Source Of Entrepreneurial Opportunities Research Articles

A Bibliometric Analysis of Social Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Social entrepreneurship plays an important role in the maintenance of economic prosperity and brings benefits to society. The role of social entrepreneurship is growing in the light of challenges of the global economy, increasing uncertainty of the environment, the growth of social problems, and the emergence of crises in the 2020s. These derive an increase in economic and psychological challenges. Social entrepreneurship is known as the driver for solving global problems of society. The entrepreneurial ecosystem serves as a source of entrepreneurial opportunity, as a breeding ground for entrepreneurship. Therefore, exploring the topic of social entrepreneurship in the context of the entrepreneurial ecosystem becomes relevant. Social entrepreneurship, with respect to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, has been extensively explored. However, despite a growing body of publications, to the best of our knowledge, no bibliometric analysis is available on the topic. This analysis is important to understand what trends in the development of social entrepreneurship and the ecosystem exist, what further research directions can be recommended, and how the relationship between social entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial ecosystem has been studied. This study aims to close the gap, consolidate research, and identify the state of the art in the field. In total, 357 publications from the Scopus database were selected for the period of 2009–2022. The study used social network analysis (bibliographic coupling network, co-citation network, citation network, and co-authorship network) and semantic analysis (semantic network) through VOSviewer version 1.6.19 and Gephi version 0.10.1 software. The results showed a growth of publications during this period, allowing us to observe influential journals, the most productive and cited authors, leading countries and universities, impactful papers, networks of collaborations, and co-citations of scholars. The paper with the highest degree of centrality is “Ecosystems in Support of Social Entrepreneurs: A Literature Review” while Sustainability is the most influential journal in the field. The analysis identified six thematic clusters within the research topic. The study contributes to the literature by presenting the research agenda, structure, characteristics of social entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial ecosystem research.

Entrepreneurship in Peru: a SWOT analysis

The purpose of this research is to use the SWOT analysis to examine Peru's country conditions and identify areas for potential sources of entrepreneurial opportunities. Findings indicate Peru's main drivers of its economic activities are the energy, agriculture and tourism industries. However, insufficient infrastructure, crime, corruption, poor education and poverty limit economic development. Opportunities for entrepreneurship exist through a diversified economy with a favourable business environment. Although current entrepreneurial activity is mostly concentrated in the retail, hotel and restaurant sector, there is potential to increase entrepreneurial activity within the main economic activities as foreign investments are expected to increase Peru's export-driven industries. Because Peru's government efforts to support entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education have been stagnant in the last decade, we offer recommendations for policy makers to increase entrepreneurial activities based on training and motivation to improve business conditions that would promote and encourage entrepreneurial behaviour.

Natural disasters as a source of entrepreneurial opportunity: Family business resilience after an earthquake

AbstractResearch SummaryWhat type of firms are more likely to survive or even thrive in disaster events such as earthquakes, wildfires, and the COVID‐19 pandemic? We investigate whether family ownership and industry positioning affect firms' ability to capture opportunities for business recovery after a natural disaster. We analyze the performance of Italian family and nonfamily firms around a disastrous earthquake in 2009. Following the earthquake, family firms performed better than nonfamily firms, especially when multiple family members were involved as owners. Moreover, family ownership is beneficial in industries highly dependent on the public sector. Our findings provide evidence on the superior resilience of family firms by illustrating the characteristics that allow firms hit by disaster events to seize posttraumatic entrepreneurial opportunities for recovery and growth.Managerial SummaryThe purpose of this study was to understand whether a possible explanation of family firms' superior longevity is their resilience to mass emergencies and their ability to transform post‐crisis threats into entrepreneurial opportunities. We found that family firms performed better than their nonfamily peers after the earthquake that hit Central Italy, and especially the area around L'Aquila, in 2009. During disaster events, family ownership resources—focused on the long term and the desire to transfer the business to future generations—provide the firm with the social and emotional capital needed to address the hardship. Moreover, family firms that operated in industries closer to the public demand leveraged the family proximity to politics, further enhancing the processes of recovery and opportunity identification.

