The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual framework that recognises the significance of emotional and interactional factors in shaping the development and enactment of entrepreneurial opportunities.

Provides a theory development illustrated through a case study based on secondary sources.

Demonstrates how emotion and interaction ritual chains can extend the scope of entrepreneurial theorising.

Suggests how novel concepts could be deployed to add explanatory power to accounts of entrepreneurial behaviour.

Suggests new approaches to spotting potential entrepreneurial opportunities.

Emotion has received little attention from entrepreneurship researchers. This paper offers one way of filling this gap by developing a strand of microsociological theory that has not previously been applied to the explanation of entrepreneurial behaviour.