International entrepreneurship beyond individuals and firms: On the systemic nature of international opportunities

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.04.002Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • International entrepreneurship is an international opportunity focused systemic activity.

  • The systemic perspective allows us understand the collectiveness of international opportunities.

  • The beliefs emerge from certain circumstances and specific resource governance and align towards particular outcome.

  • Modalities of opportunities operate to generate the collective beliefs that manifest in international entrepreneurship.

Abstract

The present study approaches opportunities in international entrepreneurship from a systemic perspective. Based on research on the collectiveness of opportunities in international entrepreneurship and the concepts of activity and object from activity theory, we develop a systemic conceptualization of opportunity-oriented international entrepreneurship. Through an empirical study in Finland and Israel, we depict six collective opportunity beliefs, considered from the viewpoints of society, international venture, and outcome expectations. Furthermore, we induce three modalities for international opportunity as the object of collective activity and model systemic opportunity shaping as the core activity of international entrepreneurship.

Keywords

International entrepreneurship
International opportunity
Opportunity belief
Activity theory
Systemic view

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1

The authors have equally contributed to the paper.