Ecological Opportunity
Market opportunity in business includes underserved customer needs, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes creating new niches.
Ecological opportunity - access to resources or environments that existing species aren't exploiting - triggers adaptive radiation through two primary mechanisms. Geographic colonization occurs when species arrive in locations with few competitors (islands are classic examples). Key innovations are evolved traits that unlock access to previously unavailable resources (flight in insects, amniotic egg in reptiles, pharyngeal jaws in cichlids).
Business Application of Ecological Opportunity
Market opportunity in business includes underserved customer needs, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes creating new niches. Companies like AWS colonized empty niches (elastic infrastructure when competitors offered fixed capacity).