Pursuing opportunities: Why so many fail and so few succeed

Abstract

Purpose

Aims to address the important but little researched question of why so many firms fail and so few succeed in their pursuit of opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach

By reporting investment behaviour and performance among firms in the turbulent seafood industry, it was possible to raise important questions that guide the analysis of why some firms succeed while many fail in pursuing opportunities. Based on in‐depth interviews with top managers, the thinking and behaviour of one successful firm are analysed and compared with other less successful firms in the filleting branch of the seafood industry.

Findings

Shows with that the opportunity‐seeking behaviour of unsuccessful firms is influenced by over‐optimism, the success of other firms, and pressure to follow the “herd”. But also that the success of one firm addressed specifically is based on deep‐seated knowledge expressed as a simple rule that cuts through the various influences and guides its pursuit of opportunities.

Research limitations/implications

The study focuses on a single industry and is limited to technology investments in manufacturing firms. An important implication is that, in turbulent environments, salient and positive information may easily overshadow the actual risk in pursuing apparently clear‐cut opportunities. This implies that opportunities and their associated threat(s) should be scrutinized carefully.

Originality/value

Provides insights into the under‐researched question of why so many firms fail and so few succeed in their pursuit of opportunities.

Citation

Grundvåg Ottesen, G. and Grønhaug, K. (2006), "Pursuing opportunities: Why so many fail and so few succeed", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 40 No. 1/2, pp. 100-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560610637338