Perception of entrepreneurial opportunity: a general framework

Purpose – Previous research has predominantly approached the concept of entrepreneurial opportunities from either one of two perspectives: opportunities exist as objective phenomena in the environment waiting to be discovered by alert entrepreneurs, or opportunities are subjectively perceived and even created by individual entrepreneurs. This paper aims to put forward a framework of opportunity perception which demonstrates that all entrepreneurial opportunities possess both objective and subjective qualities, thus helping reconcile both perspectives. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework is developed, based on previous literature and insights from entrepreneurship, economics, psychology and related disciplines. Findings – Various perspectives presented in previous research can be combined into a coherent framework that summarizes the components of entrepreneurial opportunity perception. Testable propositions are provided for future research. Originality/value – The authors show that elements of both subjective perception and objective market conditions contribute to recognized entrepreneurial opportunities. Also, they show that while the perception and pursuit of opportunity is fundamentally idiosyncratic to each entrepreneur, the success of an entrepreneurial endeavor is constrained by the objective conditions of opportunity.