Disembeddedness, prior industry knowledge and opportunity creation processes

Abstract

There is increasing recognition of the importance of prior industry experience in the process of opportunity recognition and venture creation. Prior industry experiences may also represent limitations and cause lock-in effects that impose limits on the innovative height of new products and services. Questions arise about how the entrepreneur’s disembeddedness in the industry may contribute to radical innovations in a specific new industry. Using three cases as illustrative examples, the authors aim to enhance understanding of the impact of industry disembeddedness on the opportunity creation process. The findings demonstrate that being disembedded from the new industry creates an opportunity to activate past connections and transfer specific resources across spheres. They also show how building embeddedness from a disembedded position becomes instrumental for business activity that provides resources and contributes to radical innovation within a specific industry.