Entrepreneurial alertness: a systematic literature review

The rhythm of effective entrepreneurs’ decision-making process. The pathways of alertness scanning and search and cognitive style. A mediation model

“…The data revealed that the relationship between scanning and searching and decision-making effectiveness was mediated by a rational cognitive style and that both rational and intuitive styles played an important role in effective decision-making processes. The results contribute to the literature by explaining the pathway of thought that leads to effective entrepreneurial decisions and the associations between different cognitive elements (Mitchell et al, 2007 ; Chauvoushi et al 2020 ), namely alertness and cognitive style.…”

“…Certain theories from cognitive science, such as signal detection theory, regulatory focus theory (Baron, 2004 ), pattern theories (Baron, 2006 ), schema theories, and attention theories (Valliere, 2013 ) have assisted in the process. For the purpose of the present study, it is important to underline that entrepreneurial alertness is considered to be the most important cognitive/psychological factor in recognizing entrepreneurial opportunity (Chavoushi et al, 2020 ), because it is grounded in a distinctive set of perceptual and information-processing skills (Gaglio & Katz, 2001 ). These skills enable people to organize and interpret information in various domains of knowledge (Gaglio & Katz, 2001 ), developing cognitive frameworks to build the knowledge structure at the base of entrepreneurial decisions (Mitchell et al, 2002 , 2007 ).…”

“…Therefore, alertness and decision-making are closely related (Roundy et al, 2018 ). Nevertheless there is a paucity of studies of the effect of alertness on the decision-making process (Chavoushi et al, 2020 ). Most research has focused on the strong link that exists between alertness and entrepreneurial success (Amato et al, 2017 ; Baron & Markman, 2003 ).…”

“…Great efforts have been made to incorporate cognitive theories into entrepreneurial alertness studies, such as pattern theory (Baron, 2006 ), schema theory, and attention theory (Valliere, 2013 ). So far, however, little heed has been paid to the process that relates entrepreneurial alertness to the pathways of thought and the associations between different cognitive elements (Mitchell et al, 2007 ) such as cognitive style—in terms of intuition and rationality (Chavoushi et al, 2020 )—in effective decision making (Nutt, 2008 ).…”

Implications of Network Diversity for Venture Growth: The Mediation Effect of Entrepreneurial Alertness

“…We suggest that the positive relationship between network diversity and venture growth can be explained by entrepreneurial alertness. It is described as a cognitive capability to help entrepreneurs notice opportunities in the environment [18,19]. In this regard, entrepreneurs are different because of their capability to respond to external stimuli.…”