Ecosystem as the Source of Entrepreneurial Opportunities

The present paper aims to develop an understanding of interconnections between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and entrepreneurial opportunity. The first step of this research was to disclose the development of the ecosystem within two higher (efficiency- and innovation-driven) stages of economic development and the transition between them according to the World Economic Forum, based on the model by Dutch researcher Erik Stam. The Estonian entrepreneurial ecosystem was analyzed as an example. Secondary data on Estonian entrepreneurial ecosystems were collected and analyzed.In its second step, this research follows a case-study design. The start-up period of the studied Estonian companies represents different degrees of the maturity of the ecosystem: Regio and Mobi Solutions - efficiency-driven, GrabCAD - the transition from efficiency to innovation-driven, and Bolt (Taxify) - an innovation-driven economy.The example of the Estonian ICT sector proves that the most important contributors to the talent growth, the knowledge base, and framework conditions of the entrepreneurial ecosystem are the state through its infrastructure decisions and educational programs along with successful entrepreneurs who shape the role models known in Estonia today as the Skype-effect. Decisions on digital telecom infrastructure and e-society in the early stage of the transition in tandem with enterprise encouragement created a subsequent boom in ICT-based ventures in Estonia 10-15 years later. The processes resulted in achieving an innovation-driven society and the highest level of opportunity-driven entrepreneurship in Europe in 2017. With that, new venture funding has replaced the former development engine - foreign direct investment (FDI).Examples of ICT-based new ventures have demonstrated that the growing maturity of the ecosystem increased venture investment from “bootstrapping” to millions of euros of seed-funding and shortened new product development cycles from 5-7 to 1-3 years. The study shows that maturing ecosystems shorten business development processes, thereby increasing the integration of different ecosystems. The start-up success stories enhance trust in the particular business environment, and they both increase investments and accelerate the entry of new ventures, making better use of the emerging windows of opportunities.

Rola przedsiębiorczości w kontekście zrównoważonego rozwoju

Coraz większe znaczenie kwestii środowiskowych i zrównoważonego rozwoju przyczynia się do kształtowania nowych trendów na szczeblu przedsiębiorstw. Zrównoważony rozwój jest postrzegany jako źródło nowych możliwości przedsiębiorczych, które służą rozwiązywaniu problemów społecznych i ekologicznych. Celem artykułu jest analiza roli przedsiębiorczości w kontekście zrównoważonego rozwoju oraz synteza głównych kierunków badawczych w zakresie zrównoważonej przedsiębiorczości. Proekologiczna i prospołeczna działalność może pomóc firmom dokonać skutecznego przejścia w kierunku zrównoważonego rozwoju. Szczególnie w ostatnim czasie zauważa się coraz większe zainteresowanie przedsiębiorstw, aby rozwijać firmy zgodnie z zasadami proekologicznymi, uwzględniającymi zarówno korzyści ekonomiczne, jak i społeczne. Rozwój przedsiębiorstw z uwzględnieniem tych aspektów jest ważny z uwagi na ich wpływ na środowisko i społeczeństwo, gdyż przyczyniają się one do kreowania i wdrażania nowych, bardziej zrównoważonych modeli produkcji i konsumpcji, a także do uwzględniania interesów społecznych i aspektów środowiskowych. Koncepcja badawcza została przeprowadzona na podstawie metody analizy i krytyki piśmiennictwa oraz analizy danych zastanych.

Innovating from Changes in the Natural Environment: Towards a Mitigation and Adaptation Framework

Technological, regulatory and socio-demographic changes have long stood as the main sources of opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship. There is growing evidence, however, that changes in the natural environment are occurring more rapidly, and that these changes may also serve as a fourth source of entrepreneurial opportunities. This paper extends work on sustainable innovation by proposing that changes in the natural environment are an objective source of entrepreneurial opportunity that can take a number of forms. Using a qualitative inductive design we draw from the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies to identify themes surrounding opportunity identification and the natural environment. Our results lead to proposing a mitigation-adaptation framework for classifying these opportunities. Implications for sustainable development innovation and entrepreneurship more generally are discussed.

Możliwości i ograniczenia przedsiębiorczości w kontekście zwalczania wykluczenia społecznego

Artykuł przedstawia przedsiębiorczość jako realną odpowiedź na narastające problemy społeczne, w szczególności lokalne, związane z wykluczeniem społecznym jednostek i grup. Ma charakter eksploracyjno-analityczny i oparty jest na przeglądzie literatury tematu, jak również na analizie istniejących rozwiązań praktycznych na styku przedsiębiorczości społecznej i wykluczenia społecznego. Opracowanie sugeruje, że przedsiębiorczość może być ścieżką wyjścia z zamkniętego obszaru wykluczenia społecznego, jeśli przedsiębiorca podejmie wysiłek działań przedsiębiorczych w tym obszarze. Aby tak się stało, musi on zidentyfikować okazję przedsiębiorczą, która staje się punktem wyjścia do działań przedsiębiorczych w ramach samozatrudnienia, przedsiębiorczości komercyjnej bądź też przedsiębiorczości społecznej. Wykluczenie społeczne może stanowić zatem punkt wyjścia do okazji przedsiębiorczej. Istnieje wysokie prawdopodobieństwo, że jest ukrytym źródłem cennych zasobów ludzkich, kompetencji, talentów i pracy. Wnioski końcowe opracowania prezentują potencjalne ścieżki wyjścia z obszaru wykluczenia społecznego przez przedsiębiorczość oraz przedstawiają przewagę ścieżek opartych na przedsiębiorczości nad rozwiązaniami związanymi z pomocą państwa lub organizacji charytatywnych

