IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jinten/v22y2024i3d10.1007_s10843-024-00368-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

International entrepreneurship as a dynamic capability in new ventures: Defining the concept and identifying its antecedents and outcomes through a systematic literature review

Author

Listed:
  • Vincenzo Corvello

    (University of Messina)

  • Alberto Michele Felicetti

    (University of Calabria)

  • Benedetta Pini

    (University of Parma)

  • Barbara Bigliardi

    (University of Parma)

Abstract

The literature on international entrepreneurship has devoted much attention to new or young firms. The dynamic capabilities framework has been often chosen to explain the internationalization of companies early in their life. However, the interpretations of the concept of dynamic capabilities are different and sometimes inconsistent. Furthermore, the application of the framework to the field of international entrepreneurship in young firms has sometimes generated ambiguity. The purpose of this literature review is to analyze the published research on the topic and synthesize it into a coherent framework that serves as a guide for researchers. To do this, we systematically analyzed 75 articles published in peer reviewed journals. The study produced a definition of international entrepreneurship capability, understood as a higher order dynamic capability, in early internationalizing firms. We have also identified the lower-order capabilities that constitute it, as well as its antecedents and main outcomes. The article concludes with an agenda for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincenzo Corvello & Alberto Michele Felicetti & Benedetta Pini & Barbara Bigliardi, 2024. "International entrepreneurship as a dynamic capability in new ventures: Defining the concept and identifying its antecedents and outcomes through a systematic literature review," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 288-317, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jinten:v:22:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s10843-024-00368-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10843-024-00368-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10843-024-00368-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10843-024-00368-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Amorós, José Ernesto & Etchebarne, María Soledad & Zapata, Isabel Torres & Felzensztein, Christian, 2016. "International entrepreneurial firms in Chile: An exploratory profile," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 2052-2060.
    2. D’Angelo, Alfredo & Presutti, Manuela, 2019. "SMEs international growth: The moderating role of experience on entrepreneurial and learning orientations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 613-624.
    3. Snyder, Hannah, 2019. "Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 333-339.
    4. Tobias Pehrsson & Navid Ghannad & Anders Pehrsson & Tobias Abt & Siyuan Chen & Fabian Erath & Tobias Hammarstig, 2015. "Dynamic capabilities and performance in foreign markets: Developments within international new ventures," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 28-48, March.
    5. Quan Anh Nguyen & Gillian Sullivan Mort, 2021. "Conceptualising organisational-level and microfoundational capabilities: an integrated view of born-globals’ internationalisation," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1781-1803, December.
    6. Martin, Silvia L. & Javalgi, Rajshekhar (Raj) G. & Ciravegna, Luciano, 2018. "Service advantage built on service capabilities: An empirical inquiry of international new ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 371-381.
    7. Igor Filatotchev & Jenifer Piesse, 2009. "R&D, internationalization and growth of newly listed firms: European evidence," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(8), pages 1260-1276, October.
    8. Viswanathan Nagarajan & Prateek Sharma, 2021. "Firm internationalization and long‐term impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(6), pages 1477-1491, September.
    9. Zahra, Shaker A., 2021. "International entrepreneurship in the post Covid world," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    10. Castellano, Sylvaine & Khelladi, Insaf & Sorio, Rossella & Orhan, Mehmet & Kalisz, David, 2021. "Exploring the microfoundations of nomadic dynamic capabilities: The example of flying winemakers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    11. Andersson, Svante, 2004. "Internationalization in different industrial contexts," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 851-875, November.
    12. Czinkota, Michael & Khan, Zaheer & Knight, Gary, 2021. "International business and the migrant-owned enterprise," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 657-669.
    13. Weerawardena, Jay & Mort, Gillian Sullivan & Liesch, Peter W. & Knight, Gary, 2007. "Conceptualizing accelerated internationalization in the born global firm: A dynamic capabilities perspective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 294-306, September.
    14. Efrat, Kalanit & Gilboa, Shaked & Yonatany, Moshe, 2017. "When marketing and innovation interact: The case of born-global firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 380-390.
    15. Crespo, Nuno Fernandes & Simões, Vitor Corado & Fontes, Margarida, 2022. "Uncovering the factors behind new ventures’ international performance: Capabilities, alertness and technological turbulence," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 344-359.
