Understanding entrepreneurial perceptions in the pursuit of emerging e-business opportunities: The dimensions and drivers

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the dimensions and drivers of entrepreneurial perceptions in the pursuit of emerging e-business opportunities for traditional (or offline) firms. This study introduces the subjectivist theory of entrepreneurship into the IS research context, and identifies three dimensions that make up entrepreneurial perceptions: collaboration perception, planning perception, and operation perception. The authors tested the proposed research model using structural equation modeling (SEM) with survey data collected from 203 firms in China. Results reveal that external pressures and IT infrastructure maturity are positively and significantly related to entrepreneurial perceptions. The results also suggest that IT infrastructure maturity has stronger effects on collaboration perception and planning perception than external pressures. This paper provides clear guidance for entrepreneurs to understand the three entrepreneurial perceptions for emerging e-business opportunity discovery and the driving forces to the entrepreneurial perceptions.