Abstract The purpose of this research was to gain a more profound understanding of the emergence of the business opportunities, and to enhance the development of entrepreneurship theory in relation to this context. This research is to understand two issues: How does a business opportunity emerge? What makes it possible? This dissertation builds a conceptual framework of the process of creating the Business Opportunity and concentrates on three interrelated sub-processes emerging in it: Business Ideation Process, Business Modeling Process and Business Planning Process. The Business Ideation is defined as creating an idea of the business opportunity with a clear focus on the customer, consideration, connection, and/or commitment. The Business Modeling Process is the conceptual model of the future business opportunity consisting elements such as: value creation; firm’s internal source of advantage; position in the marketplace; profit making; and entrepreneur’s perspective. Finally, the Business Planning Process is the implementation plan of the conceptual business opportunity. The scientific choices are based on the critical realism that highlights reality simultaneously as existing independently of its observers and acknowledges the role of an actor (the entrepreneur) as being constrained by it as well as being able to change it. Furthermore, this dissertation treats the process of creating the business opportunities as creative process based on the idea of a personal (or everyday) creativity and the method of creative problem solving. The results indicate that the nature of the process of creating the Business Opportunities, the BOC process, allows all people to be treated as entrepreneurs if they play the role of the entrepreneur by interacting (more or less creatively) with business ideating, business modeling and business planning processes. Hence, the creative problem solving method utilized in every sub-process will free the entrepreneur from the restraint of the dominant insight of the opportunity that sees it as a true vision of the future business venture. Here, the business opportunities are created during the process. Furthermore, the results show a keen interplay between the process of creating business opportunities and their exploitation. Hence, the BOC process appears to be an essential part of the overall entrepreneurial process.

The main aim of this graduation thesis is to create a business plan for an emerging business. The theoretical part briefly describes the concept of entrepreneurship. The basis of the theoretical part is representation of various chapters in the structure of the business plan The main part of the graduation thesis is the practical part, which contains a full version of a business plan for the company MaxiMini Ltd, which deals in shoes for people with special size requirements. The author first deals with basic information about the project and then goes on to describe the principles of a business opportunity, goals and business strategy. Then follow detailed product (and its need) characteristics, a description of services, location and potential suppliers. The marketing analysis examines competition, overall and target markets, prices and marketing. The financial part evaluates capital expenditure and operating costs, which together form the source for financial statements in three versions of possible future progress, followed by a recovery calculation of investment. In the conclusion the whole project is evaluated by means of SWOT and risk analysis.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Small enterprises (SMME) have become central to South Africa's efforts to create jobs, alleviate poverty and develop the economy. SMMEs, however, face a wide range of problems, with "market access" one of the key bottlenecks. This centres (i.a.) around the ease of access to outsourcing markets of larger corporations and public-sector procurement opportunities. To address some of these specific challenges in the Western Cape, the Business Opportunity Network (Bon) was established in 1995 as an NOO. It was at that stage a path-breaking institution in the Western Cape, paralleled by only a few in the rest of the country. It is the purpose of this minithesis to assess the role, operation and evolution of the Bon. This study examines the background and particular factors that lead to the establishment of the Bon as a business-linkage organisation. Then critically assess the actual process of how the Bon attempted to facilitate SMME access to corporate and public-sector procurement in the Western Cape's metropolitan and platteland areas from 1994 to 2004. Thereafter moving toward the evaluation of the process, an assessment of the effectiveness of Bon's business-linkage efforts in the light of a continuously changing and evolving procurement environment. It is also the intention to reveal and assess how Bon's procurement support relates to BEE efforts unfolding in the Western Cape

The aim of the document is to prepare a complete business plan for a new company tending to enter the out-of-home advertising market within the Czech Republic. Secondary aims are to check the feasibility and rentability of the project, to support the decision about starting or declining such project. The document analyses the relevant market, describes business opportunity including legal background, gives estimates on the market potential and specifies a detailed operating plan. Finally it analyses main risks and assemblies all used assumptions into the financial statements, including profitability evaluation.

