Identify and Prioritize the Factors aFfecting the Process of Opportunity Recognition in the Field of Information Technology Banking Industry

Entrepreneurship, which is the process of identifying, evaluating and developing opportunities, has been recently identified as the most important element in the economic development of countries in various areas and industries, including banking industry. Since opportunity identification is the first step in entrepreneurship, the present research attempts to investigate and prioritize the individual, organizational and environmental factors affecting the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities in IT divisions of banking industry. The research population includes 100 experts, elites and entrepreneurs in IT divisions of banking industry in Tehran from which a sample of 80 has been selected. A descriptive and correlational method has been applied; questionnaires have been used to gather data; and their validity and reliability have been respectively tested though divergent and convergent validity and Cronbach’s alpha. The research findings indicate that organizational, industrial; macro environmental as well as individual psychological and non-psychological factors affect the process of entrepreneurial opportunities identification. Furthermore, the most effective and significant dimensions in banking industry are related to the industry and individual and organizational characteristics. It is also suggested that the role of other factors such as education and R & D in entrepreneurship to be investigated in further studies.