There are two entrepreneurship theories for EE teachers to choose from: opportunity discovery and opportunity creation. According to the scientific literature, these two theories share some key aspects; nevertheless, they are very different. Even though both of these theories seek to explain entrepreneurial actions and their impact on the entrepreneur’s ability to form and exploit opportunities, their ontological conceptions of opportunity, entrepreneur, and entrepreneurial decision-making differ 1. Discovery theorists see opportunities as existing independently of entrepreneurs, and opportunities are formed by shocks in industries or markets 2, 3. According to creation theorists, entrepreneurs create opportunities. Discovery theorists believe that entrepreneurs, as persons, differ – ex ante – from non-entrepreneurs. Creation theorists agree that there may be differences; nevertheless, those differences may be experienced only ex post. Also, the contexts where entrepreneurs make their decisions are viewed differently by discovery and creation theorists. While discoverists view the context as risky (i.e., entrepreneurs may calculate the risk level by collecting adequate amounts of information), creation theorists see the context as uncertain or ambiguous (i.e., entrepreneurs cannot predict the future).
Recent entrepreneurship literature favors a paradigm shift from causation to effectuation that better suits entrepreneurship in uncertain business environments 4, 5. Causation follows the traditional decision-making process, requiring the entrepreneur to collect information for goal-setting and planning. As a consequence, the entrepreneur is able to predict future actions and events 6, 7, 8. Thus, causation is based on the assumption that a business opportunity is first discovered, after which business functions are systematically established. Therefore, causation prefers EE that promotes understanding of business functions and business planning. We can conclude that there are obvious ontological parallels between opportunity discovery theory and causation.
In a turbulent business environment, successful entrepreneurs typically use effectuation 9, 10, 11. Effectual entrepreneurs start by thinking of who they are, what they know and whom they know 12. Instead of first setting goals, effectual entrepreneurs start with given resources and let goals develop over time from the imagination and actions of involved people. Thus, effectuation is based on the awareness of available resources, including the entrepreneur’s personal competences and those of stakeholders 13, 14. We conclude that effectuation is based on the assumption that entrepreneurs create business opportunities in interaction with other stakeholders and with the environment. From the ontological perspective, effectuation and opportunity creation can thus be assimilated. In addition, the ontological perception of effectuation can be considered to match with the ontological perception of social constructionism.
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