International entrepreneurship research: how it evolved and directions for the future

On 28 August 2015, I received an email stating, "I am so sorry to have to tell you that Richard passed away in his sleep last night. He so treasured your friendship and collaboration." Professor Richard W. Wright (BA'61; MBA'63; PhD'70) co-founded the McGill Conferences on International Entrepreneurship, aimed at integrating the fields of international business and small business/entrepreneurship. This article is dedicated to him. In the past, internationalisation was a challenging option, usually adopted by large firms. Changes in technology now allow small firms to internationalise more easily than ever, and where there is a small domestic market, internationalisation is sometimes not an option; it has become a necessity. Membership in a network allows a small firm to internationalise in a cooperative fashion, without the need for large expenditures. The practice of international entrepreneurship thus presents a challenge to some classic theories. Internationalisation need not be undertaken incrementally. Furthermore, small companies can internationalise without transferring resources abroad, thereby avoiding the issues formerly faced during internationalisation, e.g.: 1) opportunity cost of resources transferred abroad; 2) creation of a disadvantage by resources transferred abroad; 3) the lack of resources required to operate efficiently abroad.