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Article History

Received: 22 October 2025

Accepted: 12 December 2025

First Online: 26 December 2025

Declarations

:

: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Data were anonymized to uphold participant confidentiality.

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This research involved human participants (expert panel). The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its subsequent amendments.

: This study develops and validates a systemic model explaining how different factors interact to trigger entrepreneurial pivots. Using the DEMATEL method and expert data from an emerging market, it identifies Market and Customer as the most influential root causes driving strategic change, with Finance acting as a key intermediary. The research advances entrepreneurial theory by integrating market-learning and resource-based perspectives, demonstrating that pivots follow a predictable causal hierarchy rather than occurring as isolated reactions. The resulting framework offers entrepreneurs, investors, and educators a diagnostic tool to anticipate, interpret, and manage strategic adaptation in uncertain environments.