    16. Blesa, Andreu & Ripollés, María, 2021. "Critical capabilities for widening international new ventures’ geographical scope," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 201-213.
    17. Battisti, Enrico & Alfiero, Simona & Quaglia, Roberto & Yahiaoui, Dorra, 2022. "Financial performance and global start-ups: the impact of knowledge management practices," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    18. Chris N. Pitelis, 2022. "Dynamic capabilities, the new multinational enterprise and business model innovation: A de/re-constructive commentary," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(4), pages 741-753, June.
    19. Bhatti, Waheed Akbar & Vahlne, Jan-Erik & Glowik, Mario & Larimo, Jorma Antero, 2022. "The impact of industry 4.0 on the 2017 version of the Uppsala model," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4).
    20. Eriksson, Taina & Nummela, Niina & Saarenketo, Sami, 2014. "Dynamic capability in a small global factory," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 169-180.
    21. Buccieri, Dominic & Javalgi, Raj G. & Cavusgil, Erin, 2020. "International new venture performance: Role of international entrepreneurial culture, ambidextrous innovation, and dynamic marketing capabilities," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    22. G Tomas M Hult & David J Ketchen & David A Griffith & Brian R Chabowski & Mary K Hamman & Bernadine Johnson Dykes & Wesley A Pollitte & S Tamer Cavusgil, 2008. "An assessment of the measurement of performance in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(6), pages 1064-1080, September.
    23. Hannes Velt & Lasse Torkkeli & Sami Saarenketo, 2018. "The entrepreneurial ecosystem and born globals: the Estonian context," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(2), pages 117-138, May.
    24. Farhad Uddin Ahmed & Louis Brennan, 2019. "Performance determinants of early internationalizing firms: The role of international entrepreneurial orientation," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 389-424, September.
    25. Nieves Arranz & Marta Arroyabe & Jun Li & Juan Carlos Fernandez de Arroyabe, 2020. "Innovation as a driver of eco‐innovation in the firm: An approach from the dynamic capabilities theory," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1494-1503, March.
    26. Anisur Faroque & Hafiza Sultana & Jashim Uddin Ahmed & Farhad Uddin Ahmed & Mahabubur Rahman, 2022. "The standalone and resource-bundling effects of government and nongovernment institutional support on early internationalizing firms’ performance," Post-Print hal-03647639, HAL.
    27. Knight, Gary A. & Liesch, Peter W., 2016. "Internationalization: From incremental to born global," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 93-102.
    28. Sven M. Laudien & Birgit Daxböck, 2017. "Enhancing the understanding of international new ventures: a service-oriented perspective," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 40(5), pages 494-516, May.
    29. Charmaine Glavas & Shane Mathews & Constanza Bianchi, 2017. "International opportunity recognition as a critical component for leveraging Internet capabilities and international market performance [Reconocimiento de oportunidad internacional como un componen," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 1-35, March.
    30. Martin, Silvia L. & Javalgi, Rajshekhar (Raj) G., 2016. "Entrepreneurial orientation, marketing capabilities and performance: The Moderating role of Competitive Intensity on Latin American International New Ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 2040-2051.
    31. Svante Andersson & Natasha Evers, 2015. "International opportunity recognition in international new ventures—a dynamic managerial capabilities perspective," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 260-276, September.
    32. David J. Teece, 2007. "Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(13), pages 1319-1350, December.
    33. Christofi, Michael & Vrontis, Demetris & Cadogan, John W., 2021. "Micro-foundational ambidexterity and multinational enterprises: A systematic review and a conceptual framework," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    34. Justin J. P. Jansen & Gerard George & Frans A. J. Van den Bosch & Henk W. Volberda, 2008. "Senior Team Attributes and Organizational Ambidexterity: The Moderating Role of Transformational Leadership," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 982-1007, July.
    35. Sven M. Laudien & Birgit Daxböck, 2017. "Enhancing the understanding of international new ventures: a service-oriented perspective," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 40(5), pages 494-516, May.
    36. Sascha Kraus & Matthias Breier & Weng Marc Lim & Marina Dabić & Satish Kumar & Dominik Kanbach & Debmalya Mukherjee & Vincenzo Corvello & Juan Piñeiro-Chousa & Eric Liguori & Daniel Palacios-Marqués &, 2022. "Literature reviews as independent studies: guidelines for academic practice," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(8), pages 2577-2595, November.
    37. Scott L. Newbert, 2007. "Empirical research on the resource‐based view of the firm: an assessment and suggestions for future research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 121-146, February.
    38. Altintas, Gulsun & Ambrosini, Véronique & Gudergan, Siegfried, 2022. "MNE dynamic capabilities in (un)related diversification," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(1).
    39. Hamid Etemad, 2015. "The principal components of the international entrepreneurial orientation-performance relation and its linkages with the key concepts and key constructs in the present issue," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 361-369, December.
