Page - 267 - in Digital Entrepreneurship - Impact on Business and Society

customers worldwide, and registration on the platform is required for both sellers and buyers before transactions take place. The platform can be accessible for individuals anywhere in the world only if there is an Internet connection. Geo- graphical distance is no longer a big deal. In DHgate, for example, the platform owner provides the Web page with a number of language versions. Chinese suppliers are allowed to display their products online on aChinese-languageWebpage,while foreign buyers could visit theWeb site and choose what they expect to order on an English-languageWeb page. Furthermore, instead of requiring adequate knowledge about Chinese sup- pliers, foreign businessmen are able to make their decisions by browsing the reviews and the ratings fromother buyers.Online payment systemendorsedby the platform could also go against the potential opportunistic behaviors, which make the exchange process smooth. These functions facilitate foreign companies with very limited experiential knowledge aboutChina’s institutions andmarkets to touch the profit opportunities in this market. It illustrates that, with little experiential knowledge, international opportunity creation and capture is also likelywhenDTs are properly applied. 5 Discussion andConclusion 5.1 Contribution By examining how international opportunities are created and captured in a digi- tallyenabledworld, thecurrent studywouldhavesome implications forboth theory and practice. In terms of theory, we provide some nuances to understand the intersection of digitalization and international opportunity pursuit by identifying what roles DTs play in firm internationalization. Drawing on insights from the research in entrepreneurship, IB, and digitalization, we develop a conceptual framework and classify the role of DTs into two distinctive perspectives, namely DTs as ‘driving force’ and DTs as ‘disrupting force.’Whereas DTs as ‘driving force’ can be interpreted as a catalyst for acquisition ofmarket-specific knowledge and general knowledge, DTs as ‘disrupting force’maintain these emerging tech- nologies alter the relative significance of experiential knowledge to international opportunity creation and capture by both lowering the importance for some and putting forward new requirements for thefirm.While digitalization and its impact on international opportunity pursuit has been a hot topic (Eduardsen and Ivang 2016), the current studywould guide the research in this streamby structuring the role of DTs. In termsofpractical implications, our analysis alongwith the introductionof the conceptual model might offer some insights for practitioners regarding howDTs have transformed the way that cross-border opportunities are pursued. Primarily, practitioners can learn from this study about the way the accumulation of knowl- edge conducive for successful opportunity pursuit is facilitated in a digitally Pursuing International Opportunities in a Digitally EnabledWorld 275