The Roles of Knowledge and Organizational Form on Opportunity Evaluation

Authors

  • Shaun Paul Digan University of Lousiville
  • Sharon A Kerrick Bellarmine University
  • Denise M Cumberland University of Louisville
  • Robert P Garrett University of Louisville

Abstract

What influences an individual to pursue one type of entrepreneurial opportunity versus another? Knowledge is central to the concept of opportunity identification and evaluation.  Using conjoint analysis to capture underlying decision policies, we explore the roles of both knowledge and organizational form in the evaluation of entrepreneurial opportunities.  Our findings suggest that, among respondents who considered entering a franchise agreement a viable alternative to founding an independent business, franchise versus independent form alone did not play a specific and significant role in the evaluation of the attractiveness of entrepreneurial opportunities.  Rather, organizational form appears to influence the impact of both human capital relatedness and the inimitability of resources attributes on opportunity attractiveness.  

Author Biographies

  • Shaun Paul Digan, University of Lousiville
    PhD Candidate, Entrepreneurship
  • Sharon A Kerrick, Bellarmine University

    Assistant Dean

    College of Business

  • Denise M Cumberland, University of Louisville

    Assistant Professor

    Department of Educational Leadership, Evaluation, and Organizational Development

  • Robert P Garrett, University of Louisville

    Associate Professor

    Entrepreneurship Department

References

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Published

2017-06-19

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How to Cite

The Roles of Knowledge and Organizational Form on Opportunity Evaluation. (2017). Journal of Small Business Strategy (archive Only), 27(2), 65-89. https://libjournals.mtsu.edu/index.php/jsbs/article/view/678