Education + Training

Emerald Article: The role of creativity in opportunity search and business

idea creation
Jarna Heinonen, Ulla Hytti, Pekka Stenholm

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To cite this document: Jarna Heinonen, Ulla Hytti, Pekka Stenholm, (2011),"The role of creativity in opportunity search and
business idea creation", Education + Training, Vol. 53 Iss: 8 pp. 659 - 672
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The role of
The role of creativity in creativity
opportunity search and business
idea creation
659
Jarna Heinonen, Ulla Hytti and Pekka Stenholm
Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationships between student creativity, various
opportunity search strategies, and the viability of business ideas developed during an
entrepreneurship education module.
Design/methodology/approach The paper sets out hypotheses on the associations between
individual creativity, opportunity search strategies and the viability of business ideas generated. A
group of 117 students provided the sample data by participating in pre-programme and
post-programme surveys. Explorative factor analysis was employed to examine latent variables,
and factor structures were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modelling
was then used to test the resulting hypotheses.
Findings The results show that creativity is not directly associated with the viability of the
business idea. Creativity does, however, strengthen the creative opportunity search strategies and the
use of opportunity identification strategies based on knowledge acquisition. Accordingly, the influence
of creativity on the viability of the business idea is fully mediated by those opportunity search
strategies that are creative and based on knowledge acquisition. They both have a positive effect on
the perceived viability of the business idea.
Research limitations/implications The study illustrates the co-existence of art and science in
the process of recognising entrepreneurial opportunity, which involves individual action and reflection
in order for a viable business idea to be developed.
Practical implications Although creativity is perceived as a valuable element of the generation of
business ideas, it has to be accompanied by opportunity search activities in order to generate viable
business ideas. The findings emphasise the role of creative behaviour in devising the business idea
and also of incorporating creative thinking into business planning.
Originality/value The paper contributes to the theoretical understanding of how individual
creativity affects the viability of business ideas as well as the way in which students search for
business opportunities.
Keywords Education, Entrepreneurialism, Creativity, Opportunity search, Business idea,
Creative thinking, Business development
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Research literature portrays entrepreneurs as innovative and creative individuals who
search for new solutions in order to create added value (Kirzner, 2009). Previous
research is conclusive that the individual traits are not sufficient to determine why
some people become entrepreneurs (Gartner, 1988, 1989; Bird, 1989; Boyd and Vozikis,
1994; Baron, 1998). Although researchers have recently shifted their attention away Education Training
Vol. 53 No. 8/9, 2011
from entrepreneurs and their character traits towards understanding the nexus of pp. 659-672
enterprising individuals exploring and exploiting opportunities (Venkataraman, 1997), q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0040-0912
innovativeness and creativity are features typically said to differentiate entrepreneurs DOI 10.1108/00400911111185008
ET from other small business owners (Carland et al., 1984; Cliff et al., 2006). It is a
53,8/9 viewpoint that raises an interesting question: Is it individual creativity that leads to
unique and innovative business ideas with great market potential?
An alternative perspective found in previous entrepreneurship literature
acknowledges that entrepreneurship is not only about creative and innovative thinking
(the art), but also requires business competence and knowledge (the science). The
660 scientific attributes are used when organising and co-ordinating resources, that is,
running the business and exploiting the business opportunity. The art (referring to fresh
ways of thinking and behaving) on the other hand, is considered particularly useful in
searching for business opportunities and, thus, creating new business ideas and exploring
business opportunities (Jack and Anderson, 1999). However, it is not a categorical divide,
as both facets may be visible in any phase of the entrepreneurial process.
This study investigates these two facets of entrepreneurship the art and the
science as extreme and different types of opportunity search strategies. Additionally,
we take the stereotypical entrepreneurial trait of creativity and explore to what extent
individual creativity determines whether individuals exploit creative opportunity
search strategies (art) or knowledge acquisition-based ones (science). Is it the case that
creative individuals are more inclined to behave creatively in their search for business
opportunities too or are they equally likely to exploit an opportunity search strategy
based on knowledge acquisition? Most importantly, do creativity and the strategies
used affect the ultimate outcome the viability of the business idea?
This study searches for answers to these questions by investigating the relationship
between student creativity, the various opportunity search strategies the students
adopted, and the viability of the business idea developed during an entrepreneurship
education module. The framework applied in this study is based on the framework
developed by Puhakka (2002, 2007). The objective of the entrepreneurship education
module was to improve the students skills in generating new business ideas. The
students were divided into teams that were each assigned three industries chosen at
random. The course assignment was to create a business idea combining the three
industries in an innovative way. The assignment was designed to support idea
generation as an active process (Klofsten, 2005). A previous study tackled the role of
the team and student motivation in learning (Hytti et al., 2010), but the current study
addresses the role of creativity and opportunity search strategies in generating
business ideas.
Our results show that individual creativity is not directly associated with the
viability of the business idea. However, the influence of creativity on the viability of the
business idea is fully mediated by opportunity search strategies based either on
creative or knowledge acquisition approaches. Therefore, we argue that although
creativity is perceived as valuable in the business idea generation process in general,
creativity has to be complemented by opportunity search activities in order to generate
viable business ideas. Additionally, we argue that both creative search strategies and
those based on knowledge acquisition are applicable for individuals in their search for
viable business opportunities, although creativity influences the viability of the
business idea more effectively when channelled via creative strategies than via those
based on knowledge acquisition. The study contributes to the theoretical
understanding of how individual creativity affects the viability of business ideas, as
well as the way in which students search for business opportunities. Second, by
focusing on two extreme opportunity search strategies, namely creative behaviour and The role of
knowledge acquisition, we illustrate the co-existence of art and science in the process of creativity
entrepreneurial opportunity recognition.
The study proceeds as follows. In the next section, we establish the theoretical
foundations and hypotheses of the study and continue by presenting the sample data
and the variables used. Finally, we present the results and discuss the theoretical
contribution, limitations and implications of the study. 661
Theoretical foundations and hypotheses development
Viability of the business idea
Generating business ideas to exploit business opportunities and nurturing the ability
to engage in starting up a business are the core objectives of entrepreneurship
education, and what differentiates it from more general and more widespread business
education programmes (Vesper and McMullan, 1988; Penaluna and Penaluna, 2008).
Yet entrepreneurship educators still struggle to explain how to assess creativity, idea
generation, innovation and opportunity recognition in their field (Penaluna and
Penaluna, 2009). Previous research has pointed out the need to further develop the field
of innovative assessment practices, including self, peer and stakeholder assessments
(Pittaway et al., 2009). This study will apply a self-assessment method by focusing on
the viability of the business idea as assessed by the students themselves. This
approach is important since it emphasises the student-centred focus of education
instead of using external assessment (Somerwell, 1993). In addition, while the business
idea is one of the output measures of the entrepreneurship education, we believe that it
reflects not only the business potential in an objective manner but also the student
perception of the process, and the emotional engagement of the student in relation to
the process and the idea. (Pittaway et al., 2009) However, the role of the possible
determinants of such a self-assessed outcome is less known and the empirical evidence
is scarce. This study investigates the factors which have been discussed in previous
entrepreneurship literature and suggested to be of great importance in the
entrepreneurial process. The research proposes that individual creativity, channelled
through different opportunity search strategies as part of the idea generation process,
affects the viability of the resulting business idea (Figure 1).

