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How does returnee managers’ international leadership experience influence emerging economy firms’ internationalization? The internationalization process model suggests that international experience plays a central role enabling firms’ internationalization moves. We propose that emerging economy firms can accelerate their development of international experience—and hence their international commitments—by grafting returnees with international leadership experience. We hypothesize that such international leadership experience has a positive effect on firm internationalization, and that this effect is strengthened by central-state ownership and private ownership, but weakened by local-state ownership and foreign ownership. Using 8-year (2001–2008) event-historical data from 164 Chinese electronic manufacturing firms, we found empirical support to our theoretical arguments. Specifically, returnee …