Technological opportunities and new firm creation

Research on the creation of new high-technology companies has typically foc used either on industry-level factors such as market structure and technolo gy regime or on individual-level factors such as the work experience of ent repreneurs. This study complements these approaches by examining the effect of technological opportunities on firm formation. Ln particular, the study shows that the probability that an invention will be commercialized throug h firm formation is influenced by its importance, radicalness, and patent s cope.