Creativity
Creativity is considered an important goal in higher education since individually and
collectively we need to be creative to continually adapt and invent in an ever-changing
and increasingly complex world (Jackson et al., 2006, p. 1). In entrepreneurship studies,
creativity is an inherent element in the development of a business idea. Yar Hamidi et al.
(2008) have shown that creativity (together with prior entrepreneurial experiences) is
positively associated with entrepreneurial intentions (also Ward, 2004). Hence,
assessments of creativity have attracted considerable attention in the context of
entrepreneurship education (Penaluna et al., 2010; Carey and Matlay, 2010). Creativity is
an individual process (Gomez, 2007), even if lately the collaborative aspect of creativity
has been emphasised in educational contexts (Gomez, 2007; Craft, 2008; Hytti et al., 2010).
Nevertheless, this individualistic perspective propounds the idea that, while all people
are somewhat creative, there are highly creative students with certain attributes, like
originality, persistence, independence, involvement and detachment. They do not judge
ET
53,8/9

662

Figure 1.
Hypothesised conceptual
model

the ideas too early but incubate them for a while. Similarly, they discern problems in
addition to providing solutions and they generate as many alternative solutions as
possible. (Gomez, 2007) Hence, we assume that the students who perceive themselves as
being creative are capable of producing better business ideas:
H1. Creativity is positively associated with the perceived viability of the business
idea.

