CEO international experience: Effects on strategic change and firm performance

Son Le () and Mark Kroll
Additional contact information
Son Le: Louisiana Tech University
Mark Kroll: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Journal of International Business Studies, 2017, vol. 48, issue 5, No 3, 573-595

Abstract: Abstract Despite the growing importance of CEOs’ international experience (IE), we have yet to gain sufficient insights into its conceptualization and effect on firm outcomes. Based on prior research and work experience models, we suggest a new framework for measuring IE, including three components: length of time, number of countries, and cultural distance, along with their interactions. Drawing upon social and cognitive learning theories, we explore the impact of CEOs’ IE on two outcomes: strategic change and firm performance. We argue that IE components affect the two outcomes by enhancing executives’ international knowledge and general competencies. While international knowledge may affect firm performance directly, general competencies may affect firm performance both directly and indirectly through strategic change. Using a sample of 387 new CEOs, we found that time abroad had a positive effect on strategic change and firm performance, while number of countries and cultural distance positively moderated these relationships. Additionally, we also found that these components affected firm performance both directly and mediated through strategic change. Our findings have important theoretical implications for the conceptualization and impact of CEOs’ IE and practical implications for executive development and promotion.

Keywords: international experience; strategic change; CEO; CEO succession; social and cognitive learning; conditional process analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (57)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41267-017-0080-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:jintbs:v:48:y:2017:i:5:d:10.1057_s41267-017-0080-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... nt/journal/41267/PS2

DOI: 10.1057/s41267-017-0080-1

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of International Business Studies is currently edited by John Cantwell

More articles in Journal of International Business Studies from Palgrave Macmillan, Academy of International Business
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().