Piecing together a puzzle—A review and research agenda on internationalization and the promise of exaptation

The development of wings on dinosaurs is an example of a discontinuous developmental shift, an exaptation. This complements adaptive behaviour, and both are Darwinian concepts used in organizational behaviour theories. Organizational behaviour also forms the basis of internationalization theories, and exaptation has been suggested to provide a theoretical tool for understanding disruptive development in internationalization. Together with adaptation, the concept illustrates a joint framework for understanding both disruptive and non-disruptive development in internationalization. However, a systematic assessment of the theory’s potential is missing. This manuscript builds on the TCCM review protocol, illustrating the commonalities between research agendas in the internationalization process, and provides a starting point for subsequent theory development utilizing exaptation in predicting internationalization. Thus, the review contributes to the field of international business by offering a conceptual framework to combine internationalization theories by including non-linear, discontinuous and novel events more tightly to the existing foundations of internationalization.