The Impact of Financial and Product Market Innovation on the Nature of Entrepreneurship: A Historical Perspective

It is well recognized that the nature of entrepreneurial activity varies by context and historical epoch. But are there systematic underlying factors that cause such significant differences in the entrepreneurial opportunity set? This paper presents a conceptualization of entrepreneurship based on the interaction of product market innovation and financial innovation. In line with traditional entrepreneurship theory, it argues that product market innovations create new entrepreneurial opportunities, adding that innovations within the financial system are also a source of entrepreneurial opportunity, potentially as creative, but which do not necessarily align themselves with developments in product markets. Through time, their state of parallel development, or misalignment, sets the context of entrepreneurial activity.Entrepreneurship is conceptualized in terms of opportunity recognition (whether discovered or created) and mobilization of resources to exploit those opportunities arising from product or financial innovation, and the process of managing any misalignment that evolves between them. These interactions give rise to four cases based on possible permutations of radical innovation. Conceptualized thus, entrepreneurship is necessarily a historical phenomenon, in terms of context and process. The paper considers selected historical cases that illustrate these permutations.

Discovering opportunities in necessity: the inverse creative destruction effect

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the changes in perceptions and actions taken on post-disaster entrepreneurial opportunities.Design/methodology/approach– Utilizing worldwide data on natural disasters (EMDAT) and entrepreneurial perceptions (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)), the authors apply analysis of covariance to compare entrepreneurial opportunity perceptions and actions before and after a disaster took place.Findings– The study found that natural disasters have a significant and positive impact on entrepreneurial opportunity perceptions and actions but not on perceptions of self-efficacy, fear of failure and entrepreneurial intentions.Research limitations implications– One limitation of the study is the use of the secondary data. While the GEM data as well as the EMDAT data are country specific, disasters usually have a direct impact on a region of a country rather than affecting the whole country’s behavior.Practical implications– The results hold important policy implications. The fact that disasters increase entrepreneurial action implies that local government institutions should include entrepreneurial action as part of the post-disaster recovery process. By providing assistance and access to resources, government institutions could further increase entrepreneurial action and could increase the number of opportunities perceived by individuals which would lead to new and innovative businesses, in addition to the rebuilding of pre-existing firms.Originality/value– Natural disasters are frequently considered to be the cause of small business failures or an obstacle to their performance, while simultaneously thought to be a vital component of post-disaster reconstruction. To date, few researchers have attempted to understand the impact of these events on entrepreneurial tendencies, behaviors and activities, even though the authors barely understand how they could serve as a source of entrepreneurial opportunity and innovation. This research is one of the first attempts to shed some light into this interesting and important phenomenon.

Social Problems as Sources of Opportunity: Antecedents of Social Entrepreneurship Opportunities

Objective : Based on extensive literature review, this paper aims to establish if, why and how, in given environmental and market contexts, social entrepreneurship (SE) opportunities are discovered and exploited. It positions social problems as sources of entrepreneurial opportunity. The article presents an integrated process-based view of SE opportunity antecedents and concludes with a dynamic model of SE opportunity. Research Design & Methods : To fulfil its goal, the paper establishes opportunity as unit of research and explores the dynamics of opportunity recognition. To identify the components of SE opportunity through a process-based view, the study follows the steps of critical literature review method. The literature review follows with logical reasoning and inference, which results in the formulation of a model proposition of social entrepreneurship opportunity. Findings: The paper presents a holistic perspective on opportunity antecedents in SE context and introduces social problems, information, social awareness and entrepreneurial mindset as fundamental components of social entrepreneurship opportunity equation. Implications & Recommendations: It is necessary to remember for policy makers, investors and partners involved within the social sector, that social problems can be the source of entrepreneurial opportunity. Training, assisting and engaging socially aware entrepreneurs is a promising line of development for all communities. Contribution & Value Added: The major contribution of this study lies in extending the existing body of social entrepreneurship research by providing a new perspective, placing social problem as opportunity in the centre of the discussion.