由於經濟轉型，消費者保護意識抬頭，製造業在台灣生產成本提高，支撐早期經濟奇蹟的中小型紛紛選擇外移，導致台灣的產險市場大餅成長不易，甚至負成長，產險公會理事長石燦明先生更公開呼籲，產險業者應避免削價競爭，否則2010年將會是簽單保費新台幣千億元的保衛戰。台灣已是世界貿易組織WTO的正式一員，隨著全球化發展趨勢，部份產險業者開始突破傳統格局，到海外尋找藍海市場。與歐美業者相較，東南亞各國在文化和地域性上的相近，除中國大陸外，越南政府近年來亦展現改革開放決心，積極對抗越南盾貶值壓力，同時吸引大量外國直接投資（FDI），造就連續幾年的高經濟成長率，越南的產險保費收入亦拜經濟成長之賜而維持二位數的高成長。越南於2007年成為WTO第150會員國，為了履行開放保險市場的入會承諾，隨後公告幾則重要法案，讓有意進入越南保險市場的外資有所依循，同時一改其法令煩瑣行政效率不彰形象，核發執照予外資，台灣產險龍頭富邦產險率先掌握時機，突破門檻，於2008年成功設立子公司。從1988年起計迄今，台灣為越南累計最大的FDI投資國，台商所投資產業將為保險業務來源的最大支柱，此為台灣保險業者在越南的優勢。有了領頭羊富邦產險成功達陣的先例，本研究特就越南總體經濟開始切入，分析越南產險市場結構及富邦保險越南有限公司2009年的經營績效，進而針對外資及台灣產險業者在越南商機，分別以波特五力分析理論及SWOT分析法進一步探討，提出對台灣的產險業者發展越南保險市場的建議。 關鍵字：台灣，越南，產險，商機 / In Taiwan, more and more manufacturers have been established with remarkable increase of operating and production costs. In the course of economic transitional period and due to the pressure of consumerism, the pioneers of Taiwan Economic Miracles, small and medium-size enterprise, were forced to move or expand their activities aboard. This has resulted to the severe drop of total premium of non-life insurance and eventually negatively impacted to the market growth in recent years. That was the reason why the chairman of Taiwanese Non-Life Insurance Association, Mr. T.M. Shih, appealed to all members for terminating the unhealthy competition on the premium pricing in order to prevent the industry total premium falls less than New Taiwan Dollars one hundred billion (NT$100 billion) in 2010. Benefiting from the participation of Taiwan in World Trade Organization (WTO), some Taiwanese insurers have sailed with the globalization trend to seek for new market of Blue Ocean in overseas. In contrary to the rivals of western insurers, beside the Mainland China, Southeast Asia countries stand with similar culture and are close to geographical factors to us, particularly Vietnam which becomes the country of a preferred investment destination. In addition, it is also because Vietnamese government has determined to Reform Policy to opening-up market to foreign investors, taken positive actions to against the depreciation of Vietnamese currency (Dong) as well as attracted a large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI). There were great achievements of high economic growth in past consecutive years in general, and the successful ratio of two-(2)-digit growth in Vietnamese non-life insurance sector in particular. Taiwan is the first position of FDI in terms of accumulated capital since 1988 to present. Stepping forward to this investment wave, the Taiwanese insurers will be able to take the advantage of these investors who will become the major business supporters in Vietnam. Vietnam has become the 150th member of WTO since 2007 and opening the insurance market is one of the commitments of accession. In order to guide the newcomers on insurance industry, several decrees and circulars have been promulgated and implemented accordingly. To demonstrate their efficient governmental policy, the Vietnamese Authority keeps considering and issuing a number of insurance business licenses to foreign investors. The market leader of non-life insurers in Taiwan, Fubon Insurance, ahead overcame the barriers to secure for the approval from Vietnamese government and established its subsidiary in 2008. Referring to the successful pattern of Fubon Insurance in Vietnam, this thesis commences from the research of Vietnamese macroeconomic, analysis of Vietnam insurance market and performance of Fubon Insurance Vietnam Company, in addition with the method of Potter Five Force and SWOT analysis respectively, the thesis will be concluded with the business opportunities and suggestions to the non-life insurers who are interested in Vietnam insurance market for further consideration. Key words: Vietnam, Taiwan, Insurance, business opportunity

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of the Business Opportunity Projects (BOPs) that the Swedish Trade Council uses when promoting export for small enterprises. The Business Opportunity Projects have the same type of setup for all offices where the Swedish Trade Council is established and are subsidized by 60 percent from the government. A dataset on firms’ financial state on a ten year basis is used and survey interviews conducted in 2005/06 and 2007/08. From this data three types of methods are used; a calculations on expected values of return; a panel data model and a probit model.The results show that the expected return of one project is around 250 000 SEK and if the project is successful the average return is around 1 000 000 SEK. The governmental return is around 22 times the invested money. The probability of creating business volume directly or indirectly is around 45 percent. It is also shown that the projects have an impact on the export turnover of the participating firms. The effect comes after two years and it increases until four years after the BOP. The interpretation of the exact effect should be made with caution due to estimation issues. The result also indicates that the BOP generates around 1.5 employees on averages.The results show that the participating firms do not have advantage being larger, or being from the middle region of Sweden nor in a specific branch in order to have a successful project. Firms from north part of Sweden that have a slightly smaller chance of having a successful project, if the project is made in Western European offices, the firms have a higher probability to succeed compared to other offices.

