THE EFFECT OF EFFECTUATION PRINCIPLES ON OPPORTUNITY EXPLOITATION BY ENTREPRENEURS IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY

This study aims to explore the direct effect of effectual means (who I am, who I know, what I have) on the successful exploitation of opportunity by new ventures. Resource acquisition and strategy implementation ability are employed as indicators of opportunity exploitation. We also examine the mediating role of particular, effectual principles on the relationship between effectual means and opportunity exploitation. A total of 462 owners of early-stage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania were surveyed. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and hierarchical regression were used to test a set of hypotheses. The results demonstrate that effectual means positively affected both resource acquisition ability and strategy implementation ability. Mediation effects differed based on the type of effectual means and different elements comprising opportunity exploitation. Implications are drawn from the results for theory and practice.