The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic is an external shock that has
disrupted the foundations of everyday life. For cosmopolitan
entrepreneurs, the impact is even more decisive as it confronts their
core values and jeopardises their identities, ways of working and the
lifestyles they cherish. Cosmopolitans are individuals who identify
themselves as citizens of the world and voluntarily move from country to
country in pursuit of self-fulfilment in both life and work.
Cosmopolitan entrepreneurs are future-oriented and open to the world and
the opportunities it may provide. Beyond securing, maintaining and
improving their professional and/or economic positions, their mobility
is an elementary part of the cosmopolitan life itself, something they
find attractive, interesting and stimulating. Thus, a cosmopolitan
entrepreneur’s business is often non-location-bound to enable continued
mobility. With our interview-based research, we shed light on how
COVID-19 has changed the lives of Finnish-born cosmopolitan
entrepreneurs, discussing what they feel about the changes and how they
see their future.