Opportunity search strategies

Entrepreneurial opportunity is described as an opportunity to engage in an
entrepreneurial action (Companys and McMullen, 2007). Opportunity recognition has
been viewed as a key step in the entrepreneurial process (Tang and Khan, 2007). The
two extremes of opportunity search strategies creative behaviour and knowledge
acquisition represent the art and science of entrepreneurship in this study. These
two strategies are adapted from previous literature (Ardichvili et al., 2003; Puhakka,
2007) suggesting that the distinctive strategies for searching out opportunities are
proactive searching, competitive scanning, knowledge acquisition, innovative
behaviour and collective action. Heinonen et al. (2010) found support for Puhakkas
(2007) suggestion that proactive search and competitive scanning correlate together
and form a new opportunity search strategy creative behaviour which comprises
the search for problems and opportunities in the external environment (Miller, 1987) in
a proactive and innovative way. Creative behaviour also relies on the creativity as a
source of opportunity recognition and the role of alertness to opportunities (Kirzner,
1999). Hence, we assume that creativity has an effect on the use of creative strategies in
searching for business opportunities and we propose that:
H2a. Creativity is positively associated with creative opportunity search strategies.
Knowledge acquisition refers to perceiving and interpreting business information The role of
(Shane and Venkataraman, 2000). It is about deliberately collecting information and creativity
converting that knowledge into business information. It is active behaviour that is
affected by past experiences and knowledge (Ardichvili et al., 2003; Shane, 2000) but
also includes intuitive perception and interpretation of knowledge. Hence, it is not a
fully rational activity. Knowledge plays a paradoxical role in creativity:
It supplies the raw materials from which creative new ideas are forged, but also carries with it
663
the potential to inhibit creativity (Ward, 2004, pp. 185-6).
Within a university business school students are trained to gather, analyse and
interpret information, and this analytical focus is seen to inhibit creativity (Gibb, 2002).
On the other hand, students in entrepreneurship studies in particular are currently
encouraged to unleash their creative and innovative potential (Hytti et al., 2010). Based
on the above, we assume that creativity increases the exploitation of knowledge
acquisition in searching for business opportunities. Therefore, we propose that:
H2b. Creativity is positively associated with opportunity search strategies based
on knowledge acquisition.
Searching for opportunity involves both rational and creative thinking about a
business situation, through which a business concept is constructed (Puhakka, 2007).
The opportunities exist in a market when there are imperfections which are generated
exogenously (Kirzner, 1973). The continuous changes in technology and regulations
offer opportunities for new market-product combinations or new market niches
(Sexton and Bowman-Upton, 1991). It follows that an entrepreneurial opportunity
search, as a strategic behaviour, is seen as something valuable to any individual or
organisation, and such behaviour has been suggested to significantly enhance the
performance of ventures (Puhakka, 2007). Consequently, we assume that the
entrepreneurial opportunity search strategies enhance the viability of the business
ideas developed during the entrepreneurship education module. Creative and
innovative behaviour in existing firms is linked to company growth, value creation,
strategic renewal and revitalised company performance (Antoncic, 2007; Sambrook
and Roberts, 2005; Antoncic and Hisrich, 2004). Existing research shows this type of
behaviour created more growth in firms (Puhakka, 2007). Accordingly, we assume that
creative opportunity search strategies will enhance the perceived viability of the
business idea. Thus, we propose that:
H3a. Creative opportunity search strategies are positively associated with the
perceived viability of the business idea.
Additionally, knowledge acquisition provides a basis for the evaluation of the
opportunity and for the development of the initial business idea. For example,
entrepreneurs leading high-growth firms spend more time gathering information than
other entrepreneurs (Puhakka, 2007; Shane, 2003). We assume that the use of strategies
based on knowledge acquisition in searching for opportunities is positively associated
with the viability of the business idea. Accordingly, we propose that:
H3b. Opportunity search strategies based on knowledge acquisition are positively
associated with the perceived viability of the business idea.
ET Methodology
53,8/9 Sample and data collection
We tested our hypotheses with follow-up survey data collected from students enrolled
on a mandatory university course on entrepreneurship. The first survey was conducted
by e-mail directed to the registered participants prior to the course in February 2009.
After two reminders, we received 168 acceptable responses (response rate 70 per cent).
664 The follow-up questionnaire was e-mailed to all participants after they had completed
the course in May 2009. This generated 146 acceptable responses, and a response rate
of 60 per cent.
The data sets were combined and after matching the respondents the sample data
comprised responses from 117 students who participated in the surveys before and
after the course. The analyses of non-response bias show no statistically significant
differences based on the students age or major subject. Students t-tests were used to
assess the non-response bias. The average age of the respondents was 21 (SD 3.4), with
actual ages ranging from 18 to 39. In all, 53 per cent of the respondents were male.
During the three-month course, the students formed teams of five or six that were
each given three totally random industries (such as event management services, a
driving school and electrical installation services). The assignment was to develop a
rational and viable business idea that would combine the three separate industries in
an innovative way. The assignment was based on the need to contribute to student
perceptions of the business idea generation process. Based on previous pre-programme
surveys, the students viewed having a business idea in a fairly passive manner, as
something that may come as a revelation one day. The student teams presented their
preliminary business ideas in two phases. First, the business ideas were discussed with
course facilitators who probed the teams with several questions in order to highlight
potential weaknesses or strengths in the ideas. Second, the student teams presented the
ideas to a business panel of entrepreneurs and business advisors specialising in new
venture creation. The student teams could then use the feedback from each phase to
further develop their business idea. Finally, they handed in course reports that
included the final version of their business idea as well as their subjective reflection of
the learning process and its outcomes.

