Pre-start-up internationalization mindsets trigger action

We propose that internationalization mindsets – the configuration of ability and willingness to internationalize – of entrepreneurs in the pre-start-up phase predict later internationalization behavior. Moreover, we suggest that internationalization mindsets may exist before a company is established and that different configurations of mindsets lead to different internationalization behaviors. Using a multiple correspondence analysis with data from 213 early stage entrepreneurs, this study extends our understanding of individual-level antecedents of internationalization by developing a taxonomy of entrepreneurial internationalization mindsets. Our results show that pre-start-up internationalization mindsets are predictive of internationalization behavior two years later. These findings provide a starting point for theorizing on pre-venture antecedents of internationalization behavior, for exploring different configurations of individual-level antecedents, and for comparing how these may evolve into internationalization behavior.