Sense-making perspectives in entrepreneurial opportunity recognition: Review and agenda for future research

Decision making for opportunity recognition is a challenging task as opportunities are rarelyself-evident and information and context-dependent (Dimov, 2007; Shepherd & Griffin, 2006;Shepherd, William & Patzelt, 2015; Ramoglou and Tsang, 2018; Ramoglou & Tsang, 2016;Westhead et al., 2005; Zacharakis and Shepherd, 2001;; Korsgaard and Sassmannshausen,2017; Ramoglou and Tsang, 2016; Sarasvathy, 2001). The challenging and heterogeneousnature of opportunity recognition has resulted in the majority of studies focusing on severalcompeting approaches such as Equilibrium, Discovery Creation and more recently theActualization approach. The Equilibrium approach conditions opportunities on price variationof goods, services and raw material, stable enduring capabilities of entrepreneurs and the stockof their knowledge (Khilstorm and Laffont, 1979). The Discovery approach acknowledgesopportunities as objectively existing and only alert entrepreneurs as capable of discoveringthem (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000), and the Creation approach where opportunities aresubjectively created by entrepreneurs (Korsgaard, 2011; Sarasvathy, 2001; Wood & McKinley,2010). In an effort to resolve the apparent overlap and inconsistencies with the aforementionedapproaches, many assumptions have either been ignored or retained without a systematicexplanation. Absence of systematic justification, while retaining or ignoring any previousassumptions deters our understanding and leading to an ongoing lack of theoretical explanationof decision making for opportunity recognition