University of Twente Proceedings

On the Recognition of Venturing Opportunities in Science and Technology

Lucas, William A. and Cooper, Sarah Y. and Rodriguez-Falcon, Elena M. (2006) On the Recognition of Venturing Opportunities in Science and Technology. In: The 14th Annual High Technology Small Firms Conference : May 11-13, 2006 + May 10, 2006 Doctoral Workshop, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands., 10 May 2006 - 13 May 2006, Enschede, The Netherlands .

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Event:	The 14th Annual High Technology Small Firms Conference : May 11-13, 2006 + May 10, 2006 Doctoral Workshop, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands., 10 May 2006 - 13 May 2006, Enschede, The Netherlands
Abstract:	This paper seeks to understand the psychological mechanisms which support the recognition of science and technology-based opportunities for new ventures. Opportunity recognition is viewed as a critical skill in venturing activities, but there is doubt about the mechanisms involved. The entrepreneurship literature contains a tradition of seeing opportunity recognition as a less than conscious process, that starts with an “initial intuition,” and “involves a subconscious evaluation,” a view that suggests the psychological process of directed attention, where the direction for any given individual is a function of personal interests and experience. A small number of qualitative interviews at the University of Sheffield are first reported that support the finding that such a cognitive mechanism is present. Then a scale used to measure “attention to use” in a survey of 494 science and engineering students at four UK universities is presented, along with its correlation with venturing and applied technology self-efficacy. The conclusion addresses the implications of recognising directed attention as a major component of opportunity recognition.
Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/proceedings/134
Organisation URL:	http://www.utwente.nl/bms/nikos/
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