Role of opportunity creation between reconfiguration and innovation: Insights from emerging market international new ventures

There exists a need to further examine capabilities that enable emerging market international new ventures (INVs) to create innovation offerings that drive performance. Although conceptual studies highlight the importance of reconfiguration capability towards innovation and performance, such relationships in the emerging market INV context require further empirical analysis. Moreover, there is a conflict in the literature as to whether reconfiguration capability supports innovation and performance directly or indirectly. As the pursuit of opportunities beyond domestic borders is central to INV research, opportunity creation is a key inquiry to advance our understanding of how reconfiguration capability facilitates innovation and performance in the emerging market INV context. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory and creation theory, we empirically examine the interplay between reconfiguration capability, opportunity creation, innovation, and international performance. In addition, we study opportunity creation as a mediator between reconfiguration capability to-wards innovation and performance, respectively. The findings reveal reconfiguration capability does not directly support innovation but does shape innovation through opportunity creation. Reconfiguration capability directly supports performance objectives of emerging market INVs, and indirectly through opportunity creation.