A Framework for Understanding Opportunity Recognition Entrepreneurs versus Private Equity Financiers

The issue of opportunity recognition, as opposed to opportunity evaluation, has received far less attention. Yet it is opportunity recognition that often drives deals. This article presents and tests six hypotheses on opportunity recognition against a sample of 262 respondents divided among financiers and entrepreneurs. The hypotheses measure the differences between respondents' views on the following topics: alertness to opportunities; creativity and idea generation; search process and strategies; causes of opportunities; opportunity sources; evaluation; and “feel.” In general, both groups had similar responses, but several interesting differences were discovered.