Opportunity-based conceptualization of rural entrepreneurship

Developing a clear concept of rural entrepreneurship has increasingly attracted attention in recent years. Findings from a systematic literature review indicate that studies present four components, including “new,” “value,” “rural location,” and “rural residence,” to separate rural entrepreneurship from other comparable concepts. Despite the valuable contribution of these studies, there is still not a clear concept of rural entrepreneurship due to the unclear concept of its components. The current review study aimed to conceptualize rural entrepreneurship through the conceptualization of its components based on an opportunity-based view. The concept of the first two components including “new” and “value” was clarified through the conceptualization of rural entrepreneurial opportunity as a situation in which the creation of value for a rural setting would be profitable through a new product or service, new market or marketing, new resource or exploitation of the resource, and new method or innovation. The last two components, including “location” and “residence,” enabled a location-residence-based typology of rural entrepreneurial opportunity. Based on this study, rural entrepreneurship involves pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities within a rural context, aiming to generate profit by creating value for that setting.