The Theory Of Opportunizing And The Sub-Process Of Conditional Befriending

Abstract

By applying the orthodox grounded theory methodology, the article offers a new conceptual theory of the Business Company, as well as new and grounded concepts as building blocks of the theory. The core variable of the emergent theory is the discovered latent pattern of “opportunizing”. Opportunizing explains practically all the variation in the data. It is found to be the main concern and the recurrent solving of it in business. One of the five sub-dimensions of opportunizing is “conditional befriending”. It consists of three sub-processes: “confidence building”, “weighing up for influence/match” and “modifying behavior”. The theory suggests new insights into business management practices. The data indicate relationships between performance of companies and the “weighing up” of elements in the sub-process of “confidence building”. Opportunizing is compared to the “hard core” of different theories of business, and opportunizing as well as conditional befriending are compared to the sub-disciplines of business economy. This comparison reveals some fundamental differences. One explanation for these differences might be the grounding of the discovered theory in the agenda of those being studied rather than in the compulsory, preconceiving agenda of the mainstream research community.