Measures
Viability of the business idea. Perceived viability of the business idea was measured in
terms of self-assessed perception of the business idea developed during the
entrepreneurship course. The ultimate outcome was a business idea developed in a
student team, which was evaluated twice by external advisors. The external advisors
provided evaluations at a group-level, and in order to generate more varying
perceptions, self-assessment measures were selected in the analyses. The respondents
were asked to assess the viability and growth potential of the business idea by
answering the following four questions (adapted from Puhakka, 2007): I believe that
our business idea would have good growth prospects, [. . .] the number of personnel
would grow rapidly, [. . .] the owners would earn rapidly with our business idea, [. . .]
the sales of our business would grow faster than our competitors on a Likert scale
ranging from 1 totally disagree to 5 totally agree. The final dependent variable
was a composite measure including all four measures (Cronbachs a 0:84). The
questions related to the viability of the business ideas were posed after the course.
 Creativity. Creativity was assessed in terms of the self-assessed perception of The role of
idea-generating skills introduced by Puhakka (2002). The fit of the items in the data creativity
was assessed with exploratory factor analysis. Due to low communalities (, 0.500),
three of the original nine items were omitted from the analysis. Accordingly,
creativity was measured with a set of five items which describe the level of creative
thinking embedded in the respondents personality. The statements used in
measuring creativity are presented in the results section (Table I). Each statement 665
was measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 totally disagree to 5 totally
agree. The composite variable used in the analysis indicated an acceptable
reliability (Cronbachs a 0:82).

Strategies
based on Viability of
Creative knowledge business
Creativity strategies acquisition idea

Creativity
I invent exceptional and surprising solutions 0.81
My ideas are usually really unique 0.79
When I encounter obstacles, I am able to detour
around them 0.72
I try to find novel solutions even if it is not
expected from me 0.70
I have a tremendous amount of ideas 0.69
Creative opportunity search strategies
I tried to find a really new business idea 0.84
I purposefully emphasised creativity when
generating the business idea 0.79
I tried to find original and really novel ideas for a
business 0.77
I proposed and tried a lot of different ideas 0.61
Strategies based on knowledge acquisition
I gathered a lot of information on industries and
sales etc. for the basis of the business idea 0.87
I gathered a lot of information on markets for the
basis of the business idea 0.84
I did organised work on the business idea 0.79
Viability
I believe that our business idea would have a
great chance of growth 0.86
I believe that the number of employees would
grow rapidly with our business idea 0.82
I believe that the owners would earn fortunes
with our business idea 0.78
I believe that the sales generated by our business
idea would outstrip its potential customers 0.72 Table I.
Eigenvalue 4.89 1.84 1.39 2.56 Exploratory factor
Percentage of variance 30.37 11.52 8.70 15.99 analysis of the dependent
and independent
Notes: KMO 0.80, Bartletts p , 0:001; the cut-off point was 0.50 variables
ET Opportunity search strategies. In assessing the two extremities of opportunity search
53,8/9 strategies the art and science we adapted the framework used by Puhakka (2007).
We focused solely on two search strategies: creative behaviour and knowledge
acquisition. Creative opportunity search strategies were measured in terms of four
items describing the tendency to find a novel and innovative business idea, the use of
creativity in the formulation of the idea. Our other dimension, strategy based on
666 knowledge acquisition, incorporates three items on the data collection activities
conducted in the creation of the business idea. The statements used in both opportunity
search strategies are presented in the results section (Table I). Each statement was
measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 totally disagree to 5 totally agree. The
reliability was good for both composite measures (creative strategies Cronbachs
a 0:81 and knowledge acquisition Cronbachs a 0:82).
Control variables. The analyses were controlled for the age and gender of the
respondent. Age was included in the analyses since previous research shows that
creativity varies with age (Ruth and Birren, 1985). In addition, DeTienne and Chandler
(2007) found that the opportunity recognition processes differ for male and female.
Petridou et al. (2009) noticed that a female student in higher education is more engaged
in acquiring knowledge, developing skills, and networking.

