Returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience: Effects on entrepreneurial orientation and speed of internationalization
研究了海归创业者的国际经验（时长、文化距离和文化特异性）如何通过创业导向影响企业国际化速度，基于216家中国中小企业的数据发现文化距离既是资产也是负债。
Despite the importance of returnee entrepreneurs’ prior international experience, its conceptualization and effect on firm outcomes remain unclear. We propose a new framework for understanding prior international experience, consisting of three components: length of time, cultural distance, and cultural specificity, along with their interactions. Our study examines how returnees' international experience impacts firms' entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and speed of internationalization. Using data from 216 Chinese internationalizing SMEs, we find that prior international experience positively influences the speed of internationalization, both directly and indirectly through EO. Cultural distance between the experienced host country and the returnee's home country, and that between the experienced host country and the firm’s internationalizing country, moderate these relationships. The cultural distance to the returnee’s home country seems to be an asset, whereas that to the firm’s internationalizing country seems to be a liability. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications for international experience conceptualization and returnee entrepreneurship. • The study explores how returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience influences firms’ speed of internationalization. • Entrepreneurial orientation mediated this relationship. • Cultural distance can be both an asset and a liability. • The study surveyed 216 Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises.