The circular economy (CE) has gained increasing attention as a means towards sustainable development. Entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises are regarded as key custodians in the transition to a CE. Opportunity identification is the cornerstone of entrepreneurship and has been extensively studied in traditional venturing; however, research on circular opportunity identification is limited. This paper addresses this gap by exploring (1) how entrepreneurs identify opportunities in the CE, underpinned by an adaptation of a sustainable opportunity identification conceptual model and (2) how CE principles are reflected in the identified opportunities, through the lens of the ReSOLVE CE framework. Nine in-depth interviews were conducted with circular entrepreneurs from three European Union member states with high, medium, and low Resource Efficiency Scoreboard rankings. The findings shed light into the black box of circular opportunity identification and indicate that the ReSOLVE levers constitute a useful framework to advance knowledge on circular entrepreneurship.

Is entrepreneurship an innate ability or an acquired skill? Can entrepreneurial acumen be achieved and enhanced through education and training, or are certain people “born” to be entrepreneurs or to act entrepreneurially? Economists and management theorists give widely divergent answers to these questions. This paper reviews the major approaches to teaching entrepreneurship, primarily at the undergraduate level, and relates them to economic theories of entrepreneurship. Surprisingly, we find little connection between the leading approaches to entrepreneurship education and economists' understanding of the entrepreneurial function. We assess likely explanations for the lack of contact between these two groups of scholars and suggest possible improvements.