Recent studies on ‘Africa Rising’ and ‘Africa-to-Africa Internationalization’ have propelled conversations on how African Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) can continue to internationalize within African countries. From the tenets of the institutional theory and the dynamic capabilities perspectives, this study proposes and tests a framework of how and when dysfunctional competition drives SMEs' outward foreign direct investments within African countries. Analysis of a survey data from 196 Ghanaian SMEs operating across the African continent indicates that cross-border open innovation mediates the relationship between dysfunctional competition and SMEs' intra- Africa OFDI activities. Further analysis revealed that SMEs' strategic agility plays a double-edged sword moderating role in enhancing the effects of dysfunctional competitions and cross-border open innovation on intra-Africa OFDI. These findings have significant implications for the international business and finance literature as well as the management and growth of African SMEs.

最近关于“非洲崛起”和“非洲对非洲国际化”的研究推动了关于非洲中小企业（SME）如何在非洲国家内继续国际化的讨论。本研究从制度理论和动态能力的角度出发，提出并测试了一个关于功能失调的竞争如何以及何时推动非洲国家中小企业对外直接投资的框架。对非洲大陆 196 家加纳中小企业的调查数据分析表明，跨境开放创新调节了功能失调的竞争与中小企业在非洲境内的对外直接投资活动之间的关系。进一步分析表明，中小企业的战略敏捷性在增强功能失调竞争和跨境开放创新对非洲内部对外直接投资的影响方面发挥着双刃剑的调节作用。这些发现对国际商业和金融文献以及非洲中小企业的管理和发展具有重大影响。