Entrepreneurs' Decisions to Exploit Opportunities

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2004

Abstract

Opportunity exploitation is a necessary step in creating a successful business in the entrepreneurial process, yet there has been little conceptual and empirical development of this issue in the literature. This study examines the decisions of entrepreneurs to begin exploiting business opportunities from a resource-based view. Our analysis of a sample of entrepreneurs whose businesses are located in incubators suggests that entrepreneurs are more likely to exploit opportunities when they perceive more knowledge of customer demand for the new product, more fully developed necessary technologies, greater managerial capability, and greater stakeholder support. Moreover, the findings of this study shed a light on a less emphasized aspect of the resource-based view: the new product’s anticipated lead time acts as an enhancing moderator in entrepreneurs’ exploitation decision policies. Implications for future research on opportunity exploitation are discussed

Discipline

Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations

Research Areas

Strategy and Organisation

Publication

Journal of Management

Volume

30

Issue

3

First Page

377

Last Page

395

ISSN

0149-2063

Identifier

10.1016/j.jm.2003.04.002

Publisher

Elsevier

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