Learning and knowledge in early internationalization research: Past accomplishments and future directions Dirk De Clercq a, ⁎, Harry J.Sapienza b, 1 , R.Isil Yavuz c, 2 , Lianxi Zhou a, 3 a Faculty of Business, Brock University, St.Catharines, ON L2S3A2 b 3–365 Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 c Department of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Özyeğin University, Istanbul 34662, Turkey a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Available online 20 October 2011 Field Editor: N.Coviello This article provides an evaluative overview of international entrepreneurship literature, in which the issues of learning and knowledge feature as central components underlying the causes, pro- cesses, and outcomes of early internationalization. We rely on Huber's (1991) categorization of five knowledge acquisition types – experiential learning, vicarious learning, searching, grafting, and congenital learning – to organize our review and to guide our examination of the literature. We discuss convergent findings in terms of conceptual and empirical issues and set forth areas for future research. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Early internationalization Learning Knowledge Huber 1. Executive summary Following Oviatt and McDougall's (1994) identification of international entrepreneurship as a distinct field of research, many studies have used learning and knowledge perspectives to examine the antecedents, processes,and outcomes of early internationalization. 4 In this article, we critically evaluate this literature, focusing on the role of learning and knowledge in the decision to internationalize early, in the processes of early internationalization, and in the outcomes of early interna- tionalization.We review 48 relevant articles published between 1994 and 2010 in entrepreneurship, management, interna- tional business,and marketing journals, in which learning and knowledge feature as central theoretical components. To organize our review and provide a comprehensive picture of research on early internationalization, we discuss these articles according to a sequential continuum: (1) When and why do ventures engage in first foreign entry? (2) What are the processes o early internationalization? and, (3) What are the performance outcomes of early internationalization? For each of these three ph we rely on Huber's (1991) distinction of five knowledge acquisition (KA) types – experiential learning, vicarious learning, searchi ing, and congenital learning – as a guiding framework. For the first phase, we critically assess the findings with respect to how K inform the first foreign market entry decision. For the second phase, we examine the influence of different KA types on the spee and depth of internationalization, and we discuss the role of entry modes, the interplay of domestic and foreign knowledge proc the effect of early internationalization itself on post-entry internationalization processes. In the third phase, we consider learning survival, and other performance outcomes as consequences either or both of different KA types and of early internationalization Journal of Business Venturing 27 (2012) 143–165 ⁎ Corresponidng author. Tel.: + 1 905 688 5550x5187. E-mail addresses: ddeclercq@brocku.ca (D. De Clercq), sapienza@umn.edu (H.J. Sapienza), isil.yavuz@ozyegin.edu.tr (R.I. Yavuz), lzhou@brocku.ca (L. Zh 1 Tel.: +1 612 625 2442. 2 Tel.: +1 612 625 9009. 3 Tel.: +1 905 688 5550x5832. 4 Early internationalization represents a narrow slice of the international entrepreneurship (IE) domain; it refers to ventures’ internationalizing at an early ag thus restricting studies to young and small ventures. A distinction must also be made between early internationalization and “entrepreneurial internationaliza tion.” Entrepreneurial internationalization refers to firms' entrepreneurial activities that cross borders, regardless of the age, size,or prior instances of interna- tionalization of the firm (Jones et al., 2011). 0883-9026/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jbusvent.2011.09.003 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Business Venturing