Internationalisation, knowledge intensity, adaptive culture and absorptive capacity: a strategic entrepreneurship enabling logic for export firms

Abstract

Purpose

This study proposes a logic to enable strategic entrepreneurship for export firms through absorptive capacity and adaptive culture to capitalise on the knowledge intensity from internationalisation.

Design/methodology/approach

The study sample comprises 422 key role employees at 98 export firms in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The data are analysed using a structural equation model.

Findings

The results reveal that the firm's knowledge intensity may serve as a reservoir, absorbing and reconciling knowledge acquired from internationalisation and redistributing it to strategic entrepreneurship. A firm's absorptive capacity and adaptive culture can act as buffers, allowing internationalisation knowledge to permeate and transfer to administrative bodies and fostering strategic entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

This study proposes an integrated model of the relationship between the degree of internationalisation and strategic entrepreneurship through novel lenses of knowledge-based perspective with the organisational capabilities.

Citation

Luu, D.T. (2023), "Internationalisation, knowledge intensity, adaptive culture and absorptive capacity: a strategic entrepreneurship enabling logic for export firms", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 390-418. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-06-2022-0288