Drawing from the attention-based view of the firm, this study adds to research on the entrepreneurial process of early and rapid internationalization by investigating the mediating role of international learning effort in the relationship between international young ventures’ entrepreneurial strategic posture and international performance and explores how external and internal factors might moderate this role. Using data from international young ventures based in China, the authors show that an entrepreneurial strategic posture enhances international performance through the intensity of learning efforts expended in foreign markets. Furthermore, the findings reveal that this mediating effect of international learning effort is more pronounced at higher levels of external competitive intensity and intrafirm social interaction. This study has great significance for the increasing body of research on international new ventures in that it reveals a critical behavioral mechanism that underpins the learning advantages of these ventures.
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