Searching for Truffles! - Identifying, Creating and Developing Entrepreneurial Opportunities

From many years in the world of academia we may observe a growing interest and an intensified discussion about opportunities in the entrepreneurship field. Most scholars agree that the opportunity identification process is a central concept for entrepreneurship, but further research in opportunity exploration, recognition, and exploitation in diverse contexts is needed. Identification of a marketable opportunity which promises significant prospect of gain is an important initial step if not the key factor in the entrepreneurial process. Certainly, the decision to create a new venture often arises from the belief that a unique opportunity has been identified − an opportunity that no one else has yet exploited. Hence, increased research in recent years addresses one of the main basic "why"-questions in entrepreneurship research focusing on the field of opportunity recognition and exploitation: "Why [and how] do some persons but not others recognize opportunities for new products or services that can be profitably exploited?" ({Baron 2004 #201}).