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Purpose The need for a firm’s business strategy to be responsive to the institutional contexts of emerging markets is well-established in the literature. Often, however, strategic responsiveness is impeded by defining institutional contexts as country-level aggregations (macro-level) and glossing over sub-national variations (micro-level). The purpose of this paper is to investigate micro-level contexts that can defy macro-level assumptions of economic rationality. Design/methodology/approach As a research site, the motivations of street vendors in Mexico City are analyzed in terms staying in one sub-national context, the informal sector, as opposed movement to another, the formal sector. Unanticipated reluctance to move from one context to another is defined as stickiness. Findings Sub-national institutional contexts are found to be sticky, with less movement between informal and formal sectors than would have been anticipated. Unexpectedly, it is found that a significant number of street vendors prefer the hardship of the informal sector to the relative security of the formal sector. Research implications International business research makes assumptions about the growth narrative of emerging markets, often characterizing a growing middle class as a rising tide that lifts all boats. In terms of further research on adapting strategy, however, assumptions of rational expectations ought to be tempered, as demonstrated by the stickiness of the informal sector. Originality/value A contribution is made to the international business literature by showing that macro-level assumptions about institutional context based on rational expectations of wealth-maximizing behavior in emerging markets may result in an incomplete view of institutional context. Ultimately, adaptation of strategy could be impaired as a result.

This article introduces the concept of strategic entrepreneurial agency (SEA) to describe the impromptu and improvised nature of strategy making by managers of ventures in emerging markets. The concept is at the intersection of strategy, international entrepreneurship (IE) and entrepreneurship literatures. Rather than customary firm-level approaches that dominate the literature, the concept of SEA argues that learning and individual agency are critical for addressing the institutional upheaval of emerging markets. The psychology of the entrepreneur and IE from the individual as opposed to firm perspective are central in the institutional contexts of emerging markets. The article proposes research propositions informed by psychology of the entrepreneur and strategy-as-practice.

Purpose This paper examines the internationalization response of entrepreneurs in Hong Kong to the institutional upheaval of the Umbrella Revolution (UR), analyzed through the lens of post-colonial theory. Design/methodology/approach Inductive methods are applied to interview data on dimensions of ethnic background (local Chinese, regional Chinese and British expatriates) and geographical scope of business (Hong Kong only or global). The analysis consists of first-order concepts, second-order themes and aggregate dimensions which link the results to post-colonial theory and international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO). Findings Amongst informants with a high international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO), strategy response to upheaval is highly influenced by ethnic background and geographical flexibility in a post-colonial context. Applying Bhabhaian post-colonial theory, the Hong Kong UR is found to be a liminal space, where internationalization strategy in response to upheaval belies subconscious, ethics-laden constructions of post-colonial identity, manifesting in counterintuitive ways. Originality/value This paper addresses the paucity of studies on liminality and entrepreneurship and on how IEO responds to acute uncertainty in the business environment. Further, IEO is found to be an individual rather than a firm-level construct. Finally, a post-colonial theory is considered in a larger context of liminality and how the transitional self of entrepreneurs comes to terms with institutional upheaval.