This study examined the effect of foreign market entry barriers on the determination of foreign market entry modes. The hypothesis posited that foreign market entry barriers—including political barriers, cultural barriers, and competitive barriers—act as sources of organizational failure, and that firms entering countries with high levels of foreign market entry barriers would prefer entry modes with lower levels of ownership and control, that is, lower levels of internalization. The results of an empirical analysis of 228 U.S. manufacturing firms showed that, as predicted, firms entering countries with higher overall foreign market entry barriers preferred entry modes with lower internalization levels. Specifically, when political and cultural barriers were high, the frequency of using entry modes with lower internalization levels was higher, as expected. However, contrary to expectations, when competitive barriers were high, the frequency of using entry modes with higher internalization levels was greater. These results suggest that when competitive barriers are high, foreign entrant firms need to pursue more aggressive entry strategies to survive intense competition. Meanwhile, analysis of the moderating effects of firm size and experience on the relationship between foreign market entry barriers and entry mode selection revealed that larger firms with more extensive international experience preferred entry modes with higher internalization levels even when foreign market entry barriers were high. The foreign market entry barriers analyzed in this study are expected to significantly influence not only entry mode selection but also other areas of international management, such as the choice between standardization and local adaptation strategies in international marketing, making future research in these areas potentially fruitful.