Space is a contextual noun

Noun

In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...

 used to partially describe the abstract

Abstraction (mathematics)

Abstraction in mathematics is the process of extracting the underlying essence of a mathematical concept, removing any dependence on real world objects with which it might originally have been connected, and generalising it so that it has wider applications or matching among other abstract...

 competitive set of the subject or subjects

Subject (grammar)

The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...

. The members of the space will almost always be Companies

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

 who supply services to customer

Customer

A customer is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or organization, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing or renting goods or services...

s. The important attributes of that particular space are defined by context and the adjective

Adjective

In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....

s applied to it.

By Example

"Company A was the second largest player in the space."

This sentence states that Company A was an important supplier of services in the chosen field. A company can be important in a Space, and yet unimportant in others.

"It is quite a slow Space."

Here an adjective is used to describe this space. Slow is pejorative

Pejorative

Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...

, and temporal

Time

Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....

.

But the business context is that either:

• the rate of new purchases is slow, or
• that the customers are slow to sell, re-order or switch suppliers

Terseness

By using just the 'one' term the speaker can ascribe meaning to the Space itself or to its many constituent members. In fact, henceforth the term Space should be taken to mean both the Space itself or its constituent members unless specifically mentioned.

Leaving whatever is not defined as potential

The term allows the speaker to be selectively specific about some properties of the Space or its members. But whatever is not mentioned is left as undefined. This allows actions within the Space to occur without having to know how they will occur. A new Company can 'enter' the space by offering a new service to customers. The new service does not have to be specified. This is useful in a fast moving Technology market. The new service may not have been invented yet, or the customers may not yet know they need it.

Technological Change

The term Space became very popular during the Dot-com boom. It was widely adopted due to its ability to describe certain details of companies, markets, products and services. The remaining details were impossible to determine.

Misuse

The word Space became synonymous as a Buzzword

Buzzword

A buzzword is a term of art, salesmanship, politics, or technical jargon that is used in the media and wider society outside of its originally narrow technical context....

.
Due to the ambiguity involved the term became favoured by peddlers of Snake oil

Snake oil

Snake oil is a topical preparation made from the Chinese Water Snake , which is used to treat joint pain. However, the most common usage of the phrase is as a derogatory term for quack medicine...

. A peddler could use the term 'Space' and sound like they were describing facts. In reality they were describing attributes so general that they would have matched any group of companies.

Important Attributes of a Space

A Space can have one or more attributes. These attributes can be grouped themselves. When grouped, they can either define the range of attributes, or they can define the scope of the attributes.

Size

There are two main ways of describing the size of a space. By defining the size of a space in a certain way, there are certain implications about the other way.

Number Companies presumed to also be a member of a Space

The size of a space can be measured in terms of the number of Companies who supply similar services.

A large number of Companies in a space implies:

• that there is a large number of customers.
• that there is a lot of competition
  Competition
  Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
  
   between members.
• that the barriers to entry
  Barriers to entry
  In theories of competition in economics, barriers to entry are obstacles that make it difficult to enter a given market. The term can refer to hindrances a firm faces in trying to enter a market or industry - such as government regulation, or a large, established firm taking advantage of economies...
  
   for new companies wishing to enter this space will be higher.

A large amount of companies is defined in terms of the number of customers. Generally, a large amount is over 10 companies.

A small number companies in a space implies:

• the market is new or
• the market is in decline or
• the number of customers is very small

Number of Customers & Value

This is closely linked to the Number of Customers. In a 'Space' it is presumed that any member of the space could potentially win all the customers.

A large number of customers in a space implies

• that there is a lot of demand for a service
• that new entrants to the space are likely

A small number customers in a space implies:

• the market is new or
• the market is in decline or
• the market not very desirable for companies to compete for

Ascribed Attributes

Any adjective can be used alter the contextual meaning of a Space. Please see the examples.