Entrepreneurs’ social networks and opportunity identification: Entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial alertness as moderators

We examined the relationship between entrepreneurs’ social networks and opportunity identification, and the moderating roles of entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial alertness in this relationship. Results from 142 entrepreneurs supported the hypothesis that both their business ties and their political ties would be positively related to opportunity identification, and these relationships would be moderated by entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial alertness. Entrepreneurial passion weakened the relationship between business ties and opportunity identification, but amplified the relationship between political ties and opportunity identification. Further, entrepreneurial alertness strengthened the relationship between business ties and opportunity identification. The results suggest that the effect of entrepreneurs’ social ties on opportunity identification depends on the level of the individual’s entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial alertness.