This paper reviews previous research and proposes a contingency-based model for the impact of barriers to entry on strategy for foreign market entry, where product/market scope and product differentiation are central strategy components. The questions are: What are the impact of barriers on entry strategies? Are early and late entrants affected in different ways? First, it is proposed that exogenous and endogenous barriers to foreign entry are mutually reinforcing. Second, a firm that enters a foreign market late and faces extensive barriers would choose a broader product/market scope and differentiate its products to a larger extent than an early entrant. Finally, it is proposed that incumbents’ market strategies indirectly affect the entry strategy of an entrant firm as incumbents’ market strategies interact with barriers, and the effects are due to entry timing. The study contributes theoretically as it extends our knowledge of the strategy impact of barriers to entry. Management of entrant firms are advised to strive for a fit between barriers and foreign entry strategy and pay attention to the proposals put forward in this paper.