Although extant research has examined numerous determinants of internationalization, little is known about the role played by the imprinting effects of firms at incorporation. Drawing on organizational imprinting, institutional and resource-based theories, we examine how internationalization of firms is contingent on the interplay between the economic and institutional environment at the time of the firms’ founding, and the identity of the firms’ founders. Utilizing a unique design methodology that encapsulates the 1997-1998