A Dynamic Model of Entrepreneurial Uncertainty and Business Opportunity Identification: Exploration as a Mediator and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy as a Moderator

2017/09/21 by Antje Schmitt, Kathrin Rosing, Stephen X. Zhang +1 · 1 citation
Business, Management and Accounting · #Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences #Innovation and Socioeconomic Development

paper · doi:10.1177/1042258717721482

openalex publication_date 2017/09/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

This study focuses on the identification of business opportunities when entrepreneurs’ perceived level of environmental uncertainty changes. We suggest that within persons, exploration mediates this relationship and entrepreneurial self-efficacy moderates whether entrepreneurs explore more or less with increasing uncertainty. To test our moderated mediation model we conducted a monthly field study with 121 early-stage entrepreneurs. Multilevel regression analyses reveal that an increase in the level of perceived uncertainty within entrepreneurs predicted the identification of opportunities through exploration for entrepreneurs high in self-efficacy, but not for those low in self-efficacy. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy acts as a personal resource that helps entrepreneurs to transform increasing perceptions of uncertainty into exploration and opportunity identification.

Citations

• Opportunity Identification and Pursuit: Does an Entrepreneur’s Human Capital Matter?
• The Interplay Between Exploration and Exploitation
• Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies.
• Addressing Moderated Mediation Hypotheses: Theory, Methods, and Prescriptions
• Job resources boost work engagement, particularly when job demands are high.
• Overall job satisfaction: How good are single-item measures?
• Characteristics of Organizational Environments and Perceived Environmental Uncertainty
• Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error
• Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning
• The Study of Bias in Entrepreneurship

Cited by

• Startup company [wikipedia]