Entrepreneurial opportunities: how do cognitive styles and logics of action fit in?

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study is to identify how the perceptions of the entrepreneur on the nature of the opportunity (objective reality/social construction) and his/her cognitive style (analytical/intuitive) influence the process of opportunity pursuit (analytic process/intuition-based process). We find that if expected alignments (analysis/causation/objective opportunity versus intuition/effectuation/constructed opportunity) appear, they are not systematic, and that firm industry and position in the sector are determinant.