Exploring the impact of TMTs’ overseas experiences on innovation performance of Chinese enterprises

Abstract

PurposeDrawing on the related insights from the upper echelon perspective, modern cognitive theory and path dependence theory, this paper aims to first integrate top management teams (TMTs) overseas experiences, research and development (R&D) strategic decision-making and innovation performance into a uniform theoretical framework and try to understand TMTs’ overseas experiences accounting for both the direct and indirect mechanisms of the variables involved within the transition economy of China.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts research sample from the listed companies on the Growth Enterprises Market Board (GEMB) of Shenzhen Stock Exchange of China due to their stronger innovation consciousness. The research data are mainly from the WIND database of China, as the data issued in this database must be checked and approved by China’s legal institutions including China Securities Regulatory Commission and its authorized agencies. The samples cover different types of ownership and the vast majority of industries of China, which makes the objects a wide range of coverage and representativeness. In addition, according to suggestions of Podsakoff et al. (2003), the authors design the controlling measures from two aspects of data collection and statistical analysis to reduce the homologous error as much as possible.FindingsEmpirical results show that innovation performance is positively affected by the centrality overseas functional experience and industrial experience but negatively affected by the heterogeneity of overseas functional experience of TMT. Meanwhile, R&D intensity and modes play partially mediating effect in the relationship between TMTs’ overseas functional experience centrality and industrial experience heterogeneity and innovation performance, but for the relationship between overseas functional experience heterogeneity and innovation performance, R&D intensity leads to fully mediating effect.Originality/valueThis study contributes toward filling the gaps by elucidating the effect of TMTs’ overseas experiences on the innovation performance, identifying the mediating role of R&D strategic decision-makings in this relationship and empirically examining the acting mechanisms and paths of the variables involved in the Chinese context. In addition, practitioners could use these findings to improve their selection and training processes regarding both the top management members and the designing of the R&D strategies.