Journal of International Business Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-026-00857-8
What Makes an Internationalizing Firm Entrepreneurial?
Daniel R. Clark, Robert J. Pidduck, Nicole E. Coviello
Zahra et al. (2024) argue that prior research has insufficient understanding of the entrepreneurial nature of internationalization. To address this, they integrate theories from management and international business to develop a firm-level typology that incorporates (1) the degree of radicalness of the firm’s entrepreneurial behavior and (2) the firm’s level of foreign market commitment. We advance these efforts by proposing that, to understand what makes an internationalizing firm entrepreneurial, researchers will also benefit from direct insights from entrepreneurship research. We retain Zahra et al.’s (2024) behavioral focus in our arguments but shift attention to the individuals that guide the firm’s pursuit of international opportunity, regardless of whether the firm is a new venture or an MNE. We also argue that, when compared to typologies, a process-based perspective is better suited to both differentiating firms and to understanding and explaining the dynamic nature of entrepreneurial internationalization behavior and outcomes.
Industrial Marketing Management
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.10.004
Entrepreneurial Implications of Export Market Orientation: Unveiling Proactive and Responsive Market Orientation’s Differential Role in Exporting Firms
Anisur R. Faroque, Arafat Rahman, Emmanuel Kusi Appiah, Jashim Uddin Ahmed
This study delves into the critical role of export market orientation (EMO) in business-to-business (B2B) industrial marketing, with a particular focus on B2B exporting firms. While previous research emphasizes the positive impact of EMO on firm performance, this research examines its entrepreneurial implications, highlighting the overlooked dimensions of opportunity recognition and exploitation in an international business context. By differentiating between proactive and responsive EMOs, this study elucidates how each dimension uniquely contributes to opportunity recognition and exploitation. Although moderating effects of environmental dynamism were hypothesized, no significant moderation was found. Importantly, only opportunity exploitation translates into international performance, whereas opportunity recognition does not- thereby refining current understandings of EMO’s role in international entrepreneurship.