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Drawing on the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities and exploration literatures, the purpose of this paper is to simultaneously investigate the impact of outside-in (OI) and inside-out (IO) strategic approaches on international strategic performance.

A survey-based quantitative study was used. The final sample consisted of 202 internationally active SBUs of Israeli firms. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling.

OI approach to strategy enhances international performance more than IO does. OI is antecedent of exploratory marketing capabilities (MCs), while IO is antecedent of exploratory technological capabilities (TCs). The direct positive effect of exploratory MCs on performance is twice as strong as exploratory TCs are. Additionally, exploratory MCs positively impact performance through product adaptation.

To enhance international performance, managers should devote attention to an OI approach by incorporating a market orientation with responsive flexibility. Managers should be aware that exploratory MCs are more important in an international context than exploratory TCs are. Stakeholders such as venture capitalists can use the OI–IO model to predict which international venture is more promising.

This paper contributes to the international marketing field by shedding light on the OI–IO debate, its transformation into exploratory capabilities and how it relates to the standardization–adaptation debate. New and broad OI–IO’s conceptualizations are developed and new viewpoints for understanding how international marketing should work and what motivates firms to adapt are offered. Overall, an OI–IO typology helps to bring order to an otherwise confusing conceptual landscape.

The purpose of this paper is to critically review and synthesize the articles on determinants of international new venture (INV) performance to identify the research gaps in this area and develop a future research agenda.

Adopting a semi-systematic review approach with a fucus on using a vote-counting technique, this paper reviews 99 journal articles published between 1994 and 2019 to assess the determinants of INV performance.

The results indicate that the majority of the INV performance articles employ a clearly specified theoretical foundation, focus on INVs in developed economies and non-service sectors, identify numerous firm-level determinants of INV performance and use advanced statistical methods (e.g. structural equation modeling and panel data models). However, the research of INV performance is still limited by a lack of a broader integration of theories at different levels, inconsistent theoretical predictions and empirical results, knowledge gaps, and estimation biases (e.g. endogeneity).

INV performance has received increasing attention over recent decades, but this area is still characterized by fragmentation and inconsistency. This paper provides a comprehensive and nuanced review that synthesizes and clarifies our current knowledge on the determinants of INV performance, provides further discussion with deeper insights from both theoretical and methodological aspects, and points out some directions for future research.

This study aims to reveal the effect of the two international intrapreneurship activities of employee strategic renewal behaviour and new business venture behaviour on small and medium enterprises (SMEs)’s export performance with the direct and indirect effects of transformational leadership, international entrepreneurial orientation and internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices.

The study sample consists of 461 employees at 168 Vietnamese import and export SMEs in the Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam. The data is analysed by structural equation modelling.

The paper reveals that the two international intrapreneurship activities of employee strategic renewal behaviour and new business venture behaviour significantly contribute to SMEs’ export performance. Transformational leadership, internal CSR practice and international entrepreneurial orientation positively and significantly direct influence the two international intrapreneurship activities. The effects of transformational leadership on international intrapreneurial behaviours are partially mediated by firm internal CSR practices and international entrepreneurial orientation.

Firms would have to form the architecture and mechanisms to apply internal CSR and international entrepreneurship orientation for supporting the dedication of international intrapreneurship with a transformational leadership base.

The study contributes to the body of knowledge on international business by integrating resource-based view theory and dynamic capabilities theory in a way that benefits entrepreneurship and SMEs’ export performance.

Extant research has studied how entrepreneurial cognition influences firm international performance but what mechanisms translates entrepreneurial cognition into international performance remains a puzzle in the field. In this paper, the authors utilize effectuation theory to theorize this association.

Using a survey of 164 internationalizing small firms from New Zealand, the authors examined a model of entrepreneurial cognition, action and gaining new knowledge as a framework to explain how effectual control, partnership for new opportunity creation and gaining new knowledge influence small firms' performance.

The authors found that partnership for new opportunity creation, and gaining new knowledge are two important mediation mechanisms in the focal association between effectual control and international performance.

This study is a cross-sectional design. Considering the importance of time in cognition and action, future research should utilize longitudinal research design.

The authors’ findings provide implications for both small firms' managers and policymakers. These findings identify the critical importance of continuous knowledge development in internationalization process. Policymakers can help small firms gain more relevant and timely information about international markets and incorporate them in their decision-making to further develop international opportunities.

The authors contribute to international entrepreneurship research by delineating and verifying the important associations between entrepreneurial cognition, action and gaining new knowledge and their outcomes for firm's international performance. The authors also contribute to effectuation theory by elaborating on effectual control and how this logic leads to the development of new knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the chosen specific internationalization pathway on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance.

This paper analyses the internationalization pathway among small- and medium-sized enterprises which internationalize through exporting and are more limited in terms of the resources they can leverage across markets.

Empirical evidence obtained from a sample of wineries in La Rioja shows that the internationalization – export performance relationship is characterized by a U-shaped curve for firms with a gradual internationalization pathway, and an S-shaped curve for firms with an accelerated internationalization pathway.

This empirical study on the impact of export intensity on performance has acknowledged the importance of costs caused by the liability of foreignness and the transaction and coordination costs involved in each market expansion process. However, it has not examined the effect of differences in absorptive and coordination capabilities at the firm level.

The findings about the role of the specific internationalization pathway in driving export intensity and performance appear to be relevant from a public-policy perspective. Local policies aimed at promoting exports have been widely based on the argument that firms can improve their performance through increasing their level of international sales. However, empirical evidence shows that these efforts may not work as well as was thought, unless combined with the right market expansion pathway and the optimal level of exports associated with this international market expansion.

