The dynamics of emergent entrepreneurship: a retrospective analysis of properties and possibilities for inference by conceptual blending of competencies and opportunities

This study re-evaluates dominant entrepreneurship theories, arguing that founders’ competencies often have a stronger influence on knowledge-based start-ups than market opportunities alone. Through an empirical examination of the start-up processes and growth patterns of 32 of Denmark’s leading developing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling firms, we demonstrate that the emergence of these enterprises relies on founders’ competencies blended with societal opportunities, and that sustained growth follows through subsequent integrations of competencies and opportunities as a second blend. The first blend with start-up is not crucial for progressivity but for learning, where the second blend of subsequent ones is crucial for creating the foundation, momentum, and survival. These findings contribute with an alternative perspective that blends a competency-focused approach with an opportunity-centric view for start-ups. This integrated perspective reveals how new characteristics and opportunities emerge through the dynamic interaction and interplay between various elements in the entrepreneur’s environment and their personal competencies. In essence, this study aims to understand how the interplay between an entrepreneur’s competencies and the opportunities they encounter leads to the emergence and evolution of new ventures. By analysing this process retrospectively, it seeks to uncover patterns and insights that could inform future entrepreneurial efforts and research.