• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.45-60
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• 2023

In this study, we analyzed the influence of middle-aged office workers' entrepreneurial competency and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition on entrepreneurial intention by mediating entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation. Sub-variables of entrepreneurial competency were classified into prior knowledge, positive attitude, and social network. For the empirical analysis of this study, an online survey using Naver Office was conducted for about 15 days (February 6, 2023 - February 20, 2023) targeting office workers across the country who are interested in starting a business, and a total of 262 copies were collected and missing values. For 250 copies excluding 12 copies, SPSS Ver.24.0 and PROCESS MACRO Model 4.0 were used for empirical analysis. The results of the analysis are as follows: First, the higher the prior knowledge of the founder's individual competency, social network, and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, the higher the entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation and entrepreneurial intention. On the other hand, it was found that the positive attitude among entrepreneurs' individual competencies did not affect entrepreneurship opportunity evaluation and entrepreneurial intention. In addition, the magnitude of the influence on entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation and entrepreneurial intention was in the order of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, prior knowledge, and social network. This is because the positive attitude of middle-aged office workers towards start-up has a negative image of start-up due to the shrinking start-up environment due to COVID-19, fear of failure due to lack of preparation for start-up, and successive cases of start-up failure due to cognitive bias errors due to overconfidence. implying that there is Second, it was found that the evaluation of entrepreneurship opportunities had a significant positive (+) effect on entrepreneurial intention in a situation where the entrepreneur's individual competency and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition were controlled. Third, the startup opportunity evaluation was shown to mediate between the prior knowledge of the entrepreneur's individual competency, social network and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, and entrepreneurial intention, but it did not mediate between positive attitude and entrepreneurial intention. Fourth, among the factors influencing entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation and entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial opportunity recognition was found to be larger than founder's individual competency, confirming the importance of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. Fifth, it was found that prior knowledge and network, which are individual capabilities of the founder, affect the evaluation of entrepreneurial opportunities and entrepreneurial intention, so that strengthening entrepreneurship education to recognize the importance of cultivating prior entrepreneurial knowledge and experience can revitalize middle-aged office workers' entrepreneurship. confirmed.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.117-137
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• 2019

In young entrepreneurs, the individual situation of opportunity discovery is very important. It is very important that the opportunities that are created for a particular individual entrepreneur are also recognized and assessed through the process. The need for the development of entrepreneurial opportunity competencies, which have a low proportion of opportunistic entrepreneurship, is low in the entrepreneurship education. In particular, young entrepreneurs are in desperate need of opportunistic entrepreneurship. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of entrepreneurship motivation on entrepreneurial opportunity competence, using entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurship orientation as mediation variables for preliminary young entrepreneurs (19-39 old). In the case of young entrepreneurs, there is a tendency to study entrepreneurship policies and education through the system of youth entrepreneurship schools, mainly on college students and youths, and on the effects of institutional support on entrepreneurship. There is little research on the effect of a entrepreneurial motivation on the entrepreneurial opportunity competence needed to promote an entrepreneurial venture in a model with multiple mediators. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of start - up motivation on the entrepreneurial opportunity competence. To do this we analyzed 374 questionnaires collected from preliminary young entrepreneurs in Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces. The results of the analysis using SPSS v22.0 and Process macro v3.0 showed that the motivation of start - up had a significant effect on both opportunity recognition and opportunity evaluation of entrepreneurial opportunity competence. Second, motivation of entrepreneurs has a significant effect on entrepreneurial efficacy. Third, entrepreneurial efficacy has a significant effect on entrepreneurial orientation. Fourth, entrepreneurial orientation has a significant effect on entrepreneurial opportunity competence. Fifth, there is a significant indirect effect between entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition when passing through entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial efficacy and entrepreneurial orientation at the same time, But indirect effects was insignificant when only entrepreneurship efficacy is passed. There is a significant indirect effect on all mediators between entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial opportunity valuation. It is suggested that strengthening education on entrepreneurship is necessary to cultivate awareness of entrepreneurship opportunities and strengthening education on both entrepreneurial efficacy and entrepreneurship is necessary to cultivate evaluation of entrepreneurship opportunities by type of entrepreneurial motivation.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.95-112
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• 2020

