International entrepreneurship from emerging to developed markets: an institutional perspective

Purpose – The authors explore how home and host market institutions impact emerging market (EM) international entrepreneurship (IE) into developed markets. Design/methodology/approach – Based on four case studies of Nigerian entrepreneurs expanding into the USA, this qualitative research adopts an institutional perspective to the study of EM IE. Findings – The findings show home and host formal and informal institutions simultaneously enable and constrain the IE process. Weak home institutions shape the international opportunity recognition decision but seriously impede international opportunity development and exploitation activities in the developed market. EM entrepreneurs benefit from highly functioning regulation in the developed market whilst also experiencing discriminatory treatment from institutions. The findings of the study further show the positive and constraining effects of host institutions throughout the process. Originality/value – Based on the findings, the paper details future research ideas, managerial implications and recommendation for policymakers.