Expressions about opportunities are used unproblematically in everyday contexts. Yet, the question “What is an opportunity?” has posed a difficult riddle in the academic study of entrepreneurship. Drawing on the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, we explain that such perplexities are common when words are removed from ordinary language and intellectuals try to grasp what they name. Approaching the opportunity riddle differently, we ask, “How do entrepreneurs use the word opportunity?” and elucidate an actualization theory of entrepreneurship attuned to the everyday understandings that underlie the meaningful use of the word. Bringing implicit understandings to the foreground contributes to (1) the dissolution of the mystification over the nature of “opportunity”, (2) the clarification of the conceptual foundations of entrepreneurship theory, and (3) the reorientation of the field toward more conceptually precise ways of thinking about Knightian uncertainty, entrepreneurial success, and the entrepreneurial process. This paper also contributes to the methodology of management studies, by demonstrating how attention to the logic of ordinary language can alert us to theoretical dead-ends and enable the development of theory that bridges academic and everyday understandings.

中文翻译：

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“什么是机会？”：从理论上的神秘化到日常理解

关于机会的表达在日常环境中被毫无问题地使用。然而，问题是“什么是机会？” 在创业的学术研究中提出了一个难题。借鉴路德维希·维特根斯坦的哲学，我们解释说，当词语从日常语言中移除并且知识分子试图掌握它们的名称时，这种困惑很常见。以不同的方式处理机会之谜，我们问：“企业家如何使用机会这个词？” 并阐明企业家精神的实现理论，该理论与日常理解相协调，这些理解是该词有意义使用的基础。将隐含的理解置于前台有助于（1）消除对“机会”性质的神秘化，（2）澄清创业理论的概念基础，(3) 重新定位该领域，以在概念上更精确地思考奈特不确定性、创业成功和创业过程。本文还对管理研究的方法论做出了贡献，展示了对日常语言逻辑的关注如何能够提醒我们注意理论的死胡同，并使理论的发展成为学术和日常理解之间的桥梁。