This study examines how a new venture can manage domestic stigma while pursuing internationalization. While most international business research has focused on how formal institutional constraints drive escape strategies, the influence of informal constraints remains underexplored. Moreover, little is known about how a value dissonance in the home market can be managed abroad. To address this issue, I conducted a longitudinal case study of an innovative voting system provider stigmatized in the U.S. The findings reveal that a new venture facing stigma in the home market can avoid its negative impacts by targeting institutionally distant contexts, downplaying domestic allegations, and emphasizing the stigmatized attribute’s added value to local clients. This work makes three contributions: it expands international business studies by identifying domestic stigma as an external driver of internationalization, deepens understanding of the pre- and post-market entry phases for stigmatized new ventures, and extends organizational stigma literature by illustrating how foreign expansion can be a viable strategy when stigma management options are limited in the home market.
