Revisiting entrepreneurial capabilities and export market orientation: a multi-scale investigation in an emerging economy

Purpose: The study aims to bridge entrepreneurial capability, export market orientation and the international performance of international new ventures (INVs). Thus, multi-scale entrepreneurial capabilities have been adopted to provide more profound insights into the early literature on internationalisation. Since little is known about the antecedents of export market orientation, the performance outcome of this is ambiguous. This study aims to enhance knowledge in this pressing research area. Design and Methodology: The sample of this study consists of data (354 firms) from INVs operating in the apparel industry of an emerging economy, namely, Bangladesh. Structural equation modelling has been used to investigate the hypothesised relationships. Findings: For the Deshpande and Farley (1999) scale, the effect of general entrepreneurial capability on intelligence dissemination and responsiveness is positively significant. Similarly, the effects of international entrepreneurial capability on customer orientation, intelligence generation, dissemination, and responsiveness are positively significant. However, general entrepreneurial capability has non-significant effects on customer orientation and intelligence generation. The results also showed that export market orientation positively mediates the relationship between international entrepreneurial capability and firm performance. For Morris and Paul (1987) scale, our hypothesised relationships between capabilities and market orientation are positively significant, and, therefore, support the mediating relationships for both general entrepreneurial capability and international entrepreneurial capability. Originality/value: Merely having capabilities without acknowledging the firm’s strategic orientations is not sufficient to secure superior performance. We urge entrepreneurs to capitalise on their entrepreneurial capabilities to leverage organisation-wide export market-oriented behaviour to achieve superior international performance in emerging economies.