On 'Considering' Internationalization: How Do Perceived Resource-Based Constraints Matter?

They are circulated for discussion purposes only. Their contents should be considered preliminary and are not to be quoted without the authors' permission. Summary. Impelled by globalization, there is now intense policy focus on the internationalization of national firms. Yet firms' initiation into international activities has not received sufficiently acute attention. Active 'consideration' that precedes the decision on internationalization has largely been ignored in the literature. We ascertain the ways in which resource and capability constraints determine whether firms consider internationalization. Primary data from over one thousand firms suggest that resource and capability constraints, and their combinations, are more crucial in the consideration stage of internationalization. Interview evidence shed light on the interpretation of econometric estimates and highlight a policy blind-spot.