Principal Topic

The aim of this paper is to add to the existing knowledge on opportunity development (OD). It applies the concept of OD to the literature on existing high growth firms. Opportunity is a concept often used to describe the business idea that the firm has when it starts (Long and McMullan 1984; Bhave 1994; Hills, Lumpkin et al. 1997). However, some recent articles on opportunities highlight the possibility to study opportunities in existing firms (Stevenson and Jarillo 1990; Venkataraman 1997). This paper applies the current thoughts in studies of OD in business start-ups (e.g., de Koning, 1999) to the study of OD in existing firms.

Method

A real time case study approach was used in this study. Four companies experiencing high growth were selected for this study. Interviews were conducted every second month with different members of top management in the firms. In total, about 30 interviews were conducted. The interviews were semi-structured, averaging about 1 hour each. Annual reports, product brochures, Internet homepages, and other material were also collected and analyzed in order to generate a more complete picture of the opportunities the companies were pursuing.

Results and Implications

OD models in business start-up models are insufficient to describe OD in high growth SME:s. Concepts, as e.g. Cognitive matching and resource acquisition (De Koning 1999) were helpful to understand the later stages of the OD process. In most cases a general and vague intent to grow, was the best way to describe the starting point of the OD process. External information was found more important and complex than previous studies have suggested. To conclude, OD models are applicable, but insufficient to describe OD in high growth SME:s. This paper has developed the tools needed for adapting an OD framework for new venture to the high growth SME:s. Some findings indicate that this OD framework is applicable for new ventures, and other SME:s. However, this remains to be tested.

CONTACT: Tomas Karlsson, Jönköping International Business School, Box 1026, 551 11, Jönköping, Sweden; (F) +36 15 62 56; kato@ihh.hj.se