International entrepreneurial marketing: Decision making in international business

Rapidly internationalizing firms from small and open economies often face resource scarcity as they attempt to conduct marketing in the global marketplace. Previous research does not provide sufficient knowledge on how to make decisions with scarce resources in an international business environment. This dissertation studies international entrepreneurial marketing to addresses the research problem of how firms can make decisions under conditions of uncertainty to improve their international marketing performance in the face of resource scarcity. International entrepreneurial marketing is the proactive discovery or creation of market opportunities to acquire and retain customers in international markets through innovative approaches to risk management, resource leveraging, and value creation. The main purpose of the research is therefore to investigate how decisions are made to deliver international entrepreneurial marketing and to understand the relationship between such decision making and firms’ international marketing performance.

This research consists of four articles and adopts a mixed-method approach including a multiple-case study, a quantitative survey study, and a single-case study. The findings suggest that when uncertainty is greater, decision making on the part of entrepreneurs in internationalizing SMEs follows a more effectual than a causal approach; and decision making by marketing managers in large international firms mirrors bricolage behavior. Using effectuation and bricolage in decision making has a positive influence on employing international entrepreneurial marketing, whereas causation can enhance firms’ international marketing strategy comprehensiveness. The results indicate that applying international entrepreneurial marketing guided by effectual decision making can lead to improved international marketing performance, particularly in internationalizing SMEs.