A Quantum view of entrepreneurial opportunity: moving beyond the Discovery and Creation views.

This article sheds new light on the debate between the Discovery and Creation views of entrepreneurial opportunity by drawing on quantum theory. We develop the Quantum view of opportunity, which explains how opportunity is both discovered and created. The Quantum view holds that the ontology and epistemology of opportunity are fundamentally inseparable, which explains why opportunity can never be fully specified. We argue, similar to the Discovery view, that opportunity exists as latent states irrespective of entrepreneurs and that, similar to the Creation view, opportunity is instantiated through entrepreneurial action, which changes opportunity. We use the Quantum view as a thought-provoking metaphor that facilitates the breaking out of the mold of ingrained thinking and moves beyond the Discovery-Creation dichotomy to further our understanding of entrepreneurship. We discuss how the Quantum view relates to established theoretical and empirical research in the entrepreneurship field. Plain English Summary: Rethinking Entrepreneurial Opportunity: A Quantum view! Discover how opportunities are both found and made. #QuantumOpportunity. Entrepreneurial opportunities have long been debated: are they discovered or created? Inspired by quantum mechanics, this article introduces a fresh perspective called the "Quantum view." Instead of seeing opportunities as either discovered or created, the Quantum view suggests that they are both created and discovered. It urges us to rethink conventional wisdom. Instead of just "finding" or "making" opportunities, the Quantum view suggests that opportunities exist in potential states and are realized through entrepreneurial enactment. Entrepreneurs can gather information about opportunities, but they can never fully specify them because every time they interact with an opportunity, they change it. Thus, the Quantum view emphasizes that we can learn about, but never fully specify, opportunities. This helps researchers think differently about opportunities and avoid extreme positions such as that entrepreneurs create something from nothing or that some entrepreneurs can accurately predict the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]