Abstract
International knowledge transfer (IKT) plays a pivotal role in business and economic development, with international entrepreneurship (IE) being a key facilitator of this process. IE, characterised by innovative, proactive, and risk-taking behaviors that transcend national borders, aims to generate organisational value. A burgeoning research stream examines how IKT reinforces the IE process, employing various conceptual frameworks, theoretical lenses, and methodological approaches. However, this literature remains fragmented and has not been systematically reviewed. By identifying and analysing existing articles that investigate the nexus of IKT and IE, we clarify the conceptualisation of IKT and IE, identifying three broad research themes and evaluating the main theories and methodologies used. We identify three primary types of IE—returnee, transnational, and international corporate entrepreneurship—where international knowledge is transferred by individual or organisational knowledge agents. These transfers involve one-way knowledge transfer, two-way knowledge transfer, and interactive knowledge co-creation, producing outcomes at individual, organisational, and regional levels. Existing literature predominantly utilises six theoretical perspectives: social capital theory, human capital theory, social network theory, institutional theory, the resource-based view and its extensions (knowledge-based and dynamic capabilities views), and learning theory. Empirical studies employ diverse methods, including case studies, interviews, surveys, and observations. Our analysis results in an analytical framework for IKT via IE, suggesting future research directions along the dimensions of the 5Cs: complementarity of knowledge, (re-)contextualisation by knowledge agents, connectivity of knowledge, community capitalism, and cross-disciplinary research. This study synthesises the fragmented IKT literature in IE and provides directions for future research.