Findings
Factor structure and reliability assessment
The scores of each element of the model are based on factor weights of 16 variables
attempting to measure the determinants and the viability of the business idea created
during the course. First, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to uncover
the underlying factor structure and the distinctiveness of the latent variables. Table I
details the results of our analysis using Varimax-rotation with Kaiser Normalization.
The rotated factor matrix generated a four-factor solution, with acceptable results
(KMO 0:797, p , 0:001, cut-off point 0.50). The results support our initial conceptual
model.
We confirmed this factor structure with its three latent variables and 16 items with
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results indicated a good fit to the data
(x 2 95 99:73 p . 0:05, CFI 0:99, NFI 0:88, RMSEA 0:02).
Thereafter, we tested the hypotheses by using structural equation modelling. We
utilised AMOS 18 to compare the fit of the proposed research questions and structural
models based on latent variables generated based on the selected items. Results
indicated a good fit to the data (x 2 126 149:08 p . 0:05, CFI 0:97, NFI 0:83,
RMSEA 0:04). The composite reliability measures for the latent variables are good
(from 0.80 to 0.84) (see Table II). We assessed the discriminant validity by comparing
the latent variable correlations and the square root of the average variance of each
construct. The correlations shown in Table II suggest good discriminant validity, as
the diagonal elements of each latent variable are greater than the absolute value of the
corresponding off-diagonal elements (Fornell and Larcker, 1981).

Results
The results of our hypothesised model are presented in Figure 2. The path coefficients
presented are standardised.
 The role of
Latent variable
correlationsa creativity
versus the square
root of average
variance Knowledge-
Latent Cronbachs Composite explainedb Creative based
variable Mean SD a reliability Creativity strategy strategy Viability
667
Creativity 3.28 0.65 0.81 0.80 0.67
Creative
strategy 3.22 0.77 0.82 0.84 0.42 0.75
Strategy based
on knowledge
acquisition 2.80 0.87 0.82 0.82 0.23 0.36 0.78
Viability of
business idea 2.96 0.86 0.84 0.83 0.07 0.37 0.27 0.74 Table II.
Latent variable reliability
Notes: aOff-diagonal; bdiagonal, italic; for adequate latent variable discriminant validity, diagonal and validity assessment
elements should be greater than the absolute value of corresponding off-diagonal elements; n 117 of the latent variables

Figure 2.
Tested hypothesised
model (standardised path
coefficient, adjusted for
the age and gender of the
respondent)

The results show that creativity has no statistically significant influence on the
perceived viability of the business idea. Further, the indicative result shows that the
association would be negative. Thus, our H1 is not supported. Creativity has a positive
effect on the use of creative strategies in searching for business opportunities
ET (p , 0:001). This supports H2a. Additionally, our results illustrate that creativity has a
53,8/9 positive relationship with strategies based on knowledge acquisition used in
opportunity search (p , 0:01). This supports our H2b. Both of these significant
relationships suggest that the influence of creativity on the viability of the business
idea is strongly mediated by the creative opportunity search strategies and the
knowledge acquisition based ones. Finally, the results show that both the creative
668 (p , 0:001) and knowledge acquisition based strategies (p 0:069) have a positive
effect on the perceived viability of the business idea. These findings support our H3a
and H3b.

