Early-internationalising firms charting their path: the learning - knowledge development and relationship

Firms that rapidly expand internationally soon after their establishment are not a new occurrence. Despite empirical evidence on early-internationalising firms (EIFs) and their learning and knowledge-related characteristics, there is limited understanding of how these firms learn, the type of knowledge they acquire, and the interplay between learning and knowledge throughout the different phases of internationalisation. This thesis aims to examine the learning and knowledge development processes of EIFs and their relationship across the internationalisation phases. Grounded in the organisational learning and the early-internationalisation research perspective, the study develops a conceptual model that incorporates various constructs related to EIFs’ learning and knowledge. Drawing on insights from the broader international entrepreneurship (IE) sub-field, the study formulates the research hypotheses, which are subsequently tested using a sample of 195 Nigerian firms. To enhance the robustness of the findings, a mixed methods approach is adopted, which involves conducting interviews first, prior to using a web-based survey instrument. The results show significant differences in the learning and knowledge processes of EIFs throughout their internationalisation phases. Especially, congenital learning plays a prominent role in knowledge acquisition during the pre-internationalisation phase, while experiential and vicarious learning dominates the initial- and subsequent- internationalisation phases. Also, EIFs focus on acquiring domestic business knowledge initially at the pre-internationalisation phase, shifting towards foreign business knowledge in the later phases. The findings also reveal EIFs’ learning activities to be drivers of knowledge across the internationalisation phases. Moreover, the study’s analysis of the usefulness of learning for firms’ knowledge acquisition reveal factors such as entry modes, industry characteristics, internal and external learning sources, knowledge possessed by the founders and top management, and the firm’s component and architectural knowledge as influencing EIFs’ internationalisation strategy. These factors shed light on EIFs learning and knowledge dynamics, contributing to a better understanding of their internationalisation process across phases.