Reconceptualizing opportunity construct: An answer to a theoretical dilemma through a systematic literature review
| Autor | Jahangir Yadolahi Farsi, Abolghasem Arabiun, Ali Akbar Farjadian |
| Cargo | Associate Professor, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran. Email: jfarsi@ut.ac.ir ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7505-0614 - Associate Professor, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran. Email: arabiun@ut.ac.ir ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6542-0933 - PhD Candidate, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of ... |
| Páginas | 47-72 |
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JAHANGIR YADOLAHI FARSI1*
ABOLGHASEM ARABIUN2
ALI AKBAR FARJADIAN3
JEL: I21, I23, M1
Received: 19/11/2020
Modified: 04/02/2021
Accepted: 27/03/2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17230/
Ad-minister.39.3
AD-minister Nº. 39 july - december 2021 pp. 47 - 72 · ISSN 1692-0279 · eISSN 2256-4322
Reconceptualizing opportunity construct: An answer
to a theoretical dilemma through a systematic
literature review
Reconceptualizar el constructo de oportunidad: una respuesta a un dilema teórico a través de
una revisión sistemática de la literatura
ABSTRACT
After Shane’s seminal work in 2000 which highlighted the importance of entrepreneurial opportunities,
the number of studies focusing on entrepreneurial opportunity increased rapidly. Different definitions of
this concept were provided in the field, ranging from subjective to objective ones, which gave rise to a
lack of consensus among researchers and this, in turn, was an obstacle that slowed down theorizing in
entrepreneurship. Taking into account the past trends in management sciences, it seems to be the right
moment to re-conceptualize the core construct of opportunity. The major critique of existing definitions
is their operationalization. To provide a better operationalization, the present study aimed to offer a more
accurate conceptual definition. To this end, the study first examined current debates on opportunity,
which revealed the major problem causing the debates. Then, through a systematic literature review,
from among more than seven thousand documents in the Scopus database containing opportunity
keywords, 74 papers were selected following different phases of filtration. The papers were analyzed in
detail to extract different constructs. Then, using the framework of Hansen et al, they were classified
along six dimensions. The concepts under each dimension were examined to finally provide a bigger
picture of the construct of opportunity and offer a re-conceptualization. The results of this study highlight
the gaps for future research and pave the ground for other systematic literature reviews in the field.
KEYWORDS
Opportunity, Conceptualization, Reconceptualization, Operationalization, Entrepreneurship
RESUMEN
Después de que el influyente trabajo de Shane en 2000 destacó la importancia de las oportunidades
empresariales, el número de estudios centrados en las oportunidades empresariales aumentó
rápidamente. En el campo se aportaron distintas definiciones de este concepto, que van desde las
subjetivas hasta las objetivas, lo que generó una falta de consenso entre los investigadores y esto, a su
vez, fue un obstáculo que frenó la teorización en el emprendimiento. Teniendo en cuenta las tendencias
pasadas en las ciencias de la administración, parece ser el momento adecuado para reconceptualizar
el constructo central de la oportunidad. La principal crítica de las definiciones existentes es su
operacionalización. Para brindar una mejor operacionalización, el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo
1 Associate Professor, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran. Email: jfarsi@ut.ac.ir ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7505-0614
2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran. Email: arabiun@ut.ac.ir
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6542-0933
3 PhD Candidate, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran.Email: a.farjadian@ut.ac.ir ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1502-4518
Jahangir Yadolahi Farsi · Abolghasem Arabiun · Ali Akbar Farjadian
Reconceptualizing opportunity construct: An answer to a theoretical dilemma through a systematic literature review
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ofrecer una definición conceptual más precisa. Con este fin, el estudio examinó en primer lugar los debates
actuales sobre las oportunidades que revelaron el principal problema que suscitan los debates. Luego, mediante
una revisión sistemática de la literatura, de entre más de siete mil documentos en la base de datos Scopus que
contienen palabras clave de oportunidad, se seleccionaron 74 artículos siguiendo diferentes fases de filtración.
Los artículos se analizaron en detalle para extraer diferentes constructos. Luego, utilizando el marco de Hansen
et al, se clasificaron en seis dimensiones. Se examinaron los conceptos de cada dimensión para finalmente
proporcionar una imagen más amplia del constructo de oportunidad y ofrecer una reconceptualización. Los
resultados de este estudio destacan las brechas para futuras investigaciones y preparan el terreno para otras
revisiones sistemáticas de la literatura en este campo.
PALABRAS CLAVE
Oportunidad, conceptualización, reconceptualización, operacionalización, emprendimiento.
INTRODUCTION
In social sciences, there exist many debates on the role of concepts, theories,
and models. A concept is an imagination that appears in the words of thinkers
or researchers. Technical concepts in dierent subjects constitute the language,
expressions, or discourse of that field. Simple and complex concepts as well as
subjective and objective ones give rise to the formation of dierent views in theories
of social sciences. Concepts are the building blocks of theories, and theories
define the relationships between concepts (Blaikie, 1933). It is the responsibility of
researchers to choose and use the appropriate concepts in their works.
In the field of entrepreneurship, opportunity lies at the heart of the theory of
entrepreneurship (Salamzadeh & Roshandel Arbatani, 2020; Wood, 2021) and many
authors hotly debate the quality of the concept, and some of them try to reject or
substitute it. This inconsistency is an obstacle to the promotion of theorizing
entrepreneurship. The problem of construct clarity is the most accepted view in
conceptualizing. Lack of operational definition is another important criticism. The
present paper first attempts to deal with the relevant debates. It then seeks to provide
a re-conceptualization of opportunity through a systematic literature review of the
papers published in a valid database.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Hill & Birkinshaw (2010) has argued that in empirical research on the identification
of entrepreneurial opportunities, the theoretical gap is the diculty in defining and
measuring an appropriate unit of analysis to study opportunity. Hill & Birkinshaw
(2010) have therefore proposed “idea set” as an alternative. They believe the most
important question to ask in entrepreneurship is why only certain people and not
all can identify entrepreneurial opportunities (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000, p. 221).
They assume that advancement in this field refers to how well opportunity is defined
and measured, and in their view, only little advancement is made.
Recent review studies on entrepreneurship revolve around the concept
of opportunity, and they have also increased in number (Achtenhagen, 2020;
Emami & Khajeheian, 2018; Healey et al., 2021; Loan et al., 2021). Short et al. (2010)
have systematically reviewed these studies and have classified them in terms of
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