How Flexibility Shapes Learning: When Entrepreneurial Energy Turns into Global Knowledge

What is it about?

This study examines how a company’s entrepreneurial strategic posture—its willingness to innovate, take risks, and act proactively—leads to greater learning effort in foreign markets, and how this relationship depends on the firm’s internal operational flexibilities. These flexibilities describe how adaptable and open the organization is in its thinking, structure, politics, and relationships. Using data from Chinese international ventures, the study shows that entrepreneurial firms learn more from foreign markets, but this depends on their operational flexibility. Cognitive flexibility (open-minded thinking) and political flexibility (freedom from power struggles) strengthen the positive link between entrepreneurship and international learning. In contrast, structural flexibility (loose roles and cross-functional openness) weakens it, suggesting that some structure is needed for coordinated learning, while relational flexibility shows no significant effect. For managers, the findings suggest that simply being entrepreneurial is not enough. To convert an ambitious, risk-taking strategy into meaningful international learning, firms need open-minded leaders and minimal political resistance. However, too much structural looseness may blur accountability and reduce learning efficiency. Maintaining some organizational discipline while fostering trust and adaptability helps ensure that entrepreneurial ideas translate into actionable knowledge abroad.

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Photo by Adolfo Félix on Unsplash

Photo by Adolfo Félix on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This research is unique in integrating the attention-based view of the firm with the study of international entrepreneurship. It highlights that an entrepreneurial mindset only enhances learning when ventures have the right kinds of flexibility—cognitive and political, but not necessarily structural. This nuanced understanding moves beyond the traditional idea that “more flexibility is always better” and shows that certain types of flexibility can substitute for, rather than complement, entrepreneurship. Its timeliness lies in its focus on Chinese international ventures, which represent a growing force in global markets. As these firms expand rapidly abroad, they face both uncertainty and institutional constraints. This study offers guidance on how they can use internal adaptability—not just ambition—to build knowledge and competitiveness internationally.