This paper aims at depicting the status of research on heuristics in the international business domain to understand the main topic areas in which heuristics are addressed and delve into the types of heuristics used by managers and entrepreneurs when dealing with international business activities. These are characterized by a high degree of uncertainty, drawing attention on the adoption of heuristics for decision-making. To this aim, the paper systematically reviews studies published in top-ranked international business journals between 1997 and 2018. The systematic literature review shows that the main research areas in which heuristics are developed concern foreign market entry, post-entry international expansion, foreign market selection, and international entrepreneurship. The paper also discusses the type of heuristics that are utilized by decision-makers when dealing with the uncertainty related to the internationalization process. The results of this study show that the international business literature develops the concept of heuristics in very various ways, tending to develop a plurality of approaches, without recurring or dominant forms. It is, however, possible to identify the types of heuristics and heuristically-based decisions, and a significant subset of the analyzed studies show a positive view on their effectiveness in the uncertainty of internationalization processes.

本文旨在描述启发式研究在国际商业领域中的研究现状，以了解启发式研究的主要主题领域，并深入研究经理和企业家在处理国际商业活动时使用的启发式类型。这些的特点是高度不确定性，引起人们对采用启发式决策的关注。为此，本文系统地回顾了1997年至2018年间在国际顶级商业期刊上发表的研究。系统的文献综述表明，启发式方法的主要研究领域涉及国外市场进入，进入后国际扩张，国外市场。选择和国际企业家精神。本文还讨论了决策者在处理与国际化过程相关的不确定性时使用的启发式类型。这项研究的结果表明，国际商业文献以非常多种方式发展了启发式的概念，倾向于发展多种方法，而没有重复出现或占主导地位的形式。但是，有可能确定启发式和基于启发式的决策的类型，并且分析研究的重要子集对它们在国际化过程的不确定性中的有效性表示了积极的看法。倾向于开发多种方法，而没有重复出现或占主导地位的形式。但是，有可能确定启发式和基于启发式的决策的类型，并且分析研究的重要子集对它们在国际化过程的不确定性中的有效性表示了积极的看法。倾向于开发多种方法，而没有重复出现或占主导地位的形式。但是，有可能确定启发式和基于启发式的决策的类型，并且分析研究的重要子集对它们在国际化过程的不确定性中的有效性表示了积极的看法。