The relationship between timing of entry into a foreign market, entry mode decision and market selection

Abstract

Companies that decide to internationalize have to respond to some basic questions, such as where and how to carry out their strategy. Classic literature regarding the internationalization process has focused on entry mode and market selection decisions. However, the recent international entrepreneurship perspective considers a new dimension: timing of entry. This new approach has opened up a new line of research, arguing that time is a dimension that must be explicitly considered in order to develop a proper understanding of the internationalization process of firms. However, very few papers have looked at all these questions from this perspective in an integrative manner. This article puts forward a proposal about the relationship that exists between the timing of entry into foreign markets, the entry mode decision, and market/country selection. Starting with a review of the variables that have traditionally been used to explain timing of entry and then looking at the different forms of internationalization, the aim of this article is to propose a link between these important questions in order to increase our understanding of a company’s internationalization process.