Opportunity discovery and creation in social entrepreneurship: An exploratory study in Mexico

Building on the literature on opportunity identification among commercial entrepreneurs, we propose a conceptual framework for the opportunity identification process in social entrepreneurship that includes both opportunity discovery and opportunity creation. We develop scales to measure these constructs and examine their validity and reliability. In addition, we develop and test hypotheses explaining the causes of opportunity discovery and opportunity creation. Our results confirm that opportunity discovery and opportunity creation are mutually exclusive constructs. We also find support for the role of radical innovation and information search in the opportunity identification process in a sample of Mexican social entrepreneurs.