Regional systems of entrepreneurship: the nexus of human capital, knowledge and new firm formation

This article focuses on entrepreneurship in economic geography and aims at a systematic investigation of regional variation in knowledge-based entrepreneurial activity. We develop and test a three-phase structural model forregional systems of entrepreneurshipafter introducing a systems approach to entrepreneurship. The model is built upon the absorptive capacity theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship that identifies new knowledge as one source of entrepreneurial opportunities and human capital as the major source of entrepreneurial absorptive capacity. Based on data of US metropolitan areas, we find that entrepreneurial absorptive capacity is a critical driving force for knowledge-based entrepreneurial activity. We also find that high technology and cultural diversity contribute to the vibrancy of regional systems of entrepreneurship.

The Unrecognized Connection between Vertical Disintegration and Entrepreneurial Opportunities

This article shows how the emergence of vertical disintegration has been a major source of entrepreneurial opportunities in three sectors of the U.S. economy. Not only does it enable more than one hundred thousand firms to co-exist in these sectors, but changes in the levels of vertical disintegration continue to occur, and continue to create entrepreneurial opportunities. This suggests that recognizing how and when vertical disintegration emerges are critical issues for entrepreneurs. This article shows how reductions in transaction costs, which can come from the emergence of open modular designs, open standards, and legal, regulatory and firm decisions, drive the emergence of vertical disintegration and thus the emergence of many entrepreneurial opportunities.

An absorptive capacity theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship

The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship identifies new knowledge as a source of entrepreneurial opportunities, and suggests that entrepreneurs play an important role in commercializing new knowledge developed in large incumbent firms or research institutions. This paper argues that, knowledge spillover entrepreneurship depends not only on new knowledge but more importantly on entrepreneurial absorptive capacity that allows entrepreneurs to understand new knowledge, recognize its value, and commercialize it by creating a firm. This absorptive capacity theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship is tested using data based on U.S. metropolitan areas.

Entrepreneurship in the Knowledge Economy

This paper reviews the literature on knowledge as a source of entrepreneurial opportunities, with evidence at both the regional and organizational levels. In addition the causal mechanisms of new firm growth are explored, discussing longitudinal case study research on problem-solving and competence creation in such firms.

The Impact of Environment and Entrepreneurial Perceptions on Venture-Creation Efforts: Bridging the Discovery and Creation Views of Entrepreneurship

Recent literature has highlighted two conflicting theories of entrepreneurship. In the “discovery” perspective, objective environmental conditions are considered to be the source of entrepreneurial opportunities and thus drivers of subsequent entrepreneurial action. The “creation” view, in contrast, is based on entrepreneurial perceptions and socio–cognitive enactment processes. While empirical studies have separately utilized each of these perspectives, few attempts have been made to integrate insights from both theories to empirically examine the interrelationships among environmental conditions, entrepreneurial perceptions, entrepreneurial action, and outcomes. In this article, we explicate the roles that both objective environmental conditions and entrepreneurial perceptions of opportunity and resource availability play in the process of firm creation. Utilizing longitudinal data on nascent entrepreneurs, we find that as hypothesized, entrepreneurs‘ opportunity perceptions mediate between objective characteristics of the environment and the entrepreneurs‘ efforts to start a new venture. Contrary to our expectations, we do not find a similar mediating effect for perceived resource availability. These findings have important implications for further theory development in entrepreneurship as well as for practice and education in the field.

A stable network as a source of entrepreneurial opportunities: The Rothschilds in Spain, 1835–1931

Taking business decisions in large corporations requires the establishment of a competent network to channel information, permit the delegation of routine decisions, and assure the whole process is undertaken in the strictest confidence. Recent theories on social networks and the carrying out of the entrepreneurial function tackle these questions and constitute a new perspective for examining business cases. From this viewpoint, the present article seeks to analyse the entrepreneurial network established in Spain by the House of Rothschild between 1835 and 1931. It was a perfectly structured network that differentiated between agents, clientele, partners, and correspondents in a web of firms and institutions that allowed the Rothschilds to exercise their industrial and financial hegemony and consolidate themselves as the country's largest investor in the financial, industrial, railway and mining sectors throughout the stated period.

What is an Entrepreneurial Opportunity?

The nature and source of entrepreneurial opportunity are important issues for understanding how markets function and come into being. In addition to describing the forum held on the topic and summarizing the contributions of the articles that appear in the special issue, this article shares a number of lessons learned during the workshop and the editorial process. We explore three of the most important reasons for confusion about the opportunity construct: (1) the “objectivity” of opportunity, (2) the perceived importance of one particular individual in determining the direction of the social world and (3) what distinguishes the sub-class of “entrepreneurial” opportunity from the broader category of opportunity in general. Finally, we offer some directions for future research by illuminating important issues that emerged from the workshop but that remain largely unanswered by the papers of this special issue.