Top management team stability, corporate social responsibility and firm internationalization speed

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of top management team (TMT) stability on firm internationalization speed, identifying the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and moderating the role of institutional distance.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of Chinese companies from 2005 to 2020. This article used ordinary least squares to empirically test the impact of TMT stability on firm internationalization speed.FindingsOur main findings show that the more stable the TMT, the faster the internationalization speed of the enterprise. CSR mediates the influence of the TMT stability and firm internationalization speed, that is, the stable TMT is more willing to make decisions to assume more CSR based on the long-term sustainable development of the enterprise, thus influencing the firm internationalization speed. The greater institutional distance between the home country and the host country, the stronger the positive impacts of CSR on the firm internationalization speed.Originality/valueThis paper is of reference significance for enterprises to rationally formulate corporate internationalization strategies. We call on multinational enterprises (MNEs) to pay more attention to the TMT stability and the important role of CSR in the internationalization of enterprises in emerging economies.