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Effectual Entrepreneur and the Use of Social Media for Opportunity Recognition

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Understanding Social Media and Entrepreneurship

Part of the book series: Exploring Diversity in Entrepreneurship ((EDE))

Abstract

Social media have been perceived as the variety of online communication platforms that stimulate interaction in virtual communities. Existing studies have been found in manifesting the benefits of using social media for business-related purposes. Despite the emerging acceptance of these online communication platforms, few studies have explored social media in the context of entrepreneurship. This chapter, therefore, aims at providing an extended discussion of an entrepreneur’s use of social media, through the lens of the effectuation theory. We argue and propose that effectual entrepreneurs could benefit from using social media as it would influence the level of opportunity recognition. In addition, we discuss the contingent relationship between social media usage and various effectual attributes—affordable loss, entrepreneurial passion, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy—toward opportunity recognition. The conceptual framework from this chapter can be used as a foundation for future social media studies in the context of entrepreneurship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mahasarakham Business School, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, Thailand

    Atthaphon Mumi

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Babson College, Wellesley Hills, MA, USA

    Leon Schjoedt

  2. School of Business and Economics, Åbo Akademi University, Åbo, Turku, Finland

    Malin E. Brännback

  3. School of Business and Economics, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland

    Alan L. Carsrud

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Mumi, A. (2020). Effectual Entrepreneur and the Use of Social Media for Opportunity Recognition. In: Schjoedt, L., Brännback, M.E., Carsrud, A.L. (eds) Understanding Social Media and Entrepreneurship. Exploring Diversity in Entrepreneurship. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43453-3_4

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