Entrepreneurial Alertness: Mental Schema to Entrepreneurship Opportunity Recognition

The author developed a scale for entrepreneurial alertness on the basis of previous literature. Two samples of entrepreneurs (n = 104, n = 277) were investigated, in comparison with one sample of managers (n = 166). After EFA, CFA and MANOVA, the results indicated: (1) The conceptual model was comprised of three aspects (prospecting, reframing and sensitive foresight), with acceptable statistical parameters. (2) Significant difference existed among those three dimensions between entrepreneurs and managers, and were varied with prior experiences.