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Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research pp 47–76Cite as

An Update to the Individual-Opportunity Nexus

Part of the International Handbook Series on Entrepreneurship book series (IHSE,volume 5)

Abstract

This chapter extends and elaborates the individual-opportunity nexus framework on entrepreneurship. First, the chapter discusses in detail the existence of entrepreneurial opportunities, and the processes of opportunity discovery and exploitation. Second, the chapter describes several typologies of opportunities. Third, the chapter discusses the importance of the locus of opportunity discovery and exploitation.

Keywords

  • Social Capital
  • Information Asymmetry
  • Resource Provider
  • Entrepreneurial Opportunity
  • Entrepreneurial Process

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Fig. 3.1
Fig. 3.2
Fig. 3.3

Notes

  1. 1.

    Social network theories differ from search theories about access to information. In the latter, individuals who gather information search locally for it; whereas, in the former, individuals who build connections to information possessed by individuals with market experience much different than their own are more likely to gather novel information. Therefore, social capital theory implies that local search is of little value for entrepreneurs seeking to discover opportunities for profit that are not yet reflected in market prices.

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Acknowledgements

A version of portions of this chapter originally appeared in the Journal of Management in 2003 under the title, “Opportunities and Entrepreneurship.” The first author gratefully acknowledges research support that was provided by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Junior Faculty Fellows program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management and Human Resources, The Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Wisconsin, 5252 Grainger Hall, 975 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Jonathan T. Eckhardt

  2. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Scott Shane

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  1. School of Public Policy, George Mason University, University Drive, Fairfax, 22030, USA

    Zoltan J. Acs

  2. Indiana University, Bloomington, 47405, USA

    David B. Audretsch

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Eckhardt, J.T., Shane, S. (2010). An Update to the Individual-Opportunity Nexus. In: Acs, Z., Audretsch, D. (eds) Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research. International Handbook Series on Entrepreneurship, vol 5. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1191-9_3

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