A Meta-analysis of the International Experience–Ownership Strategy Relationship: A Dynamic Capabilities View

This paper investigates the context in which firms’ ownership strategies in international ventures may be affected by their international experience, which shapes their dynamic capabilities. Based on a statistical synthesis of empirical insights accumulated in a large body of literature, this paper examines multiple firm-, industry-, and country-specific moderators simultaneously. With models tested drawing on data from 102 samples across 114,118 international entry decisions, this meta-analysis finds empirical evidence largely supporting theoretical predictions of sources of international experience, economic development stages of host countries and firm size that moderate the relationship between international experience and ownership strategy (IE–OS relationship), and this relationship is not contingent upon industries in which a firm resides. In particular, the contingency effect of country-specific experience is more important to the IE–OS relationship than others. This paper demonstrates the contextual nature of the IE–OS relationship and contributes insights into the contingencies that affect the impact of experience-based dynamic capability deployment in an international business setting.