No description available.

Fashion companies struggle with internationalization, as do many retailers, but nevertheless they need to take action and cross borders in order to increase their revenue. A strong focus on the entrepreneurial capabilities of a company is suggested to enhance the process and the model of internationalization as the entrepreneurial process is addressed as an established tool for internationalization. The aim of this paper is to investigate what role internationalization as an entrepreneurial process model plays in the fashion industry context. To do this, a qualitative study with five fashion companies and four trade organizations is conducted. A theoretical framework on the network internationalization process model guides the data collection consisting of several interviews with owners, CEOs and managers. The findings indicate that entrepreneurial capabilities, networks and being able to exploit contingencies play an important role for internationalization in the fashion industry. I conclude that internationalization as an entrepreneurial process can be applied in the fashion industry context.

Abstract Entrepreneurship research is a dynamic field in development. It has long ago moved past analyzing the differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs to trying to understand the activity that an entrepreneur does. Current entrepreneurship research has identified business opportunities and their development as the main focus of entrepreneurship research field. However the creation of new business opportunities is largely not understood and theory which builds on entrepreneurship is still in its initial phases. This study aims to understand the creation of new ventures through a holistic approach, not focusing only on the entrepreneur but also on the industry and society where the venture creation happens. Therefore this study focuses on new venture creation in a software business context. This context was chosen because the economy is moving from a production based economy to a knowledge based economy and software plays a vital role in this change. The research question set forth in this study is: How are new ventures created in the software industry? This study identifies culture, society and entrepreneur as components and actualisation, socialisation and emergence as the processes that affect new venture creation. These components and processes are derived from existing literature of entrepreneurship. Based on these components and processes a research framework is created which is used as the study approaches venture creation through process and case study logics. As a result of this study a model of venture creation in software business was created. The model shows how the dynamic formation of new ventures happens. The model of venture creation identifies components, processes and generative mechanisms of which the latter create the real dynamism in the model. The study showed how entrepreneurs and the creation of new business were tightly integrated into the environment in which the entrepreneurs resided and the people with whom they interacted. The study also showed that venture creation and the development of an entrepreneurial identity do not happen overnight. Rather, they take time to develop, and happen in an evolutionary way. / Tiivistelmä Yrittäjyystutkimus on muuttuva ja kehittyvä tutkimusala. Siinä kiinnostuksen kohde on ajan saatossa muuttunut kohti yrittäjän toiminnan ja muutoksen ymmärtämistä sen sijaan, että analysoitaisiin yrittäjien ja ei-yrittäjien eroja. Yrittäjyystutkimus on tunnistanut tämän hetken tutkimuskohteeksi liiketoimintamahdollisuudet ja niiden kehittymisen. Näiden liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien luomista ei vielä täysin ymmärretä ja yrittäjyyden teorian rakentaminen on alkuvaiheissa. Tässä tutkimuksessa uusien liiketoimintojen luomista pyritään ymmärtämään kokonaisvaltaisen näkemyksen kautta, huomioiden yrittäjän lisäksi teollisuudenalan ja yhteiskunnan jossa liiketoiminnan luominen tapahtuu. Sen vuoksi tutkimuksessa keskitytään uuden liiketoiminnan luomiseen ohjelmistoteollisuudessa. Tämä konteksti valittiin, koska talous on muuttumassa tuotantoperustaisesta taloudesta kohti tietotaloutta ja ohjelmistoilla on merkittävä rooli tässä muutoksessa. Tutkimuskysymyksenä tutkimuksessa on: Miten uusia liiketoimintoja luodaan ohjelmistoteollisuudessa? Tutkimuksessa kulttuuri, yhteiskunta ja yrittäjä tunnistetaan liiketoiminnan luomiseen vaikuttaviksi komponenteiksi ja toteutuminen, sosialisaatio ja syntyminen liiketoiminnan luomiseen vaikuttaviksi prosesseiksi. Nämä komponentit ja prosessit johdettiin aikaisemmasta tutkimuksesta. Näiden komponenttien ja prosessien pohjalta luotiin tutkimuskehikko, jonka avulla tutkimusaineistoa lähestytään prosessi- ja tapaustutkimuksen keinoin. Tutkimuksen tuloksena luodaan ohjelmistoteollisuuteen uuden liiketoiminnan luomisen malli. Malli näyttää miten dynaaminen uuden liiketoiminnan luominen tapahtuu. Mallissa tunnistetaan komponentit, prosessit ja generoivat mekanismit joista viimeksimainitut luovat malliin todellisen dynamiikan. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin miten yrittäjät ja uuden liiketoiminnan luominen ovat tiukasti sidoksissa yrittäjän asuinympäristöön sekä sosiaalisiin suhteisiin. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin että uuden liiketoiminnan luominen ja yrittäjämäisen identiteetin kehittyminen vaativat aikaa kehittyäkseen.

