Entrepreneurial Internationalization Takes the Effectuation Turn: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Purpose: This paper investigates the conceptual basis for introducing effectuation theory from entrepreneurship studies to the discipline of international entrepreneurship. In the past fifteen years, entrepreneurship as a field has taken the effectuation turn. Effectuation is the management of uncertainty, the entrepreneur’s ability to experiment, adjust and improvise in a market of uncertainty. This new research agenda in entrepreneurship has yet to be developed in the adjoining field of entrepreneurial internationalization. And so, the research problem driving this paper is explaining the positive significant impact of effectuation on entrepreneurial internationalization. Design/methodology/approach: The conceptual framework proposed for this research is a response to calls for research in effectuation and internationalization (Arend et al., 2015; Galkina & Lundgren-Henriksson, 2017; Deligianni et al., 2017). The conceptual framework links constructs of entrepreneurial internationalization to the four variables of effectuation. To understand entrepreneurial internationalization, we must explain the role played by effectuation. Originality/value: The importance of this research lies in advancing the scholarship of internationalization and effectuation, that is, integrating them. The contribution to practice is explaining how and when to internationalize.