Though strategic renewal has increasingly received interest from the strategy field the capabilities needed by firms to achieve such renewal are less understood. We investigate how firms renew their capabilities through internationalization. We anticipate that on the one hand, scope of internationalization is positively associated with a firm’s ability to create alternatives for renewal. On the other hand, forms of internationalization, in terms of the time, location, and venture mode decisions, play a role in capability renewal development. By clarifying why and how internationalization and internationalization processes benefit the development of a firm’s renewal capabilities, the study adds to the literature on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance, extending it beyond a short or medium term focus.