Abstract

This paper shows for a sample of 134 large firms in twenty industries that industry character mediates the relationship between degree of initial internationalization achieved by mature, domestically rooted firms and the complexity and centrality of their strategy frames. Specifically, complexity of strategy frames is positively related to degree of initial internationalization in multi-domestic industries, while centrality of strategy frames is both positively related to degree of initial internationalization in global industries and negatively related to degree of initial internationalization in multi-domestic industries. The findings have implications for understanding the type of learning internationalizing firms engage in and the relationship between specific internationalization strategies and the strategy frames they support. Hermann, Nadkarni and Pérez December, 2003 1DRAFT!!! Strategy Frames, Industry Context and Internationalization DRAFT!!! The initial phase of internationalization is an uncertain, complex, and difficult strategic context (Yip, Gómez Biscarri, and Monti, 2000). Newly internationalizing firms have to match strategy to the demands imposed by foreign environments (Eriksson, Johanson, Majkgård, and Sharma, 1997; Roth & Morrison, 1992). A critical contingency is the nature of their industry’s

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