ABSTRACT
As discussed in Chapter 1, the existing literature suggests that most exporting firms start their internationalization by selling to geographically close and culturally similar markets and expanding successively into markets with greater differences in physical and cultural characteristics. The incremental process of internationalization allows firms to acquire market knowledge and export experience gradually to reduce uncomfortable surprises in their operations abroad. The firms covered in this study are relatively small, lack resources, and initiate their export activities immediately or a few years after their establishment so it would benefit them to start their operations in the aforementioned manner to gain needed knowledge and experience. This chapter therefore examines how the firms acquire knowledge about their target markets, how they decide which markets to enter, and what related channel decisions they make.
