How entrepreneurial behaviors manifest in non-traditional, heterodox contexts: Exploration of the Daigou phenomenon

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is multifaceted and there is considerable acknowledgement of the relevance of human agency and individual behavior – since entrepreneurship has proven fundamentally personal. While entrepreneurial behaviors are traditionally aligned with high growth, start-up firms, an evolving body of research recognizes that entrepreneurial behaviors can manifest in non-traditional, ‘heterodox’ contexts. One such context is the Daigou phenomenon. Daigou translates to ‘buying on one's behalf’ – Daigou serve as important ‘middlemen’ – connecting Chinese customers with Western brands by deviating from accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs to exploit free-market networks and engage in cross-border exporting. Daigou, in the context of this research functions as a novel heterodox backdrop to probe manifestations of entrepreneurial behavior, thus identifying how entrepreneurial actors behave ‘entrepreneurially’ in heterodox settings. Our review of the literature delivers three meaningful contributions. Firstly, the findings contribute by advancing understanding of entrepreneurial behaviors in non-traditional and heterodox contexts. Secondly, by unveiling and incorporating new insights to the entrepreneurial behavior literature by integrating Daigou as a novel context for advancing understanding of meaningful heterodoxies. And thirdly, contributing back to the marketing literature by integrating insights from entrepreneurial behavior to inform conceptualizations of Daigou.