    40. Khan, Zaheer & Lew, Yong Kyu, 2018. "Post-entry survival of developing economy international new ventures: A dynamic capability perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 149-160.
    41. Martin, Silvia L. & Javalgi, Rajshekhar G. & Cavusgil, Erin, 2017. "Marketing capabilities, positional advantage, and performance of born global firms: Contingent effect of ambidextrous innovation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 527-543.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rubina Romanello & Maria Chiarvesio, 2019. "Early internationalizing firms: 2004–2018," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 172-219, June.
    2. Buccieri, Dominic & Javalgi, Raj G. & Cavusgil, Erin, 2020. "International new venture performance: Role of international entrepreneurial culture, ambidextrous innovation, and dynamic marketing capabilities," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    3. Farhad Uddin Ahmed & Louis Brennan, 2019. "Performance determinants of early internationalizing firms: The role of international entrepreneurial orientation," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 389-424, September.
    4. Crespo, Nuno Fernandes & Simões, Vitor Corado & Fontes, Margarida, 2022. "Uncovering the factors behind new ventures’ international performance: Capabilities, alertness and technological turbulence," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 344-359.
    5. Quan Anh Nguyen & Gillian Sullivan Mort, 0. "Conceptualising organisational-level and microfoundational capabilities: an integrated view of born-globals’ internationalisation," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-23.
    6. Figueiredo, Marco & Ferreira, João J. & Vrontis, Demetris, 2024. "Perspectives on dynamic capabilities and ambidexterity in born-global companies: Theoretical framing, review and research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    7. Nadia Zahoor & Yong Kyu Lew, 2022. "Sustaining superior international performance: Strategic orientations and dynamic capability of environmentally concerned small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 1002-1017, March.
    8. Thanh Tiep Le & Hong Chau Le & Enrico Battisti & Kamila Janovská, 2024. "The roles of corporate social responsibility, international entrepreneurial orientation, dynamic and technological capabilities in the performance of international new ventures," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 3403-3438, December.
    9. Quan Anh Nguyen & Gillian Sullivan Mort, 2021. "Conceptualising organisational-level and microfoundational capabilities: an integrated view of born-globals’ internationalisation," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1781-1803, December.
    10. Alexander Tabares & Yanto Chandra & Claudia Alvarez & Manuela Escobar-Sierra, 2021. "Opportunity-related behaviors in international entrepreneurship research: a multilevel analysis of antecedents, processes, and outcomes," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 321-368, March.
    11. Miguel A. Hernandez, 2019. "Unveiling International New Ventures’ Success: Employee’s Entrepreneurial Behavior," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-32, August.
    12. Appiah, Emmanuel Kusi & Gabrielsson, Peter & Rialp Criado, Alex, 2025. "The role of digitalization in early internationalization Research: A systematic literature review and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    13. Francisco García-Lillo & Enrique Claver-Cortés & Mercedes Úbeda-García & Bartolomé Marco-Lajara, 2024. "Exploring the intellectual structure of research on ‘born globals’ and INVs: A literature review using bibliometric methods," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-29, March.
    14. Buccieri, Dominic & Javalgi, Raj G. & Cavusgil, Erin, 2023. "Role of opportunity creation between reconfiguration and innovation: Insights from emerging market international new ventures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    15. Stav Fainshmidt & Amir Pezeshkan & M. Lance Frazier & Anil Nair & Edward Markowski, 2016. "Dynamic Capabilities and Organizational Performance: A Meta-Analytic Evaluation and Extension," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(8), pages 1348-1380, December.
    16. Crespo, Nuno Fernandes & Crespo, Cátia Fernandes & Silva, Graça Miranda & Nicola, Maura Bedin, 2023. "Innovation in times of crisis: The relevance of digitalization and early internationalization strategies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    17. Joan Freixanet & Ryan Federo, 2022. "When Born Globals Grow Up: A Review and Agenda for Research on the Performance of Maturing Early Internationalizers," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(6), pages 817-857, December.
    18. Khan, Huda, 2020. "Is marketing agility important for emerging market firms in advanced markets?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    19. García-Lillo, Francisco & Seva-Larrosa, Pedro & Sánchez-García, Eduardo, 2023. "What is going on in entrepreneurship research? A bibliometric and SNA analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    20. Blesa, Andreu & Ripollés, María, 2021. "Critical capabilities for widening international new ventures’ geographical scope," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 201-213.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jinten:v:22:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s10843-024-00368-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.