Entrepreneurial foresight: Discovery of future opportunities

Hajizadeh A., Valliere D.

Futures, vol.135, 2022 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 135
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.futures.2021.102876
  • Journal Name: Futures
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Periodicals Index Online, ABI/INFORM, CAB Abstracts, Communication Abstracts, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Veterinary Science Database, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Keywords: Entrepreneurial opportunity discovery, Future opportunities, Individual foresight, Scenario thinking, Futures orientation
  • TED University Affiliated: No

Abstract

© 2021 Elsevier LtdFutures orientation is not only critical to business owners and managers who want their companies to survive and develop, but it also could be advantageous to opportunity seekers, especially those who desire to create innovative and leading ventures. Foresight is a key to the exploration of the future. Previous research on entrepreneurial opportunity and foresight failed to empirically study the potential role of future-related elements, such as foresight in the opportunity discovery process. This paper aims to explore why and how opportunity seekers conduct foresight to discover entrepreneurial opportunities. To answer the research questions, qualitative research is designed and semi-structured interviews are employed to collect the data from16 participants, including entrepreneurs and individuals who search for business opportunities. Thematic analysis method is used for identifying and analyzing meaningful patterns within the data set. The findings showed that the majority of participants tend to be more future-oriented than present-oriented in opportunity discovery. More importantly, the results provided four significant themes that demonstrate why and how opportunity seekers conduct foresight to discover future opportunities.