Exploiting Entrepreneurial Opportunities among Tunisian Micro-Entrepreneurs: The Role of Human, Social, and Financial Capital

Najla Wannès, Anis Jarboui

While identifying entrepreneurial opportunities has received considerable attention in the literature, less emphasis has been placed on how these opportunities are actually exploited, especially in emerging economies. This study seeks to fill this gap by exploring the role of human, social, and financial capital in shaping the ability of Tunisian micro-entrepreneurs to turn identified opportunities into concrete business actions.
Human capital is examined through education, entrepreneurial training, sector-specific experience, and creativity. Social capital focuses on both the size of networks and the strength of interpersonal ties, while financial capital is captured through initial start-up resources. The empirical analysis is based on data collected from 105 microentrepreneurs and employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).
The findings reveal that managerial experience, strong relational ties, and financial resources significantly support opportunity exploitation. Conversely, sector-specific experience appears to hinder this process. Other factors, including education, entrepreneurial training, creativity, and network size, do not show significant effects.
These findings reflect the specific constraints faced by micro-entrepreneurs in Tunisia, where access to resources and the nature of social relationships shape entrepreneurial behavior.
These results suggest that in the Tunisian context, practical managerial skills, close social relationships, and access to financial resources are more decisive than formal education or broad networks in enabling entrepreneurs to act upon opportunities.