Entrepreneurial Alertness

One of the most significant topics in the field of entrepreneurship is the awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities, previously addressed by Campos (2016). Israel Kirzner’s theory of entrepreneurial alertness has added value to the research on opportunity identification. Kirzner (1973) was the first to define the role played by entrepreneurial alertness in helping entrepreneurs become more aware of new opportunities and use limited clues in different ways. In further research, Kirzner (1979) has defined entrepreneurial alertness as an individual’s ability to perceive new opportunities that have hitherto been overlooked by others; more specifically, alertness can be described as: “a motivated propensity of man to formulate an image of the future” (Kirzner, 1985). In accordance with Kirzner’s research, Baron and Ensley (2006) have argued that alert individuals “identify new solutions to market and customer needs in existing information, and to imagine new products and services that do not currently exist” (Baron and Ensley, 2006). A central study by McMullen and Shepherd (2006) has confirmed that, “To act on the possibility that one has identified an opportunity worth pursuing” is the heart of being an entrepreneur (McMullen and Shepherd, 2006). Gaglio and Katz (2001) have asserted that a high level of entrepreneurial alertness leads to acute sensitivity to one’s surroundings, a mental framework that helps entrepreneurs adjust to the current situation. Based on previous research, Tang et al. (2012) have produced a 13-item model, which theoretically and empirically divides entrepreneurial alertness into three distinct factors: (a) “scanning and search,” (b) “association and connection,” and (c) “evaluation and judgment.” Tang’s instrument is well-validated and has strong reliability, providing researchers with a valuable tool for probing the entire entrepreneurial opportunity-development process, including antecedents and outcomes.

Creativity, Proactive Personality, and Entrepreneurial Alertness

Creativity significantly influences an individual’s entrepreneurial alertness. Creativity, which refers to the development of novel and useful ideas, is closely related to innovation and generally studied at the individual level (Amabile, 1996; Zampetakis, 2008). Furthermore, the interaction between an individual and his or her environment will yield creativity (Hunter et al., 2007). Factors such as an individual’s intrinsic motivation, personality, knowledge, cognitive style, and social background can play important roles in the cultivation of creativity (Woodman and Schoenfeldt, 1990; Sternberg and Lubart, 1995; Amabile, 1996).

Creativity has become a central theme in entrepreneurial process research. The relationship between creativity and enterprise has been confirmed by researchers: novel ideas are produced when access to information is clear and free (Biraglia and Kadile, 2017); such new ideas exemplify the nature of creativity and lead to new entrepreneurial ventures (McMullan and Kenworthy, 2015). Creativity is a key element at the start of the entrepreneurial process, since it contributes to the design of new products and services (Heinonen et al., 2011; Gielnik et al., 2012). Feldman and Bolino (2000) have argued that individuals with higher perceived creativity are more likely to build up their own businesses; this confirms the findings of Sternberg and Lubart (1999), who have noted that entrepreneurship is, to some extent, the result of creativity.

Given the importance of identifying entrepreneurial opportunities in the field of entrepreneurship, experts maintain that alertness about opportunities is important, not only for innovation behavior (Obschonka et al., 2017), but also for successful entrepreneurial behavior (Baron, 2006). Kirzner (2009) believes that entrepreneurial alertness involves creative behavior. This, to some extent, confirms the conclusion drawn by Ardichvili et al. (2003) that a conceptual link exists between creativity and entrepreneurial alertness. Empirical studies have confirmed that creative activities involving the use of new communication and Internet technologies may also predict entrepreneurial alertness. Campos (2016) and Obschonka et al. (2017) have empirically confirmed that creativity has a significant relationship with entrepreneurial alertness, particularly in the dimensions of scanning and searching. Campos (2016) has used a moderated mediation model to identify a positive correlation between creativity and entrepreneurial alertness. Alertness requires a creative act, which may influence the further development and improvement of entrepreneurial opportunities (Baron, 2004; Kirzner, 2009). Thus, creativity is associated with entrepreneurial alertness.

Read more: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00951/full