An Integrative Model of Individual Predisposition and Contextual Factors of High-Tech Entrepreneurial Oppurtunity Recognition.

Abstract

This paper presents a conceptual model of the relationships between individuals’ dispositional and contextual factors in opportunity recognition. It argues that most literatures on entrepreneurial opportunity recognition focus on one or two contextual domains, thus ignoring the nature and dynamics of high-tech opportunity recognition. We propose therefore that full understanding of opportunity recognition process requires individual’s idiosyncratic nature.
Specifically, our integrative model makes connection between individuals’ personality factor of openness and the contextual factors. The contextual factors reflect human capital of education and experience, motivational resources representing self-efficacy and initiative and networking behaviour influencing opportunity recognition. This model has implications for research in high-tech entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and for policies designed to increase entrepreneurial behaviour.

Keywords: Opportunity recognition, networking behaviour, human capital, entrepreneur, self-efficacy