Internationalization revisited: the big step hypothesis
提出国际化是一个非连续过程，企业首次海外扩张需先建基础设施，后续投资可借助该设施，因此首次投资耗时较长，后续投资耗时较短且稳定。对研究企业国际化进程的学者有参考价值。
Abstract We refine internationalization theory by hypothesizing that international expansion is a discontinuous process characterized by an initial ‘big step.’ Firms have to build an infrastructure (e.g., architecture, management systems, and mind‐set) to support international operations the first time they venture abroad, and subsequent international operations are able to leverage this infrastructure. Thus, we hypothesize that the internationalization process is characterized by: (1) firms taking a long period to make their first international investment; and (2) firms taking shorter but constant periods for subsequent investments. We examine the international expansion activities of 176 Danish firms and find support for these arguments.