Most studies on the effect of international market expansion on firm performance have not considered the influence of the specific market expansion pathway chosen. In taking this factor into account, this paper contributes to the existing body of work by developing an integrative theoretical framework that explores how the pathway of internationalization impacts on firms’ performance.

Most studies on the effect of international market expansion on firm performance have not considered the influence of the specific market expansion process chosen. In taking this factor into account, this paper contributes to the existing body of work by developing an integrative theoretical framework that explores how the process of international market expansion impacts on firms’ performance.

This paper aims to investigate the antecedents and outcomes of international opportunity identification (IOI) in export-manufacturing firms. The fundamental question addressed in this research is: How does dynamic managerial capability (DMC) of entrepreneurs contribute to IOI and success of the firms?

The research model was tested through structural equation modeling among the readymade garment manufacturing firms in the least developed country, Bangladesh. A survey was conducted with a random sampling approach and responses were collected from 390 firms.

The salient findings are: DMC has direct and indirect impacts through IOI on financial and non-financial performance; IOI mediates the relationship between managerial social capital and non-financial performance and between managerial cognition and non-financial performance; IOI has a negative relationship with the financial performance of the firms; and scope of accelerated internationalization positively moderates the relationship between IOI and financial performance of firms.

This paper notably shows that DMC of export-manufacturing entrepreneurs leads to the identification of the right kind of opportunities, which, in turn, generate better performance. It is advantageous for this type of firm to operate a business in multiple countries.

The paper's objective is to demonstrate that marketing capabilities have positive effects on firms' international performance. These effects may be both direct and indirect. Marketing capabilities foster international commitment and influence the choice of international entry mode. Through these, marketing capabilities exercise an indirect influence on international performance.

First, based on arguments from the dynamic capabilities perspective, the dynamic theory of strategy and the transaction‐cost theory, the effects of marketing capabilities on international performance are discussed. A survey was carried out on Spanish and Belgian international firms to test the model. SEM was used to analyse the relationships established in the hypotheses.

The results show coincidences between the samples in relation to the positive influences of companies' marketing capabilities on economic international performance, international commitment and international entry modes. Moreover, there is also a positive and significant influence of high direct investment entry modes on international economic performance. However, there are differences in other relationships.

The results inform on the kind of entry modes that can be selected, based on firm marketing capabilities, and which of them provide better international results.

This paper confirms that marketing capabilities are at the core of the company's international decisions. Specifically, it demonstrates that marketing capabilities influence both the international commitment of the company and the selection of the appropriate international mode of entry.

This study aims to provide insights into the development of firm strategies of international expansion by examining the direct relationship between internationalization speed and firm performance and by exploring the interactive role played by networking capability.

This is an empirical study based on survey data collected from 343 small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Australia and New Zealand. Regression modelling analysis was performed.

This study found an inverted U-shape relationship between the speed at which a firm expands internationally and its performance. Expanding too fast or too slow leads to lower performance, and this performance implication is because of an interactive effect of the firm's networking capability.

This study contributes to the literature by generating insights into how firm strategies of international expansion lead to improvement of firm performance, thereby giving guidance and providing suggestions to managers regarding how quickly to internationalize.

This study contributes to the literature by generating insights into how firm strategies of international expansion lead to improvement of firm performance and by providing suggestions to managers regarding decision-making in developing strategies for international expansion speed.

This is an original study based on empirical data collected from a management survey.

The role played by the marketing function (MF) has been subjected to considerable academic and public media attention. Recent research reflects an ongoing debate on MF's decreasing influence attributed by some to its poor performance. However, studies have analyzed the general marketing (GM) function and domestic operations and remained silent on international marketing's (IM) influence and its impact on firms’ international operations and performance as another aspect of marketing's influence. This lacuna is unfortunate, given that internationalization is crucial to many firms in today's globalizing world. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interactions between IM and GM functions as determinants of IM's influence.

The study extends previous models to the international context, utilizes an inclusive set of strategic international orientations as consequences and mediators of IM's influence, and assesses possible synergy between orientations.

IM functions are influential, valuable, and play an important role. IM-GM coordination enhances IMs’ influence while IM-GM conflicts and IM's influence are unrelated. IMs’ influence enhances performance directly and indirectly through orientations. Importantly, the combined orientations had a negative synergistic effect on performance.

International marketers and top management should consider tactics to increase IMs’ influence and thus benefit their firms.

The study is the first to recognize and empirically focus on the relationships between IM and GM as distinct functions. The study accounts for a combined impact of international orientations on international performance.

The paper analyses the influence of the decision-makers' overconfidence on the intuitive practices' adoption, as well as on the international performance during international strategic decision-making processes (SDMPs) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Moreover, the study investigates the possible mediating effect of intuition on the relationship between overconfidence and international performance.

A semi-structured questionnaire based on a sample of 160 SMEs and a regression analysis have been employed.

Results show a negative relationship between intuition and international performance and a positive one between overconfidence and international performance. Furthermore, a negative relation between overconfidence and intuition has been identified. Findings also highlight the mediating role of intuition in the relationship between overconfidence and international performance.

The paper provides valuable implications related to the analysis of overconfidence as a critical decision-maker's character and intuition as a feature of the decision-making methodology. Moreover, the study offers indications for SMEs facing complex strategic decisions.

The paper adopts an original perspective by combining the SDMP analysis with that of international strategy within the SMEs context. Additionally, the study enriches the existing literature by (1) investigating overconfidence in the decision-making; (2) enhancing the examination of overconfidence and intuitive practices in the international SDMP; (3) deepening the research field focused on the identification of the intuitive processes' predictors that is still in its infancy.