Research Article

Exercising entrepreneurial opportunities: The role of information-gathering and information-processing capabilities of the firm

  1. Alexander Sleptsov1,*,
  2. Jaideep Anand2

Article first published online: 23 MAR 2009

DOI: 10.1002/sej.60

Issue

Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal

Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal

Special Issue: Opportunities, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship: Empirical Implications and Application

Volume 2, Issue 4, pages 357–375, December 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

Sleptsov, A. and Anand, J. (2008), Exercising entrepreneurial opportunities: The role of information-gathering and information-processing capabilities of the firm. Strat.Entrepreneurship J., 2: 357–375. doi: 10.1002/sej.60

Author Information

  1. 1

    A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.

  2. 2

    Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.

*A.B. Freeman School of Business, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Tulane University, 7 McAlister Drive, New Orleans, LA 70118-5645, U.S.A.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 23 MAR 2009
  2. Article first published online: 23 MAR 2009

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Keywords:

  • entrepreneurial opportunities;
  • information processing;
  • organizational capabilities

Abstract

In this article, we study two capabilities that influence firms' effectiveness in exercising entrepreneurial opportunities: information-gathering and information-processing capability. We argue that their effects are not always positive or symmetrical. When the firm's information-processing capability is low, high levels of its information-gathering capability may result in lower effectiveness because of managerial cognitive overload. The effects of high information-processing capability are more nuanced and depend on whether the firm's information processing has experiential or cognitive character. Our analysis offers a counterintuitive insight: the firm may fail to exercise entrepreneurial opportunities effectively not only when it has low levels of information capabilities, but also when its levels are high but unbalanced. Copyright © 2009 Strategic Management Society.

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