Identifying both domestic and international market opportunities is becoming increasingly important to more and more entrepreneurs and to their countries' economies. International entrepreneurship—the conducting of business activities by an entrepreneur across national boundaries—is occurring much earlier in the growth of new ventures as opportunities open up in the hypercompetitive global arena. Several factors (economics, stage of economic development, balance of payments, type of system, political–legal environment, technological environment, and cultural environment) make decisions regarding international entrepreneurship more complex than those regarding domestic entrepreneurship.

The following four strategic issues are important for an entrepreneur to consider before going international: the allocation of responsibility between the U.S. and foreign operations; the type of planning, reporting, and control system to be used; the appropriate organizational structure; and the degree of standardization possible.

Once an entrepreneur decides to be involved in international business, three general modes of market entry need to be considered: exporting, nonequity arrangements, and equity arrangements. Each mode includes several alternatives that provide varying degrees of risk, control, and ownership.

Entrepreneurs in the United States can find their counterparts in a wide variety of economies. Entrepreneurship is thriving from Dublin to Hong Kong, providing new products and services, new jobs, and new opportunities for partnering.