Reconceptualizar el constructo de oportunidad: una respuesta a un dilema teórico a través de una revisión sistemática de la literatura

After Shane’s seminal work in 2000 which highlighted the importance of entrepreneurial opportunities, the number of studies focusing on entrepreneurial opportunity increased rapidly. Different definitions of this concept were provided in the field, ranging from subjective to objective ones, which gave rise to a lack of consensus among researchers and this, in turn, was an obstacle that slowed down theorizing in entrepreneurship. Taking into account the past trends in management sciences, it seems to be the right moment to re-conceptualize the core construct of opportunity. The major critique of existing definitions is their operationalization. To provide a better operationalization, the present study aimed to offer a more accurate conceptual definition. To this end, the study first examined current debates on opportunity, which revealed the major problem causing the debates. Then, through a systematic literature review, from among more than seven thousand documents in the Scopus database containing opportunity keywords, 74 papers were selected following different phases of filtration. The papers were analyzed in detail to extract different constructs. Then, using the framework of Hansen et al, they were classified along six dimensions. The concepts under each dimension were examined to finally provide a bigger picture of the construct of opportunity and offer a re-conceptualization. The results of this study highlight the gaps for future research and pave the ground for other systematic literature reviews in the field.Después de que el influyente trabajo de Shane en 2000 destacó la importancia de las oportunidades empresariales, el número de estudios centrados en las oportunidades empresariales aumentó rápidamente. En el campo se aportaron distintas definiciones de este concepto, que van desde las subjetivas hasta las objetivas, lo que generó una falta de consenso entre los investigadores y esto, a su vez, fue un obstáculo que frenó la teorización en el emprendimiento. Teniendo en cuenta las tendencias pasadas en las ciencias de la administración, parece ser el momento adecuado para reconceptualizar el constructo central de la oportunidad. La principal crítica de las definiciones existentes es su operacionalización. Para brindar una mejor operacionalización, el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo ofrecer una definición conceptual más precisa. Con este fin, el estudio examinó en primer lugar los debates actuales sobre las oportunidades que revelaron el principal problema que suscitan los debates. Luego, mediante una revisión sistemática de la literatura, de entre más de siete mil documentos en la base de datos Scopus que contienen palabras clave de oportunidad, se seleccionaron 74 artículos siguiendo diferentes fases de filtración. Los artículos se analizaron en detalle para extraer diferentes constructos. Luego, utilizando el marco de Hansen et al, se clasificaron en seis dimensiones. Se examinaron los conceptos de cada dimensión para finalmente proporcionar una imagen más amplia del constructo de oportunidad y ofrecer una reconceptualización. Los resultados de este estudio destacan las brechas para futuras investigaciones y preparan el terreno para otras revisiones sistemáticas de la literatura en este campo

Institutional Factors Affecting Academic Entrepreneurship: The Case of University of Tehran

The role of universities has been highlighted in the social and economic development of communities with the addition of entrepreneurial mission to the educational and research missions of the universities. Thus, the subjects related to the academic entrepreneurship and commercialization of knowledge has recently been taken into consideration by many researchers and politicians in various countries. In Iran, concept of academic entrepreneurship is newly established and is in its initial stages of formation and institutionalization. Considering this gap in the literature, identifying institutional factors which affect academic entrepreneurship in Iran is the main objective of this study. For this purpose, the Institutional Economy theory of North (1990) was used to investigate the formal and informal institutional factors that foster academic entrepreneurship in Iran. In this study a mixed approach was implemented, taking advantage of interviews and a questionnaire to collection the data from the experts involved in academic entrepreneurship activities in University of Tehran. For sampling purposes, the objective judgmental method was used as a non-probability sampling approach. Data collection and analysis continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Then, 41 semi-structured and open interviews were conducted. The quantitative sample size was calculated based on the Cochran’s Formula (60 persons). Findings revealed that main formal institutional factors that affect academic entrepreneurship in Iran include as follows: (i) rules, structure and governance of the university, (ii) entrepreneurship and business training programs, (iii) university-industry relationship, (iv) governmental policies and regulations, (v) intellectual property laws, and (vi) educational and research structure of the university while principle informal institutional factors include: (i) method of enforcing rules, (ii) political considerations, (ii) role models and academic reward system, and (iii) academicians' attitudes toward entrepreneurship

Petro Rents and Higher Education: A Cross-country Examination

This study provides an empirical investigation to test one of the transmission channels of resource curse, i.e. higher education. Our panel data analysis of 70 countries from 2006 to 2014 shows petro rents have a positive impact on the indicator of higher education and training in developed countries but petro rents have no statistically significant effect on the indicator of higher education and training in developing countries. We also find petro rents have a positive impact on the quality of education in both groups of countries but we find a negative and statistically significant association between petro rents and the quantity of higher education in developing countries which can explain resource curse. These findings are robust when we control for other major drivers of dependent variables, unobservable country- and time-fixed effects. Keywords: resource curse, oil rents, higher education, human capital JEL Classifications: I25; O15; O1

Oil Rent and Financial Environment: A Cross-country Examination

This study provides an empirical investigation to test one of the transmission channels of resource curse, i.e. financial environment. Our panel data analysis of 70 countries from 2006 to 2014 shows a negative and statistically significant association between oil rent and the quality of financial environment in developing countries, but a positive relationship in developed countries. These findings are robust when we control for other major drivers of financial environment quality, unobservable country- and time-fixed effects. In addition, our main results show that institutional quality, among other independent variables, has a major statistically significant effect on financial environment. Keywords: resource curse, oil rents, crowding out, financial market development JEL Classifications: G10; H1