How early opposed to late internationalizers learn: Experience of others and paradigms of interpretation

Although learning plays a pivotal role in the internationalization context of the firm, studies elaborating aspects of learning of early internationalizers (as opposed to late internationalizers) are largely missing. We address this deficit by examining the process of learning in the entry phase of internationalization. Our empirical results show that learning from direct experience is negatively related to early internationalization, whereas learning from others and learning from paradigms of interpretation have a positive impact on early internationalization. Furthermore, our results suggest that early internationalizers compared to late internationalizers continue to prefer cooperative modes of market penetration and show higher entry-mode stability in the same country.