Internationalization and Turkish Manufacturing Firm Performance – Does Managerial Personality Matter?

This study investigates the impact of the managers’ experience and gender on the relationship between internationalization and business performance of manufacturing firms in Turkey. Based on a dataset collected by the World Bank, including 263 manufacturing enterprises in Turkey, we find that more well-experienced managers can positively improve the relationship between internationalization and firm performance. In contrast, this relationship will be reduced when the business has a female executive manager. This result adds to the empirical evidence and reinforces the theory of internationalization, especially in transition economies. The research implications are to help policymakers promulgate appropriate policies to support and accelerate the internationalization of businesses.