Psychometric evaluation of dynamic managerial capability scale in the context of early internationalizing firms from an emerging economy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to perform a psychometric evaluation of dynamic managerial capability (DMC) scale in the context of early internationalizing firms from an emerging economy. Drawing on DMC theory, this study validates the measurement scales to operationalize DMC of entrepreneurs as managerial human capital (MHC), managerial social capital (MSC) and managerial cognition (MC). Design/methodology/approach Sample firms were drawn from the apparel industry in Bangladesh, an emerging economy. Data were collected from entrepreneurs in two waves through a questionnaire-based survey. In total, 185 firms responded during the first wave and 223 firms responded during the second wave. The first wave of data was used to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to uncover the underlying dimensions of DMC and the data from the second wave were used to test the validity of the DMC scale through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Findings EFA suggested a three-dimension scale which was supported by CFA. The findings of the study demonstrate that DMC is a valid and reliable scale to capture the individual-level capability of entrepreneurs. Originality/value DMC is rooted in three underlying attributes as MHC, MSC and MC. It is advisable to the practitioner and researcher to operationalize DMC as a second-order construct in future studies.