This review synthesizes practical implications found in empirical articles on the relationship between firms' innovativeness and export performance. The narrative review covers broad range of subjects such as the impact of various innovation types on export outcomes, firm capabilities and strategic orientations mediating export success, contextual moderators, and inferences for businesses. A systematic selection of empirical research spanning industries, regions, and methodologies was analysed to integrate evidence on innovation-export dynamics. Findings reveal that combined product, process, and organizational innovations consistently enhance export performance. Besides, firm-level capabilities such as absorptive capacity and managerial skills mediate those effects. Strategic orientations like export market focus and innovation integration critically drive export competitiveness as well. Moreover, contextual factors including country development, institutional environments, and industry characteristics significantly moderate innovation-export relationships. On the other hand, inconsistencies in conceptualization and limited longitudinal data constrain unified frameworks despite robust evidence. The synthesis underscores the need for integrated, context-sensitive strategies that align innovation capabilities with export objectives. These insights inform managerial decision-making by emphasizing tailored innovation portfolios and strategic orientations to optimize export performance, while highlighting gaps for future research on dynamic capabilities and multi-level contextual influences.