from ten years earlier, according to Ocean Tomo, an intellectual property bank. This trend is set to accelerate. Impacts Firms that are unprepared to take advantage of data as a strategic asset could lose their dominance. Incumbent firms able to keep competencies around data, including technological and human capital, could avoid disruption by newcomers. If able to do so, incumbent firms could keep a competitive advantage in the short and longer term. New firms failing to use data to drive strategic decisions may face challenges in attempts to grow.

Inducing entrepreneurial creativity, innovation and opportunity-finding skills

A generally accepted definition of an entrepreneur is an individual with the ability to realise a specific vision from virtually anything, a definite human creative action. A differentiating factor defining the true entrepreneur is represented by the entrepreneurial skills creativity and innovation. The fundamental skill to "create", therefore generating an idea and transforming it into a viable growth-oriented business, forms an unconditional and integrated necessity in entrepreneurship training programmes. Many researchers in this field emphasise the need for and the lack of training models regarding this intervention.Courses offered by training institutions focus on training the traditional manager and not the entrepreneur. A lack of skills training for growth-oriented business is also evident. A critical deficiency in models directly addressing the Creativity, Innovation and Opportunity-finding issues, as part of entrepreneurship training, creates a situation of minuscule differentiation between a business idea and an opportunity in a training context. It is furthermore apparent that a lack of tools, textbooks and approaches to cultivate creativity exists in the field. The latter generates stifling pedagogical paradigms in teaching business and entrepreneurship.This study demonstrates a new action-learning approach and model, developed to increase creative and innovative behaviour and actions of the entrepreneurship learner. Three purposive samples were used, on the basis of an experimental design. Ratio data were obtained by means of a reliable measuring instrument (Chronbach's alpha on an acceptable levell). ANOVA as well as a discriminant analysis indicated statistically significant differences between the various groups.This study illustrates that the proposed training methodology that was used enhances the level of creativity and innovation skills of the entrepreneurship learner on this programme. Recommendations regarding future research in this exciting field of study are addressed.