On Opportunities: Philosophical And Empirical Implications

13 Pages Posted: 15 May 2020

See all articles by Sharon Alvarez

Sharon Alvarez

University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business

Jay B. Barney

University of Utah - David Eccles School of Business

Russ McBride

University of Utah - Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy; Department of Philosophy

Robert Wuebker

University of Utah - Department of Management

Date Written: March 15, 2017

Abstract

In their recently published paper, Ramoglou and Tsang (2015) try to position continuing debates about the objectivity and subjectivity of entrepreneurial opportunities within a broader debate about critical realism and social constructionism. The authors adopt a view originally proposed by Bhakshar (1994, 1998, 2008) which suggests that all science — both physical and social — can be understood through a critical realist lens. However, the approach taken in this paper has three important weaknesses: the study of the physical and social world are not distinguished, the view of opportunities is tautological, and the need for empirical testing is ignored.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Opportunity, Critical Realism, Social Ontology

Suggested Citation

Alvarez, Sharon and Barney, Jay B. and McBride, Russ and Wuebker, Robert, On Opportunities: Philosophical And Empirical Implications (March 15, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3581239 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3581239

Sharon Alvarez

University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business ( email )

Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

Jay B. Barney

University of Utah - David Eccles School of Business ( email )

1645 E Campus Center Dr
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9303
United States

Russ Mcbride

University of Utah - Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy ( email )

1655 East Campus Center Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
United States

Department of Philosophy ( email )

215 South Central Campus Dr.
Carolyn Tanner Irish Humanities Building
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
United States

Robert Wuebker (Contact Author)

University of Utah - Department of Management ( email )

1645 East Campus Circle Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9304
United States

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