The impact of experience on the agglomeration of cross-border investments within a region: the case of private equity in emerging markets

Previous research on cross-border investments has shown the importance of choosing the right focal market—a target country in which a firm invests. International business scholars have also noted that cross-border investments frequently concentrate in regions. However, the factors affecting investment agglomeration within a region have yet to be determined. Building on theoretical insights from the Uppsala internationalization model, we propose two effects that can significantly impact investment agglomeration within a region: (1) the focal effect, linked to cumulative investment experience in a focal market, and (2) the neighborhood effect, related to cumulative investment experience in the region where a focal market is located. We also examine how the size of these effects is moderated by cross-national distance. To test our theoretical arguments, we use a dataset of private equity firms that made investments in three emerging market regions—Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe—from 1996 to 2011. The results support all our hypotheses. We contribute to the literature on regional internationalization by providing new insights that complement the Uppsala internationalization model.