Pre-founding, Creation, and Early Internationalization

This chapter explores three core topics of the literature on early internationalization: the pre-founding phase, the creation of early internationalizing firms, and the achievement of early internationalization. Extant evidence has demonstrated the various influential factors at the individual, firm, and environmental levels, which change according to the phase considered. However, the results regarding the relationships between some categories of factors and early internationalization are mixed or unclear. Conclusions propose an integrative framework for future research developments.