This paper is to investigate how cognitive bias of college students and entrepreneurs relates to perceived risks and entrepreneurial opportunities that represent uncertainty, and how various cognitive bias and entrepreneurial efficacy In the same way. The purpose of this study is to find improvement points of entrepreneurship education for college students and to suggest problems and improvement possibilities in the decision making process of current entrepreneurs. This empirical study is a necessary to improve the decision-making of individuals who want to start a business at the time when various attempts are made to activate the start-up business and increase the sustainability of the existing SME management. And understanding of the difference in opportunity evaluation, and suggests that it is necessary to provide good opportunities together with the upbringing of entrepreneurs. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, questionnaires were conducted for college students and entrepreneurs. A total of 363 questionnaire data were obtained and demonstrated through structural equation modeling. This study confirms that there is some relationship between perceived risk and cognitive bias. Overconfidence and control illusions among cognitive bias have a significant relationship between perceived risk and wealth. Especially, it is confirmed that control illusion of college students has a significant relationship with perceived risk. Second, cognitive bias demonstrated some significant relationship with opportunity evaluation. Although we did not find evidence that excess self-confidence is related to opportunity evaluation, we have verified that control illusions and current status bias are related to opportunity evaluation. Control illusions were significant in both college students and entrepreneurs. Third, perceived risk has a negative relationship with opportunity evaluation. All students, regardless of whether they are college students or entrepreneurs, judge opportunities positively if they perceive low risk. Fourth, it can be seen from the college students 'group that entrepreneurial efficacy has a moderating effect between perceived risk and opportunity evaluation, but no significant results were found in the entrepreneurs' group. Fifth, the college students and entrepreneurs have different cognitive bias, and they have proved that there is a different relationship between entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation and perceived risk. On the whole, there are various cognitive biases that are caused by time pressure or stress on college students and entrepreneurs who have to make judgments in uncertain opportunities, and in this respect, they can improve their judgment in the future. At the same time, university students can have a positive view of new opportunities based on high entrepreneurial efficacy, but if they fully understand the intrinsic risks of entrepreneurship through entrepreneurial education and fully understand the cognitive bias present in direct entrepreneurial experience, You will get a better opportunity assessment. This study has limitations in that it is based on the fact that university students and entrepreneurs are integrated, and that the survey respondents are selected by the limited random sampling method. It is necessary to conduct more systematic research based on more faithful data in the absence of the accumulation of entrepreneurial research data. Second, the translation tools used in the previous studies were translated and the meaning of the measurement tools might not be conveyed due to language differences. Therefore, it is necessary to construct a more precise scale for the accuracy of the study. Finally, complementary research should be done to identify what competitive opportunities are and what opportunities are appropriate for entrepreneurs.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.135-146
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• 2017

Entrepreneurship based on valuable opportunities has a positive effect on long-term economic growth. This study examines the entrepreneurship education offered to small business entrepreneurs from the perspective of opportunity-driven entrepreneurship in order to suggest improvements and future direction for small business entrepreneurship education. Also, we tried to investigate entrepreneurial behaviors related to opportunity development more effectively by considering entrepreneurial self-efficacy and regulatory focus that play a crucial role in opportunity development process as mediating variables. Conducted was an online survey of small business owners nationwide who have completed entrepreneurship education provided by the government, and 345 online survey data were used for empirical analysis. The results show that entrepreneurship education for small business entrepreneurs positively influences entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy is positively related to both opportunity recognition and evaluation as well as the promotion and prevention focus. Entrepreneurship education, which includes theoretically and practically oriented courses, has a positive impact on both the promotion and prevention focus. The promotion focus of small business entrepreneurs was found to have a positive effect on opportunity recognition, but not on opportunity evaluation. Also, the preventive focus of small business entrepreneurs does not have a significant effect on both opportunity recognition and evaluation. The current entrepreneurship education for small business entrepreneurs does not have a significant impact on their opportunity recognition and evaluation. These results suggest that the current entrepreneurship education for small business entrepreneurs needs improvements to promote opportunity-driven entrepreneurship.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.169-185
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• 2022

