[PDF] Identifying New Enterprise Opportunities

What are the 5 steps of opportunity identification?

• The opportunity identification stage can be divided into five main steps namely getting the idea/scanning the environment, identifying the opportunity, developing the opportunity, evaluating the opportunity and evaluating the team (Gartner et al, 1999:220; Ardichvili et al, 2003:108). Getting the idea

Who deems creativity a key to identifying business opportunities?

• Friedrich et al (2003:2) and Pretorius et al (2005a:56) support Schumpeter (1934) and Kirzner (1973) who deem creativity to be key for seeking business opportunities. EI = Innovation Wickham (2001:38) supports Freel & Robson (2004:561) by recognizing that innovation is considered key to the identification of opportunities.

Do entrepreneurial opportunities exist?

• It is one thing to be aware that entrepreneurial opportunities exist but a significantly different matter to have the skills to exploit these opportunities and manage the resulting venture (McCline et al, 2000:88; Hisrich et al, 2005:2).

How important is timing in identifying market opportunities?

• Morris & Zahra (2000:92) identify timing as crucial for identifying market opportunities. BF = Financial management Erikson (2002:280) expresses that opportunity identification is dependant on skills that enable the nascent entrepreneur to accurately forecast financial estimates.