Intrafirm causal ambiguity in an international context

► Presence of intrafirm linkage ambiguity in international context was verified by contrasting perceptual with empirical observations. ► A significant misperception among managers was demonstrated about the critical competences that drive the firm's performance. ► Indications of both linkage and characteristics ambiguity were found. ► Firm-specific competences, with inherent characteristics to be complex and tacit, were found to be the most significant source of causal ambiguity. This paper examined the incidence of intrafirm causal ambiguity in the management's perception concerning the critical drivers of their firms’ performance. Building on insights from the resource-based view we developed and tested hypotheses that examine (1) linkage ambiguity as a discrepancy between perceived and measured resource–performance linkages, (2) characteristic ambiguity for resources and capabilities with a high degree of complexity and tacitness, and (3) the negative association between linkage ambiguity and performance. The observations based on the explicit perceptions of 356 surveyed managers were contrasted with the empirical findings of the resource/performance relationship derived by structural equation modelling from the same data sample. The findings validate the presence of linkage ambiguity particularly in the case of resources and capabilities with higher degree of characteristic ambiguity. The findings also provide empirical evidence in support of the advocacy for a negative relationship between intrafirm causal ambiguity and performance. The paper discusses the potential reasons for the disparities between empirical findings and management's perceptions of the key determinants of export success and makes recommendations for future research.