International Entrepreneurship (IE) theory has developed extensively over the last two decades by drawing on various theoretical perspectives. While this growing body of knowledge has provided rich insights into the internationalisation behaviour of firms from multiple theoretical perspectives, it has also rendered IE theory fragmented and devoid of a unifying theoretical direction.
Using a qualitative approach, this study intends to address the gap identified above by developing a framework for the entrepreneurial internationalisation process. As such, the study focuses on the entrepreneurial aspects of “opportunity identification and exploitation”: an area to which IE researchers have paid little attention. It is argued that this focus is appropriate as it can extend the scope of international business and IE research by strengthening the foundations of the entrepreneurial theory of internationalisation.
The study findings extend key insights into the internationalisation process of entrepreneurial firms. The research context provided unique perspectives of how firms in the agriculture-base primary industry in a developing country internationalise. The case findings identified prior knowledge, creativity, selfefficacy, perseverance, and passion as drivers of the opportunity development process. Also, the study supported the idea that both access to resources and entrepreneurs’ social capital have significant influence on how opportunities are developed.
The results elucidated a new concept – “entrepreneurial insight” − to explain how thinking, knowledge, and dynamic capabilities integrate to act as the core processes of opportunity development. These three factors can be identified as idiosyncratic entrepreneurial resources in the process of opportunity development and exploitation. The exploitation of opportunities thus leads to new strategic and operational paths and positions, which then affect the firm’s performance in terms of degree of internationalisation, growth, survival, and profitability.
The findings provide a better understanding of internationalisation using three defining elements in the internationalisation process: entrepreneurial intention, opportunity development, and value innovation. These factors provide an insightful explanation of different international trajectories that firms take, and how these trajectories sustain their international activities over time.
Finally, the study provides managerial and theoretical implications that can guide practitioners towards an appreciation of the dynamics of individual capacities, the value of networks, and the resources that need to be harnessed by learning, adapting, and taking timely decisions to generate value-creating opportunities in international markets.
