Managing the Psychology of Distance Perceptions in Internationalization Strategies

Firms’ internationalization strategies often hinge on managers’ psychic distance perceptions – their assessments of the distance between a firm’s home and foreign countries. Drawing on psychology literatures, this article delves into the cognitive motivational underpinnings of such perceptions, and argues that managers’ distance perceptions need to fit the particular internationalization strategy they pursue. It offers a managerial typology and actionable recommendations that can help develop disciplined approaches to manage the cognitive motivational psychology of distance perceptions in organizations. The typology can be used to embed perception management in organizational processes, to guide manager selection and/ or development.