Entrepreneurial action and the role of uncertainty in the theory of the entrepreneur

By considering the amount of uncertainty perceived and the willingness to bear uncertainty concomitantly, we provide a more complete conceptual model of entre-preneurial action that allows for examination of entrepreneurial action at the indi-vidual level of analysis while remaining consistent with a rich legacy of system-level theories of the entrepreneur. Our model not only exposes limitations of existing theories of entrepreneurial action but also contributes to a deeper understanding of important conceptual issues, such as the nature of opportunity and the potential for philosophical reconciliation among entrepreneurship scholars. Entrepreneurship requires action. Whether conceptualized as the creation of new products or processes (Schumpeter, 1934), entry into new markets (Lumpkin & Dess, 1996), or the creation of new ventures (Gartner, 1985), entrepreneur-ship typically involves a mesolevel phenome-non in which personal initiative influences system-wide activity and outcomes (Kilby, 1971; Stevenson & Jarillo, 1990). To be an entrepreneur, therefore, is to act on the possibility that one has identified an opportunity worth pursuing. Theories of entrepreneurship that embrace this perspective traditionally have taken one of two forms. The first form is devoted to a system-level approach concerned primarily with how the economic system functions. Proponents of these theories argue that the health of the econ-omy depends on the pursuit of opportunities by prospective entrepreneurs (e.g., Kirzner, 1973; Schumpeter, 1934). Who acts is inconsequential as long as someone does. Thus, the central issue is whether entrepreneurial action occurs. The second form is devoted to an individual-level approach concerned primarily with how pro-spective entrepreneurs go about acting. These researchers seek to explain why some individu-als are more likely than others to pursue possi-ble opportunities for profit (e.g., Begley & Boyd