Purpose

International experience has long been recognized as a crucial determinant for firms’ knowledge management in the existing literature. However, within a global context, the relationship between international experience and the performance of multinational enterprises is intricate and remains ambiguous. While the impact of people mobility has been extensively studied, limited understanding exists regarding how global mobility of people and evolving external environments reshape the relationship. This study aims to integrate existing empirical evidence on this relationship and examines the contingencies posed by environmental factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a multilevel meta-analysis based on a sample of 231 effect sizes collected from 167 articles to systematically examine the international experience–performance relationship, considering the moderating effect of the global mobility of people and the rise of national sentiments (including authoritarianism and protectionism). A two-stage procedure comprising Hedges-Olkin-type meta-analysis and random-effects meta-analytic regression was adopted.

Findings

The findings demonstrate a predominantly positive international experience–performance relationship that varies across studies owing to differences in research design, variable measurements and firm characteristics. The relationship is positively moderated by the global mobility of people, yet the positive effect is contingent upon the level of national sentiments within home countries. The beneficial effect of inbound mobility on this relationship is attenuated by authoritarianism and protectionism, while the effect of outbound mobility is positively influenced by authoritarianism and less affected by protectionism.

Originality/value

This study offers novel theoretical insights into multinationals’ knowledge accumulation in the internationalization process. It contributes to the existing literature by presenting an integrated framework elucidating the international experience–performance relationship. Building upon the knowledge-based view, it integrates environmental dynamics and national sentiments to investigate the performance implications of multinationals’ international experience, thereby providing valuable practical insights for effective global knowledge management.

中文翻译：

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国际经验和表现的元分析：探索全球流动性和民族情感的作用

 目的

在现有文献中，国际经验长期以来被认为是企业知识管理的关键决定因素。然而，在全球背景下，国际经验与跨国企业绩效之间的关系错综复杂且模糊不清。尽管人们对人员流动的影响进行了广泛的研究，但对于人员的全球流动和不断变化的外部环境如何重塑这种关系的了解有限。本研究旨在整合有关这种关系的现有经验证据，并研究环境因素造成的意外情况。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究基于从 167 篇文章中收集的 231 个效应量样本进行了多层次荟萃分析，系统地考察了国际经验与绩效关系，考虑了人员全球流动性和民族情绪（包括威权主义和独裁主义）上升的调节作用。保护主义）。采用了包括 Hedges-Olkin 型荟萃分析和随机效应荟萃分析回归在内的两阶段程序。

 发现

研究结果表明，国际经验与绩效之间存在着显着的积极关系，由于研究设计、变量测量和公司特征的差异，这种关系在不同研究中存在差异。这种关系受到全球人员流动的积极调节，但积极影响取决于本国国内的民族情绪水平。入境流动对这种关系的有益影响会因威权主义和保护主义而减弱，而出境流动的影响则受到威权主义的积极影响，而受保护主义的影响较小。

 原创性/价值

这项研究为跨国公司在国际化过程中的知识积累提供了新颖的理论见解。它通过提出一个阐明国际经验与绩效关系的综合框架，对现有文献做出了贡献。它以知识为基础，整合环境动态和民族情感，研究跨国公司国际经验对绩效的影响，从而为有效的全球知识管理提供宝贵的实践见解。