Managerial cognitive abilities, international opportunities and international performance.

Statement of the research question or problem and justification Entrepreneurial behavior oriented towards the discovery, creation, evaluation, and exploitation of international opportunities has become a central concept in the field of "international entrepreneurship" (Mainela, Puhakka, & Servais, 2014). . For years, the literature on "international entrepreneurship" focused mainly on the characteristics of rapidly internationalizing companies (growth and international expansion of companies) and on the factors that allowed this accelerated behavior (Coviello, 2015; Reuber, Knight, Liesch , & Zhou, 2018). However, in recent years, “international entrepreneurship” research has moved towards studying a variety of entrepreneurial behaviors (Chandra, Styles, & Wilkinson, 2012; Dimitratos, Johnson, Plakoyiannaki, & Young, 2016; Mainela et al ., 2014; Muzychenko & Liesch, 2015) and the way in which the different actors (organizations, groups or individuals) discover, create, evaluate and exploit opportunities to create and offer goods or services in international markets (Oviatt & McDougall, 2005). Despite the growing interest in studies of this entrepreneurial behavior oriented to the search for international opportunities, scholars of "international entrepreneurship" have called for a better understanding of how international opportunities are recognized, evaluated and exploited from an individual analysis. (Cavusgil & Knight, 2015; Coviello, 2015; Jones & Casulli, 2014). Different studies affirm that companies understand the environment and identify opportunities in the market only through the eyes of their managers (Helfat & Peteraf, 2015; Weick, 1979, 1995; Zahra, Korri, & Yu, 2005), and that they are they are the ones who reconfigure the resources and capacities of the company to be able to exploit these opportunities and thus respond to the demands of a market that is constantly changing (Teece, 2012; Zahra, Sapienza, & Davidsson, 2006). In this way, the scientific literature indicates that the role of managers is essential for adaptation and organizational change (Adner & Helfat, 2003; Helfat & Peteraf, 2015), and that the dynamic capabilities of the company depend largely on the cognitive abilities of their managers and executives (Helfat & Peteraf, 2015). A recent approach called managerial cognitive skills posits that managers who possess high-level cognitive skills can adapt and change more successfully (Helfat & Martin, 2015), thereby recognizing and exploiting international opportunities that lead to international growth and development. of their companies (Andersson & Evers, 2015; Mainela et al., 2014). Likewise, the findings in the academic literature confirm that managerial cognitive abilities help explain why some managers and executives have more efficient skills and abilities than others when it comes to anticipating, interpreting, and responding to market demands (Adner & Helfat, 2003; Helfat & Peteraf, 2015; Oyson & Whittaker, 2015; Zahra et al., 2005). In "international entrepreneurship", different academics have pointed out the need for in-depth studies that explain what are the cognitive capacities that the manager deploys in the process of recognizing and exploiting international opportunities (Eriksson, Nummela, & Saarenketo, 2014; Evers, 2011; Weerawardena, Mort, & Liesch, 2019; Zahra et al., 2005), and how they make their companies achieve significant international performance in conditions of high competitiveness and great change (Coviello, 2015; Tabares, Chandra, Alvarez, & Escobar-Sierra, 2019). In particular, different authors indicate that it is necessary to have empirical evidence of these managerial cognitive abilities, displayed by managers, in the context of emerging economies, since these are becoming the new force that drives the world economy (Luo & Tung, 2007; Xu & Meyer, 2012). Despite the relevance and importance of these managerial cognitive abilities, in emerging economies little is known about managerial cognitive factors and abilities (Helfat & Peteraf, 2015), and how they influence the process of discovery, creation, evaluation, and exploitation of international opportunities. In addition to the above, little is known about how managerial cognitive abilities are reconfigured to achieve international performance under constantly evolving and changing contexts. In that sense, this study aims to analyze and understand what are the cognitive capacities necessary for managers to discover, create, evaluate, and exploit international opportunities and how these capacities are reconfigured to achieve international performance in the context of an emerging economy. In this sense, the research question that guides the research is: What are the managerial cognitive capacities that lead managers to discover, create, evaluate, and exploit international opportunities and how are these capacities reconfigured to achieve international performance?

General objective- Analyze the relationship between managerial cognitive abilities, the process of recognizing and exploiting international opportunities, and international performance. Specific objectives- Explore the development and evolution of the concept of managerial cognitive abilities in the field of "international entrepreneurship" .- Understand the relationship between managerial cognitive abilities, the process of recognition and exploitation of international opportunities, and international performance.- Verify if international performance achievements are the result of the interaction between managerial cognitive abilities when taking advantage of international opportunities.

Article accepted by the ISI WOS -Scopus journal (approx Feb 2021). Research phases Phase 1. Literature review. Objective: Construction and strengthening of the conceptual framework and theoretical basis. Result: Compile, classify and identify frontier discussions, findings, gaps and gaps in research on the use and exploitation of international opportunities in relation to the managerial cognitive skills approach. Phase 2. Qualitative study Objective: Develop qualitative fieldwork. Result : Build the respective cases of SMEs in Colombia, as well as the preliminary findings and conclusions. Results:-1 ISI WOS or Scopus article, accepted (Feb 2021)-1 undergraduate degree work (research article)-1 Presentation at event national or international