Migrant women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystems during an external shock: a case study from the healthcare sector in Kazakhstan

An entrepreneurial ecosystem’s role in emergent organisations’ environments is crucial. This research presents a dynamic view of entrepreneurial ecosystems by exploring an external shock faced by a migrant woman entrepreneur in Kazakhstan. By examining the pre-shock, shock, and post-shock phases, we reveal how the external shock altered the balance of elements in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and how uncertainties related to such an exogeneous shock can be overcome in cooperation with other ecosystem actors. By focusing on a migrant woman entrepreneur, we demonstrate that the opportunity presented by an external shock is exploited through the unique competitive advantage of each ecosystem’s actor, manifesting in complementarity among the actors, whereas the aim of attaining the envisioned joint value proposition acts as a cohering tool among the entrepreneurial ecosystem’s elements. In addition, complementarity and coherence among an entrepreneurial ecosystem’s elements co-create ecosystem resilience and generate additional opportunities that entrepreneurs might exploit.