The Origins of Early Internationalization

Early internationalization represents today a broad and discussed phenomenon. The first chapter of this book illustrates the origins and theoretical background of the literature on early internationalizing firms (EIFs). Specifically, this chapter first illustrates seminal articles published on born globals and international new ventures, entering the details of the initial evidence collected by the most quoted articles published between the late 1980s and the early 2000s. Then, the second section of this chapter explores the link with the Uppsala Stage internationalization models. The third section describes the positioning and boundaries of early internationalization while also considering the overlaps and the boundaries with the broader research field of international entrepreneurship. The last section explains the perspective and the aim of the book.