The Influence of International Human Capital and International Network Relationships on Private Equity Firms’ Cross-Border Investment Behaviour

This paper studies the international investment behavior of private equity (PE) firms. Perspectives from international service management are integrated with human capital and network theory to test the value of international human capital and international network relationships. Using a sample of 110 private equity firms from five European countries, we demonstrate the positive influence of international human capital and show that the intensity of the foreign network decreases the likelihood to be international. Our results also stress the larger influence of international human capital and network relationships on the likelihood of cross-border investing than on the number of international investments