This study analyzed the effect of entrepreneurial competency on entrepreneurial intentions by using the entrepreneurial opportunity recognition as a mediator for middle and middle-aged office workers. The sub-variables of entrepreneurial competency are classified into management competency, technology competency, business competency and funding competency. 222 copies of questionnaires collected from middle-aged and elderly office workers residing across the country centered on the metropolitan area were used for empirical analysis. Based on a simple mediating model with singular mediator using SPSS v22.0 and PROCESS macro v4.0. was analyzed. As a result of the analysis, first, among entrepreneurial competencies, business competency and funding capacity were found to have a positive (+) significant effect on the entrepreneurial intentions, but management and technical competency did not have a significant effect. The higher the business competency and funding competency. Second, it was found that all of the sub-variables of entrepreneurial competency had a significant effect in the positive (+) direction on the recognition of entrepreneurial opportunities. It was confirmed that management competency has the greatest influence on the entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and technology competence has the smallest effect. Third, it was found that the entrepreneurial opportunity recognition had a significant effect on entrepreneurial intentions. The discovery of an opportunity recognizing opportunities for start-up is a prerequisite for entrepreneur. Fourth, it was found that the entrepreneurial opportunity recognition mediates between the management competency, technological competency, business competency, funding competency, and entrepreneurial intention. It suggests that opportunity discovery by recognizing opportunities for entrepreneurship is a prerequisite for start-up. As implications of this study, it suggests that in order to inspire middle-aged and elderly office workers to start their own business, it is necessary to have indirect experience with education and to establish and promote a government support system for financing.. Second, It suggests that education on leadership and organizational management is particularly necessary to strengthen the opportunity recognition. Third, it suggests that the discovery of opportunities to recognize opportunities for start-up is a prerequisite for entrepreneur. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a manual and conduct training on opportunity search, recognition, evaluation, and utilization according to the stage of opportunity development. Fourth, it suggests that in order to strengthen the intention to start a business, ALso, it is necessary to manage both the entrepreneurial competency and entrepreneurial opportunities recognition at the same time. By presenting the practical directions that can be given differentially, we intend to contribute to the provision of practical directions and policy establishment for the promotion of entrepreneurial activities of office workers who can give vitality to the ecosystem.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.135-151
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• 2021

This research attempts to analyze the factors influencing the entrepreneurial intention of employees in manufacturing field. In particular, key factors of entrepreneurship and personal characteristics explain a significant association with the intention to start-up. And study whether R&D support from public enterprise adjusts intention to entrepreneurial Intention. This study conducted a online survey on 292 small and medium-sized enterprise manufacturing employees in May 2020. Using linear regression model and binary logistic model. The main study results are the following: First, among the key factors(innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking) of entrepreneurship, proactiveness hardly influenced the opportunity competency. Second, among the factors(risk-taking propensity, locus of control, tolerance for ambiguity) of personal characteristics, locus of control hardly influenced the opportunity competency. Third, opportunity competency(opportunity recognition and opportunity evaluation) had positive influence to entrepreneurial intention. Fourth, the study investigated the mediated effect of opportunity competency. The result showed that among the factors of entrepreneurship and personal characteristics, only two factors that are proactiveness and locus of control were not mediated by opportunity competency. and opportunity evaluation was acted as a mediator between proactiveness and entrepreneurial Intention, compared with opportunity recognition. Lastly, public enterprise's R&D supporting moderated the entrepreneurial intention). Based on the result, the study showed that first, the key factors of entrepreneurship except for proactiveness and personal characteristics(risk-taking propensity, locus of control, tolerance for ambiguity) except for locus of control affect the intention to start-up, repeatedly. This results are explained that employees have not started a business yet. Second, research on start-up suggests the need to analyze factors differentiated before and after the start-ups. Based on the results, entrepreneurship and personal characteristics show that study on the effects of start-up intentions should be carried out before and after the actual start-up takes place, and can be used as effective data in policies to promoting start-ups in manufacturing field.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1-24
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• 2021

