Business Opportunity Recognition and Development Process:A Study of Nepalese Entrepreneurs

Past research has indicated that entrepreneurs perceive a possibility of creating new businesses through three basic steps, namely, perception, discovery and creation. However, extant research ignores how the individuals actually identify the opportunity. This study explored on the process of opportunity recognition of 31 successful Nepalese entrepreneurs through analysis on their life stories collected from in-depth interviews. This study explored whether the entrepreneurs were inspired to start a particular business from their personal experiences, family members and friends. Inspired individuals continuously search for clues to identify business opportunities using different sources of information. They figure out whether the opportunities match their resources. Once they start a business, they continuously change their strategies in response to changes in the market, resources and government policies. Based on the findings, this research study proposes a model for business opportunity recognition. The findings of this study have implications for entrepreneurship development and start-up businesses.