TY - JOUR AB - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of determinants on early internationalization in the context of an emerging economy, i.e. India.Design/methodology/approach The study is based on an ex post facto exploratory research using primary data collected from a sample of 102 exporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bangalore.Findings The overall results reveal that it is the proactive entrepreneurs and their previous experience that determine the early internationalization of SMEs. Further, competitive constraint was a major obstacle to enter the international market at an early age for late internationalized SMEs.Practical implications The policy initiatives should aim to develop the international orientation of the entrepreneurs in the firm as a precursor for the formulation and subsequent implementation of internationalization strategies.Originality/value Although studies have been conducted on determinants and early internationalization, these are confined to a few dimensions, and none of the studies have looked into the issues affecting the early internationalization holistically and with respect to SMEs in India. VL - 17 IS - 5 SN - 1726-0531 DO - 10.1108/JEDT-01-2019-0001 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-01-2019-0001 AU - Santhosh Channappa PY - 2019 Y1 - 2019/01/01 TI - Impact of determinants on early internationalization: An exploratory study of Indian engineering SMEs T2 - Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology PB - Emerald Publishing Limited SP - 1018 EP - 1034 Y2 - 2024/04/16 ER -