Cognitive Opening and Closing: Toward an Exploration of the Mental World of Entrepreneurship

Purpose – To define the links between cognition and entrepreneurial behavior by highlighting the problem of complexity in the difficult trade-off between discovery of new opportunities and exploitation of current opportunities.

Methodology/approach – To interrelate Austrian tools (Hayek, Kirzner, Lachmann) with lessons from experimental economics.

Research limitations and implications – This contribution enters the world of entrepreneurship to show where the mental rigidities opposing discoveries lie.

Originality/value of paper – To use experimental economics to widen our understanding of entrepreneurship and invite the Austrian scholars to imagine other protocols that might deepen the analysis.