Perceiving and capturing opportunities through social interaction

Abstract

This chapter presents an entrepreneurship-as-networking perspective on opportunity perception, evaluation, and action. Entrepreneurial opportunities are seen as relationally constituted; thus, social networks are a fundamental aspect of all opportunity-related processes. The network ties upon which entrepreneurs can draw largely influence their opportunity perceptions and, conversely, entrepreneurs intentionally shape their networks to get to those opportunities. In opportunity evaluation, the feedback of others is essential to identify an opportunity’s feasibility and desirability. At the same time, these others often engage in shaping and co-creating the opportunities. In opportunity action, entrepreneurs tend to create strong embeddedness by forming their teams and hiring their employees from among their close ties. By discussing the key networking mechanisms of embedding, accessing, transferring, diversifying, and socializing for each of these opportunity-related processes, the authors highlight both the positive and negative generative aspects of the social interactions and social networks in relation to entrepreneurial opportunities.