Market and Internationalization Knowledge in the Entrepreneurial Internationalization Process

Abstract

This article aims to distinguish between the different types of knowledge and show how they interact to shape the internationalization process of the firm. We disaggregate experiential knowledge into market knowledge and internationalization knowledge, and show how each of them is related to the development of international opportunities. Moreover, we suggest that market and internationalization knowledge combine to form the international knowledge stockpile of the firm, which will moderate the relationship between the development of international opportunities and the internationalization process of the firm beyond a threshold. We assess the internationalization process of the firm using a dynamic approach that considers not only foreign market entry but also sequential moves that happen after entry. By arguing that the accumulation of knowledge only shapes the internationalization process of the firm beyond a threshold, we refine the current assumption that the accumulation of knowledge is incremental and gradually shapes the internationalization process of the firm.