The Korean government is currently expanding the business startup incubator support program and funds for new ventures with innovative technology in order to spread the second venture boom. However, despite the fact that entrepreneurial education and mentoring that entrepreneurs should have are important parts for the sustainable growth of the startup, some companies selected for government support programs are reluctant to participate in programs such as entrepreneurship education and mentoring for the sole purpose of funding commercialization. This research addressed the effects of entrepreneurial alertness with opportunity awareness as its medium and the small business mentoring service along with the number of times the mentoring has taken place, on the corporate performances. The results of empirical research are as follow: the first one is that scanning-search and evaluation-judgment can influence a company's performance (financial, non-financial) through opportunity recognition, with the exception of association-connection, which is a sub-factor of entrepreneurial alertness. Secondly, it was found to affect a company's financial and non-financial performance through opportunity recognition for financing mentoring, technical support mentoring, and management support mentoring. Thirdly, it was found that the number of mentoring also affects the financial and non-financial performance of a company through opportunity recognition. The implications of this study are that it should be revisited that program managers consider rooms that do not violate the startup founder's strategic decision-making opportunities when designing and operating the program as entrepreneurial alertness sub-factor association-connection does not affect corporate performance through opportunity recognition. This study also emphasizes the need for customized mentoring to meet the outcome goals of each startup, as it has been empirically clarified that the mentoring provided to the startup by the government's support is important. The contribution of this research is that entrepreneurial alertness and opportunity recognition that are treated as important components in research for entrepreneurship, and the factors of mentoring and mentoring frequency that are recognized as important elements in the practical aspect of startup business are clarified theoretically and empirically as an influential factor in corporate performance. And this study also provide a rationale for the startup business support agency supplying mentoring.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.185-196
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• 2023

This paper investigates the effects of entrepreneurs' cognitive biases on business opportunity evaluation, given their strong entrepreneurial spirit, which is characterized by innovation, proactivity, and risk-taking. When making decisions related to business activities, entrepreneurs typically make rational judgments based on their knowledge, experience, and the advice of external experts. However, in situations of extreme stress or when quick decisions are required, they often rely on heuristics based on their cognitive biases. In particular, we often see cases where entrepreneurs fail because they make decisions based on heuristics in the process of evaluating and selecting new business opportunities that are planned to guarantee the growth and sustainability of their companies. This study was conducted in response to the need for research to clarify the effects of entrepreneurs' cognitive biases on new business opportunity evaluation, given that the cognitive biases of entrepreneurs, which are formed by repeated successful experiences, can sometimes lead to business failure. Although there have been many studies on the effects of cognitive biases on entrepreneurship and opportunity evaluation among university students and general people who aspire to start a business, there have been few studies that have clarified the relationship between cognitive biases and social networks among entrepreneurs. In contrast to previous studies, this study conducted empirical surveys of entrepreneurs only, and also conducted research on the relationship with social networks. For the study, a survey was conducted using a parallel survey method using online mobile surveys and self-report questionnaires from 150 entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized enterprises. The results of the study showed that 'overconfidence' and 'illusion of control', among the independent variables of entrepreneurs' cognitive biases, had a statistically significant positive(+) effect on business opportunity evaluation. In addition, it was confirmed that the moderating variable, social network, moderates the effect of overconfidence on business opportunity evaluation. This study showed that entrepreneurs' cognitive biases play a role in the process of evaluating and selecting new business opportunities, and that social networks play a role in moderating the structural relationship between entrepreneurs' cognitive biases and business opportunity evaluation. This study is expected to be of great help not only to entrepreneurs, but also to entrepreneur education and policy making, by showing how entrepreneurs can use cognitive biases in a positive way and the influence of social networks.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.11-30
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• 2016

The study specifically aimed to identify factors affecting business longevity. It focused on knowing how embroidery enterprises managed to persist in the industry for many years despite the competitive business environment. After discovering the significant relationships of such factors to longevity, problems experienced by the enterprise cluster were ascertained in order to come up with recommendations that can be proposed to the enterprise owners. Embroidery entrepreneurs have been experiencing a continuous decline in sales due to lack of innovation and intense competition. In the evaluation of their personal entrepreneurial competencies, they scored low on risk-taking, persuasion and networking, and opportunity seeking; thus, implying that these are their weaknesses. On the other hand, the statistical results of this study say that longevity is a function of the entrepreneur's competencies (i.e., persistence, commitment to work contract, demand for quality and efficiency, information seeking, and systematic planning or monitoring), the generation currently managing the business, competition, and the customer's preferences. These results suggest that these independent variables are significant and are deemed critical to business longevity. Thus, entrepreneurs have to find ways on how to use these competencies as an advantage in reinventing their businesses and in reviving their industry.