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The Psychological Basis of Opportunity Identification: Entrepreneurial Alertness

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Abstract

Opportunity identification represents a unique entrepreneurial behavior yet its processes and dynamics remain mysterious. Entrepreneurial alertness, a distinctive set of perceptual and information-processing skills, has been advanced as the cognitive engine driving the opportunity identification process. To date, empirical support has been equivocal; however, these early studies suffer from fundamental mistakes in theory and method. These mistakes are examined and addressed. A research agenda for the systematic and conceptually sound study of entrepreneurial alertness and opportunity identification is outlined.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94132, USA E-mail

    Connie Marie Gaglio

  2. Murray Endowed Professor, Saint Louis University, 3674 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri, 63108, USA E-mail

    Jerome A. Katz

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  1. Connie Marie Gaglio
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  2. Jerome A. Katz
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Gaglio, C.M., Katz, J.A. The Psychological Basis of Opportunity Identification: Entrepreneurial Alertness. Small Business Economics 16, 95–111 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011132102464

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