Abstract
In recent decades, the concepts of international entrepreneurial opportunity (IEO) have attracted the consideration of many scholars and have proliferated in the international entrepreneurship (IE) literature. Since 2005, the concepts of IEO have become an emerging and evolving stream of research in international entrepreneurship studies, so this article examines the gaps, themes, and trends in IEO research from 2005 to early 2019. The primary purpose of this article is to understand the current state of the art in the field of IEO by examining the boundaries of its knowledge and eventually proposing future research agenda for scholars. To achieve this goal, we utilize a systematic literature review process and meta-synthesis methodology. We select studies and synthesize them based on defined elements and represent summary tables and figures according to these processes. First, we extract quantitative information from articles to gain a perception of the trends in prior studies. Second, we consider the purpose and focus of the IEO research to find out the critical concepts. Finally, we conclude by presenting several directions for future studies based on the knowledge gaps in prior IEO research.
Résumé
Au cours des dernières décennies, les concepts d’opportunité entrepreneuriale internationale (OEI) ont attiré l’attention de nombreux chercheurs et ont proliféré dans la littérature sur l’entrepreneuriat international. Depuis 2005, les concepts d’OEI sont devenus un courant de recherche émergent et évolutif dans les études internationales sur l’entrepreneuriat, donc cet article examine les lacunes, les thèmes et les tendances de la recherche OEI de 2005 au début de 2019. L’objectif principal de cet article est de comprendre l’état des connaissances actuel dans le domaine de l’OEI en examinant les limites de ses connaissances. A terme, de futures directions de recherche sont proposées aux chercheurs. Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous utilisons un processus de revue systématique de la littérature et une méthodologie de méta-synthèse. Nous sélectionnons les études et les synthétisons sur la base d’éléments définis et représentons des tableaux et figures de synthèse en fonction de ces processus. En premier lieu, nous extrayons des informations quantitatives des articles pour avoir une perception de la tendance des études antérieures. En second lieu, nous considérons le but et l’orientation de la recherche de l’OEI pour découvrir les concepts critiques. Enfin, nous concluons en présentant plusieurs directions pour de futures études basées sur les lacunes dans les connaissances des recherches antérieures de l’OEI.
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Change history
31 March 2022
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-022-00314-1
Notes
BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It was originally BRIC as coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill without South Africa in 2001. South Africa was added to the list in 2010.
The Group of Seven is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the USA.
The North American Industry Classification System (2012 NAICS)
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Gholizadeh, S., Mohammadkazemi, R. International entrepreneurial opportunity: A systematic review, meta-synthesis, and future research agenda. J Int Entrep 20, 218–254 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-021-00306-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-021-00306-7
Keywords
- International entrepreneurship
- International entrepreneurial opportunity
- Systematic review
- Meta-synthesis
- Trend analysis