Returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience: Effects on entrepreneurial orientation and speed of internationalization

Xinrui Liu, Michael Mayer and Dimo Dimov

International Business Review, 2025, vol. 34, issue 4

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: International entrepreneurship; Speed of internationalization; Returnee entrepreneurship; International experience; Entrepreneurial orientation; Cultural distance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102402

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