Conclusions and theoretical contributions

Our study contributes to the theoretical understanding of how individual creativity
affects the viability of the business ideas as well as that of the way in which students
search for business opportunities. Our results show that creativity is not directly
associated with the viability of the business idea. Creativity, however, strengthens the
creative opportunity search strategies and the use of those search strategies based on
knowledge acquisition. The influence of creativity on the viability of the business idea
is fully mediated by the opportunity search strategies that are creative and based on
knowledge acquisition, and both have a positive effect on the perceived viability of the
business idea. Previous studies have confirmed that the traits perspective on
entrepreneurship is not particularly productive (Gartner, 1988, 1989; Bird, 1989; Boyd
and Vozikis, 1994; Baron, 1998). Identifying the traits of an individual cannot
determine who becomes an entrepreneur, in other words who engages in the
entrepreneurship process. Our results extend and build on this idea. We argue that an
individuals traits are not important in distinguishing who is capable of generating a
viable business idea, or at least individual creativity is not. In fact, the results show
that creativity alone does not make any difference to the business idea. Hence, our
study provides further support for abandoning the trait-based approach in
entrepreneurship studies in favour of the processual and action-based approach
(Shane and Venkataraman, 2000).
Creativity is, however, connected to the two opportunity search strategies
investigated in this study those being creative and knowledge acquisition based.
Creative individuals adopt a range of behaviours to support their search for
opportunities. Hence, creativity is connected to the individual pursuit of a unique and
novel idea and the proposal of many different ideas, which is a logical and perhaps
self-evident demonstration of creativity in searching for opportunities. Interestingly,
however, creativity is also connected to the analytical behaviour based on knowledge
acquisition the collection of information on industries, markets and systematic work
on the business idea. Hence, while entrepreneurs are often admired for their creativity
and capability to come up with and toss around a multitude of innovative and novel
ideas, our study demonstrates that this is not the whole truth. The process of
generating a business idea has to be supported with information and knowledge and
we cannot ignore that it incorporates both sides: creative behaviour and that based on
knowledge acquisition. Hence, both these opportunity search strategies mediate the
link between creativity and the viable business idea (Antoncic, 2007; Sambrook and
Roberts, 2005; Antoncic and Hisrich, 2004; Puhakka, 2007, Shane and Venkataraman,
2000, Ardichvili et al., 2003; Shane, 2000), even if creativity has a stronger indirect
effect via the creative behaviour the art side of opportunity search strategies in the The role of
creation of a business idea. Hence, our findings provide support for the understanding creativity
of opportunity recognition as an active process. Individual action, doing and reflection
are of crucial importance (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000). The study illustrates the
co-existence of art and science in the process of recognising entrepreneurial
opportunity. Indeed, entrepreneurship is art and science (Jack and Anderson, 1999).
669
Limitations
In the study we have analysed the business idea generation process in an educational
context in which the students developed hypothetical business ideas. Hence, to find
further support for our findings we consider it important to conduct further studies in
more natural environments. The study could be replicated in an entrepreneurship
training programme where the participants are developing real business ideas
intended to be taken to market.

Practical implications
Our study has some important practical implications. First, although creativity is
perceived as valuable in business idea generation, it needs to be accompanied by
opportunity search activities in order to generate viable business ideas. Both creative
and knowledge acquisition based search strategies are applicable for individuals in
their search for viable business opportunities, although creativity influences the
viability of the business idea more effectively via creative search strategies than it does
via knowledge acquisition-based ones.
Second, our results suggest a need to emphasise the action-learning approach in
developing business plans, for example, in educational contexts. Those students or
nascent entrepreneurs aiming to generate interesting business ideas should be
encouraged to apply multiple opportunity search strategies. The process should
include the aim of generating many novel and innovative ideas and aiming for a truly
unique idea. At the same time, the students should be prepared to commit themselves
to hard work, and look for information on industries, markets and so forth. Business
planning often starts from the assumption that the viable business idea has already
been identified. The business plan then becomes a document that analytically presents
the needs of customers, the market situation and the competitive advantage arising
from the idea. In a way, the business plan could be seen as the outcome of opportunity
search strategies based on knowledge acquisition. However, our findings also
highlight the role of creative behaviour in formulating a viable business idea. Hence, it
might be interesting to develop some tools that facilitate this creative behaviour that
could precede or complement existing business plans, related templates and other tools
linked with business planning (e.g. cash flow simulations).

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Corresponding author
Jarna Heinonen can be contacted at: Jarna.heinonen@utu.fi

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