The Entrepreneurial Process: A decision-making approach to the pursuit of an entrepreneurial opportunity

Abstract: Problem: Entrepreneurs and firms approaching a novel opportunity will most probably meet unique challenges. In relation to this, the identified problem area of this thesis is what characterizes the entrepreneurial process for entrepreneurs pursuing an entrepreneurial opportunity with a focus on decision-making, uncertainty, and information asymmetry. Purpose: In line with the individual-opportunity nexus, the aim of this paper is to describe and analyze the entrepreneurial process of the studied entrepreneurs’ pursuit of an entrepreneurial opportunity in order to find what characterizes the entrepreneurial decision-making practices under uncertainty and information asymmetry. Method: A qualitative approach was chosen as the thesis aims to create a deeper understanding of how decision-making, uncertainty, and information asymmetry influence the entrepreneurial process when pursuing an entrepreneurial opportunity. More specifically, a single case study was applied with a deductive approach meaning a couple of theoretical propositions were formulated to guide the analysis. The data was collected from open to semi-structured interviews with the studied entrepreneurs Ulf Olson and Tomi Yrjölä. Conclusions: The decision-making associated with the entrepreneurial process for the studied entrepreneurs and their innovation is characterized by being non-sequential and the decisions seem to develop from being highly informal at the first step to becoming more formal as the entrepreneurs must face the external challenges when initiating the market introduction. Furthermore, the study unveils a paradoxical situation where the perceived uncertainty is low when the objective uncertainty is high at the start of the process and vice versa in the later steps. One reason for this could be that the information advantage held changes during the process and affects the decision-making as the exposure leads to a more rational behavior.