Gender differences in opportunity recognition and exploitation of new markets

Research suggests an entrepreneur's prior knowledge influences opportunity recognition and exploitation, which have long been recognized as central aspects of the entrepreneurship process. In this study, we extend this research by investigating the effects of prior knowledge on opportunity recognition and exploitation in markets that diverge from an entrepreneur's current business and explore whether such effects vary by gender. We apply social cognition theory to inform our study, and we collect data from entrepreneurs (N=239) using a web-based survey. We analyze the data using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with multigroup analyses (MGA). Our findings reveal prior knowledge positively predicts opportunity recognition and exploitation in new markets, though these effects differ for male versus female entrepreneurs.