Opportunity-Recognition Beliefs among Student Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Opportunity recognition is a central concept in entrepreneurship research. However, research on entrepreneurship education has so far neglected this topic. There is hardly any systematic evidence concerning the effect of entrepreneurship education on opportunity recognition, one reason for this being that research on opportunity recognition in general has been hampered by a conceptual ambiguity and - until recently - the lack of a reliable and valid measure of this concept. This contribution investigates opportunity-recognition beliefs among intentional and nascent student entrepreneurs in Germany. It applies a refined and extended version of the measure of opportunity-recognition beliefs proposed by Gregoire, Shepherd, & Schurer Lambert (2010). The results support the view that opportunity-recognition beliefs are not a unidimensional concept but consist of related but somehow distinct constructs. Determinants of opportunity-recognition beliefs are investigated using structural equation modeling. I find a negative direct effect of entrepreneurship education and a positive indirect effect, mediated by entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Previous work experience and venture gestation activities are also positively related to opportunity-recognition beliefs. The analysis is based on data from the 2011 Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students' Survey (GUESSS) in Germany. This study explicitly only includes people who are currently in the process of evaluating an entrepreneurial opportunity, avoiding problems of hindsight and survivor bias.