The Impact of Effectuation on the Relationship between Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Internationalisation

Stoiko, Mark (2022) The Impact of Effectuation on the Relationship between Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Internationalisation. Doctoral thesis, SETU Waterford.

Text FINAL PAPER Mark Stoiko August 16 2022.pdf Download (2MB)

Abstract

This research study assesses the impact of effectuation on the relationship between entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial internationalisation. The study applies effectuation theory from entrepreneurship scholarship to the discipline of internationalisation, more particularly, entrepreneurial internationalisation. Led by the seminal work on effectuation by Sarasvathy (2001), effectuation is the entrepreneur’s ability to experiment, adjust and improvise in a market of uncertainty, and is now a fully-fledged theory of entrepreneurship. This study is based on two models of effectuation, the Effectuation Uppsala Model (UE Model) (Schweizer, et al., 2010), and the Sarasvathy (2008) model. It is these models that provide the foundation for the relationship between entrepreneurship and internationalisation and reveal how the relationship is impacted by effectuation. Extant studies of effectuation have adopted both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Especially important to this study are quantitative studies, which have consistently operationalized effectuation under four key variables: (1) affordable loss, (2) experimentation, (3) flexibility, and (4) pre-commitment. Aligned with the philosophical perspectives of the researcher and reflective of extant studies off effectuation, seeking a cause-and-effect relationship, this study adopted a positivist philosophical approach characterized by objectivism and functionalism and underpinned by established measurement instruments drawn from existing literature. The primary data is collected using a self-administered web-based survey distributed to respondents via a purpose-built research network hosted on the LinkedIn portal. The research sample consists of founders and management of SMEs based in the United States of America (US) who manufacture and sell their products in international markets. Detailed findings begin with descriptive statistics and by establishing the reliability of measurement scales, before expanding to inter-correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The major finding of this study is that the variables of entrepreneurship (1. Innovation and technology, 2. Entrepreneurial knowledge and orientation, and 3. International networks) drive changes in effectuation, which in turn, drives changes in entrepreneurial internationalisation. Effectuation is found to have a positive mediating impact on the relationship between entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial internationalisation; in addition, the components of effectuation have a positive mediating impact on the relationship between entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial internationalisation. Mediation is confirmed at the 95% confidence level. The impact of mediation may be explained as follows: when operating under high levels of effectuation an entrepreneur is exhibiting the characteristics of adaptability, improvisation, and flexibility. These characteristics are more conducive to rapid and early internationalisation (entrepreneurial internationalisation). Hence, the argument is made for a cause-and-effect relationship between effectuation and entrepreneurial internationalisation, and a mediating relationship in the model. The study suggests that for the target audience (US SMEs), entrepreneurial internationalisation is intensified when entrepreneurship (innovation and technology, entrepreneurial knowledge and orientation, and international networks) work in conjunction with effectuation. The major contribution to practice is that entrepreneurs seeking to increase levels of entrepreneurial internationalisation can now focus on two ways to do this: (a) directly influence the entrepreneurship variables, and (b) use the mediating link through effectuation. The major contribution to theory is confirmation that effectuation mediates the relationship between entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial internationalisation. This means that entrepreneurs who are effectuators do not focus on the predictable (traditional entrepreneurship theory), but on the controllable (effectual approach); not on goal setting (traditional entrepreneurship theory) but on means-driving (effectual approach).

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Entrepreneurship, Internationalisation
Departments or Groups:	*NONE OF THESE*
Divisions:	School of Business > Department of Management and Organization
Depositing User:	Derek Langford
Date Deposited:	13 Sep 2022 16:13
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2022 16:13
URI:	https://repository.wit.ie/id/eprint/3534

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