This chapter proposes a three-ecosystems framework in the context of transnational digital entrepreneurship (TDE). It argues that the embeddedness and engagement within digital, host, and home-country entrepreneurial ecosystems holistically affect TDE process, adoption of strategic activities, and entrepreneurs. The research indicates that there is an increasing faith amongst researchers and policymakers in the vital position of TDE for socioeconomic development in transnational entrepreneurs' host and home countries, which has manifested as a result of the contribution to innovation, job creation, and income generation. This chapter aims to contribute to the rapidly growing literature on transnational entrepreneurship (TE) and digital entrepreneurship (DE) by theoretically exploring the key-impacting components in the process of TDE. The chapter offers an integrated theoretical framework/model supported by three ecosystems and a set of testable propositions for future empirical TDE research. This research will theoretically contribute to TE and DE literature.
TopIntroduction
Transnational entrepreneurship (TE) has become predominant research streams in immigrant entrepreneurship study in the last two decades (Nkongolo-Bakenda & Chrysostome, 2020; Brown, Mawson, Lee, & Peterson, 2019; Ren & Liu, 2015; Portes & Yiu, 2013) along with growing international immigration, globalisation and development of international trades. A widely defined concept of transnational entrepreneurs refers to immigrant social actors “who enact networks, ideas, information, and practices for the purpose of seeking business opportunities or maintaining businesses within dual social fields, which in turn force them to engage in varied strategies of action to promote their entrepreneurial activities” (Drori, Honig, & Wright, 2009). They are “capable of bearing risks and taking strategic initiatives to establish, integrate, and sustain foreign operations” (Yeung, 2002).
Digital entrepreneurship, as a new subfield of entrepreneurship (Al Amoush & Sandhu, 2020; Elia, 2020; Satalkina & Steiner, 2020) started from the 1990s, is the process of finding or creating an entrepreneurial opportunity and pursue it through the use of ICT technology, digital platforms and other information and communication equipment (Zaheer, Breyer, & Dumay, 2019; European Commission, 2016). DE highlights digital transformations in entrepreneurship. Therefore, DE has been identified in many business categories: production, sale, logistic, trade, business management and operation from (Sussan and Acs 2017). DE also enhanced innovation in business processes and models. DE and digital transformation, as a critical pillar of the digital economy, has revolutionised the entrepreneurship environment and has been a vital force pushing the economy forwards.
Today, TE has been deeply transformed by the development of digital technologies. But there is a shortage of research on transnational digital entrepreneurship (TDE). Up to date, it lacks TDE definition, research framework, research methodologies development and investigation agenda. In this study, the cross-border economic activities conducted by entrepreneurs based on the usage of digital technology (i.e., cross-border e-commerce platforms) are defined as transnational digital entrepreneurship, and these entrepreneurs are transnational digital entrepreneurs. The paper addresses the gaps with the following key research questions: 1) What role do the three ecosystems (host-, home-country entrepreneurial systems and digital ecosystem) play in TDE? 2) How do transnational digital entrepreneurs exploit opportunities and leverage resources within three ecosystems? 3) How embeddedness and engagement with three ecosystems affect transnational digital entrepreneurs?
TDE is studied from the perspectives of entrepreneurial and digital ecosystems in this paper. Ecosystem strategies in this study are a series of techniques for controlling and directing business to achieve a set of predetermined goals in considering ecosystem effects. Ecosystem approach has become the latest fruitful instrument for entrepreneurship and digital technology studies for the last ten years (Sussan & Acs, 2017; WEF, 2013). These two recently matured frameworks, the entrepreneurship ecosystem (Isenberg, 2011) and digital ecosystem (Li, Du, & Yin, 2017), were merged conceptually by Sussan and Acs (2017) and revisited by Song (2019). The new concept of digital entrepreneurial ecosystems (DEE) provides the living and non-living digital ecosystem components, including “digital infrastructure governance…, digital user citizenship.., digital entrepreneurship and digital marketplace” in the digital economy (Song, 2019).