Opportunity Exploration and Exploitation: the Roles of the Environment, the Entrepreneur and the Firm

The objective of this paper is to study the interplay among the environment, the individual entrepreneur and the firm in the opportunity exploration and exploitation process, as framed in the resource-based view of the firm as the overarching theory. Drawing on qualitative evidence from four Chinese companies operating in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries in China, the findings of the paper highlight the important role of individual entrepreneurs in exploring opportunities arising from the imperfect resource market as brought about by the economic and regulatory reforms in China. Furthermore, the findings reveal a striking difference between state-owned and private enterprises in terms of entrepreneurial orientation and innovative capability.