| The object of this dissertation is to develop and test a model of opportunity acknowledgement as a cognitive process of pattern recognition, structural alignment and similarity comparison. The dissertation reports the results of two studies conducted with experienced life-science and marketing-services entrepreneurs.; Using verbal protocols and content analysis techniques, Study 1 provides qualitative evidence that in their efforts to search for, acknowledge and explain potential opportunities, experienced entrepreneurs effectively align (a) the superficial features and structural capabilities of new technologies they learn about, with (b) the superficial features and structural needs/problems of markets where they think of applying these new technologies.; Using a within-subject experimental manipulation embedded in an online survey, Study 2 provides quantitative evidence that entrepreneurs' certainty that information about a new technology and a market signals a potential opportunity (a) increases with increases in the superficial similarity between the two, and (b) increases with increases in the structural similarity between the two. Study 2 also demonstrates that entrepreneurs' reactivity to changes in superficial and structural similarity is enhanced with entrepreneurs' prior knowledge of technology, as well as with entrepreneurs' prior knowledge of markets.; Taken together, these findings show that entrepreneurs' acknowledgement of potential opportunities involve a cognitive process of structural alignment. In doing so, the results speak to the importance played by characteristics of opportunities that are cognitively meaningful, and that have an effect on opportunity acknowledgement over and above the influence of prior knowledge and other individual characteristics. The dissertation's model and findings also contribute to expand research on the cognitive processes that underpin entrepreneurship, and particularly with respect to the identification, recognition and discovery of potential opportunities.; In the end, the dissertation suggests interesting avenues for future research to study the moderating role that individual differences in knowledge and other cognitive predispositions play in opportunity acknowledgement, and that relative to the role of these variables in one's decision to exploit opportunities. The dissertation also has implications for future research on strategic decision-making, on entrepreneurship education, as well as for the practice of entrepreneurs, technology transfer officers, consultants and policy officials. |
