This study aims to examine how alliance management capabilities (AMC) influence export performance (EP) by activating internal capability configurations based on knowledge sharing (KS) and technological capabilities (TC), and how contextual ambidexterity moderates these relationships.
Drawing on theories of dynamic capabilities and knowledge management, this study tests a moderated mediation model using survey data from 262 Portuguese exporting firms. Structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis are used to assess direct, indirect and moderating effects.
The results show that AMC is positively associated with EP both directly and indirectly through KS and TC. TC emerges as the most proximal predictor of EP, while KS is positively associated with TC, supporting a sequential mechanism of capability building. The findings further reveal that contextual ambidexterity moderates the AMC–EP relationship, with differences in the strength of capability pathways across ambidexterity levels, highlighting the contingent nature of alliance value creation.
This study relies on cross-sectional, self-reported data from a single country. Future research could adopt longitudinal and multi-informant designs, alternative operationalizations of ambidexterity and objective indicators of EP.
The findings suggest that managers should complement alliance investments with internal knowledge-sharing routines and TC development, particularly in ambidextrous organizational contexts.
This study advances alliance and international business research by demonstrating how AMC operates through internal capability configurations rather than isolated mechanisms. By integrating KS, TC and contextual ambidexterity into a single framework, this paper helps explain some of the mixed evidence reported in prior studies on AMC–EP relationships and offers a more nuanced explanation of how firms translate alliance capabilities into export success.
