Effects of environment and organizational context on opportunity recognition by employees of for-profit organizations: A comparison of state-level banks and bioscience companies

Forces lying outside individual control influence the number and type of opportunities recognized by employees of for-profit organizations. This research identifies exogenous forces found throughout the extant literature to bear on opportunity recognition, describes the influences through a multiple case study analysis and is the first to empirically test those influences at the individual level with data gathered from upper-level managers of Bioscience companies and State Banks. In particular, Bioscience companies located in industries with heterogeneous markets and open technology diffusion standards recognized more opportunities and more innovative opportunities than State Banks located in industries comprised of homogeneous markets with closed diffusion standards. Organizational culture, strategy and rewards were also shown to influence the innovation level of opportunities recognized by employees. These findings demonstrate the number and innovation level of opportunities recognized by employees of for-profit organizations are influenced by forces lying outside their control. Research implications suggest greater numbers of opportunities and more innovative opportunities can be recognized if exogenous forces in the business environment and organization are identified and managed.