New enterprise opportunity recognition: Toward a theory of entrepreneurial dynamism

Entrepreneurial opportunities are the "fuel" for economic progress. Accordingly, a key question posed by researchers and practitioners alike focuses on why some individuals, but not others, recognize and choose to exploit entrepreneurial opportunity (Venkataraman, 1997). Despite both the theoretical and practical importance of this phenomenon, we know little about the underlying entrepreneurial thought processes that allow opportunities to manifest themselves as credible across individuals in part because researchers have done little to understand their complexity (Krueger, 2003).; This dissertation seeks to extend existing theory on why it is that some individuals come to recognize and exploit economic opportunities by directly examining the theoretical premise that entrepreneurial thinking is both unique, as well as more complex than previous efforts have proposed. More specifically, this research draws on extant theory to investigate whether three broad types of capital---general knowledge, self-knowledge and cognitive motivation---make up a unique, multidimensional resource base that contributes to the recognition and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunity. Hypotheses related to the tacit and explicit knowledge sources employed, self-related knowledge, and the influence of individual motivations on nascent entrepreneurial activity and performance-related outcomes are developed and tested.; Data were obtained from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED) database, a longitudinal panel survey identifying a sample of nascent entrepreneurs within the United States. Hypotheses were tested and inferences derived through descriptive statistics, logistic and multivariate regression techniques appropriate for examining the central research questions guiding this project. Findings provide robust support for the intuitive and commonly held yet sparsely tested presumption that entrepreneurs can and do think differently than non-entrepreneurs. The results also suggest, however, that while each of these types of factors is generally important to understanding the recognition of and decision to exploit entrepreneurial opportunity, their influence on these processes may vary based upon the specific nature of the particular opportunity. Implications for practitioners and future research directions are discussed.