Cross-border platforms’ coupling of artificial intelligence adoption and strategic agility for upgraded ESMEs’ global value chains: international marketing capability perspectives

Purpose Despite a broad consensus on firm internationalization through digital platforms, it still appears to be a black box mechanism through which emerging market small and medium-sized enterprises (ESMEs) upgrade their global value chain (GVC) position. This study aims to investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and strategic agility coupling shape ESMEs' GVC positioning through the lens of international marketing capabilities (IMCs), differentiating international advantage into two dimensions: product innovation and brand upgrading. Furthermore, it investigates how the depth and breadth of platform embeddedness moderate this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach was employed to analyse data from 322 small and medium-sized enterprises in China utilizing cross-border platforms. The research model was tested using structural equation modelling, with data analysis conducted through SPSS 27, AMOS 24 and STATA to evaluate both the measurement and structural models. Findings The study demonstrates that the coupling of AI adoption and strategic agility positively influences IMCs, product innovation and brand upgrading, while IMCs serve as a mediating mechanism. Additionally, platform embedding characteristics exhibit a nonlinear, inverted U-shaped moderating effect: a medium level of embedding depth maximizes the coupling’s positive impact on product innovation, whereas a moderate level of embedding breadth optimizes its positive effect on brand upgrading. Originality/value This study proposes a holistic framework that explores how platform affordances facilitate the identification and forecasting of international market information and resource redeployment within platform ecosystems, driving product and brand value creation. It advances the dynamic capabilities hierarchy in international business research by integrating digital platforms and the ESMEs perspective, illustrating how higher-order strategic agility shapes embedded ESMEs' lower-order IMCs, enhancing international competitive advantage. Additionally, it examines AI-enabled marketing capabilities through a broader lens of international advantage.