Opportunity creation as structuration: illustrations from three technology entrepreneurial initiatives

This paper proposes that entrepreneurial opportunity creation is a process of structuration. First, it outlines the opportunity paradigm in entrepreneurship literature and introduces technology entrepreneurial initiatives as opportunity creation instances. It discusses Giddens’ Theory of Structuration (Giddens, 1979, 1984). Presenting empirical data from three technology entrepreneurial opportunity initiatives, it shows how these follow a structuration path. The paper helps theory building effort in understanding entrepreneurial opportunity creation processes. Additionally, it suggests that if further data from opportunity discovery processes also support a structuration view, an integration of opposing perspectives in the creation-discovery debate in entrepreneurial opportunity research may be possible.