Defragmenting Definitions of Entrepreneurial Opportunity*

Abstract

We examined 19 years worth of definitions of entrepreneurial opportunity and opportunity-related processes. We found 56 articles in six entrepreneurship-focused publications, with a total of 49 conceptual definitions and 32 operational definitions. Among those definitions, we identified 25 distinct conceptual and 12 operational elements of opportunity plus 48 conceptual and 39 operational elements of opportunity-related processes. We found considerable fragmentation across conceptual and operational elements. However, based on commonalities among conceptual definitions, we developed six composite conceptual definitions of opportunity and eight composite conceptual definitions of opportunity-related processes, which we hope will help reduce the fragmentation of the entrepreneurial opportunity literature.