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6358Information is fundamental to individual decisions. However, extant literature has the following three shortcomings: First, the relationship between information searching and identification of innovative opportunities is not definite. Second, the interconnectedness between entrepreneurs’ characteristics and cognitive factors is artificially separated, which oversimplifies the analysis of the processes of entrepreneurial opportunity identification. Third, the influence of environment on innovative opportunities is disregarded. As such, it is difficult to make an objective reply to where innovative opportunities come from. Information scanning refers to a type of activity that executives pay attention to information. The social cognitive theory suggests that the combination of individual characteristics, behaviors, and external environment can better explain the processes of decision-making. Intuition is one pattern of executives’ information processing. It is also a key to identifying entrepreneurial opportunities. Environmental dynamism is an important variable which shapes entrepreneurs’ decision-making and behaviors. This study examines the relationship between entrepreneur information scanning and identification of innovative opportunities as well as the moderating roles of intuition and environmental dynamism. Through a survey of 266 entrepreneurs from Wuhan, Xi’an, and Chengdu which are located in central and western China, the results of hierarchical regression analysis indicate that the greater the frequency of entrepreneur information scanning, the higher the probability of identifying innovative opportunities for her or him. Especially for high intuitive entrepreneurs, this positive relationship becomes stronger. But environmental dynamism does not have a significant moderating role in the relationship, which is in conflict with our prediction. Further joint effect analysis shows that information scanning has a strongest impact on identification of innovative opportunities under the context of high intuition and high dynamism. By jointly exploring the roles of entrepreneurs’ characteristics, behaviors, and environment, our findings elaborate on which type of entrepreneurs is able to identify innovative opportunities more easily and how external environment exerts an effect, which further extends the research framework for identification of innovative opportunities. Moreover, this study also strengthens our understanding about the impact of intuition on entrepreneurial decision-making.
/ Journals / Foreign Economics & Management
Foreign Economics & Management
LiZengquan, Editor-in-Chief
ZhengChunrong, Vice Executive Editor-in-Chief
YinHuifang HeXiaogang LiuJianguo, Vice Editor-in-Chief
Entrepreneur Information Scanning and Identification of Innovative Opportunities: The Moderating Roles of Intuition and Environmental Dynamism
Foreign Economics & Management Vol. 41, Issue 08, pp. 29 - 42 (2019) DOI:10.16538/j.cnki.fem.2019.08.003
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Cite this article
Ji Yang, Zhou Erhua, Li Caiyun, et al. Entrepreneur Information Scanning and Identification of Innovative Opportunities: The Moderating Roles of Intuition and Environmental Dynamism[J]. Foreign Economics & Management, 2019, 41(8): 29-42.
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