Top management team international experience, international information acquisition and international strategic decision rationality

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test whether Top Management Team (TMT) international experience is positively associated to international information acquisition from managerial international contacts and whether international information partially mediates the positive relationship between TMT international experience and international strategic decision rationality. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a survey of small- and medium-sized of international Pakistani software firms. Findings This study reports that TMT international experience-international strategic decision rationality relationship to international information acquisition and that this information acquisition partially mediates the TMT international experience, i.e. international strategic decision rationality relationship. Practical implications When selecting the members of their TMT, international firms should pay careful attention to their international experience. Originality/value Previous research demonstrates that TMT international experience has a positive effect on international strategic decision rationality and that this effect is transferred to performance. This study shows that the positive effect of TMT international experience is derived from the personal international knowledge and the international information collected from managers’ international contacts. This ability to make rational international strategic decisions could have a positive effect on decision-making and firm performance.