Sammanfattning De senaste åren har tidsbegränsade bygglov blivit allt mer förekommande inom byggbranschen. Bostadsbyggnation är ett nationellt aktuellt ämne då bostadsbyggande inte förväntas avta i och med den bostadsbrist som råder i delar av Sverige. Därför ämnar denna studie undersöka hur företagare ser affärsmöjligheter i tidsbegränsade bygglov. Affärsmöjligheter är ett brett begrepp som är väl studerat och kan tolkas på olika sätt. I denna studie har vi valt att avgränsa affärsmöjligheter till tidigare erfarenheter och hur dessa kan vara avgörande för en företagare i dess beslutsfattande. På bostadsmarknaden är i många kommuner efterfrågan på bostäder högre än utbudet. Det skapar ett rådande problem som företagare ser affärsmöjligheter i att kunna avhjälpa med hjälp av att snabbt kunna påbörja byggnation med hjälp av tidsbegränsade bygglov. Regeringen arbetar ständigt med att underlätta lagar och regleringar för att underlätta användandet av tidsbegränsade bygglov. Några väl etablerade skribenter när det kommer till affärsmöjligheter är bland andra Baron & Ensley (2006), Saravathy (2001) samt Gudonavicius & Fayomi (2014). Dessa påpekar att erfarenheter spelar stor roll i beslutsprocessen, samt hur innovativitet och imitativitet hos företagare påverkar beslutsfattandet. Den teoretiska referensramen grundas på sekundär data publicerad av väl etablerade forskare inom affärsmöjligheter och bygglov vilka utgör studiens huvudrubriker. För att finna dessa publikationer har följande sökord används: Bygglov, tidsbegränsat bygglov, detaljplan, affärsmöjlighet, business opportunity, opportunity recognition, causation and effectuation, innovativ, imitativ. Studien är skriven utefter en kvalitativ metod där fem företagare aktiva inom tidsbegränsade bygglov blivit intervjuade på telefon. Intervjupersonerna är funna efter register insamlade från Kungsbacka kommun, Halmstad kommun, Göteborgs kommun samt Gävle kommun. Även via tips och rekommendationer från funna kontakter i samband med sökandet efter intervjupersoner till empirin. Författarna har i intervjuerna utgått från en intervjuguide och intervjuerna har därmed blivit öppna och varit möjliga att anpassa efter varje företagare och situation. Intervjuerna har skett kvalitativt för att ge en bred förståelse kring användandet av tidsbegränsade bygglov. Studiens analys framför att det i fångandet av affärsmöjligheter krävs att en företagare är aktiv, har förmågan att se trender och mönster på en marknad, samt hur den framtagna teorin stämmer överens med studiens intervjupersoner och hur de verkar i respektive företag. I analysen lyfts även skillnaden mellan en prövande och rationell beslutsprocess fram, och att det i praktiken kan vara svårt att dela in företagare i den ena eller den andra kategorin. Det viktigaste är att ha ett tydligt definierat mål, samt att hålla flexibilitet under projektets gång för att kunna bemöta problem som kan uppstå så effektivt som möjligt. Något som även lyfts fram i analysen är hur regleringar runt omkring bygglovsansökningar även påverkar ansökningsprocessen, exempel på dessa är planmonopol och detaljplaneprocessen. Tidsbegränsade bygglov innebär en kortare ansökningsprocess än den vid permanent bygglov. Studiens utfall visar att det skiljer sig i hur affärsmöjligheter uppstått vilket påverkat hur företagarna beslutat sig för att ta sig an projekt med tidsbegränsade bygglov. Hos alla respondenter finns en tydlig vinstfokusering, därmed inte sagt att denna endast är av ekonomisk karaktär. Vinst för företagarna kan även vara till exempel en möjlighet att etablera sig på marknaden.