The role of slack resources and managerial capabilities in early and late internationalization: a configurational approach

ABSTRACT Internationalization requires a distinct set of managerial capabilities and company resources. Despite a call for examining the impact of cognitive capabilities on international entrepreneurship, only a few studies have attempted to do so. Since international entrepreneurship starts with opportunity recognition, attention should be paid to this first step in the internationalization process. However, the ability to recognize international entrepreneurial opportunity is not enough by itself, but rather it needs to be supported by other cognitive factors. COVID-19 has put specific pressure on entrepreneurs highlighting their ability to actively respond to changes and persist under uncertainty. This research aims to examine the difference in drivers of early and late internationalization and their impact on international performance by analyzing 50 Finnish small- and medium-sized enterprises via fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The results suggest two distinct configurations that are connected to early internationalization and one configuration that is connected to late internationalization.