Abstract: How emerging-market firms (EMNEs) plan their internationalization pace dynamically has become a new focus of attention in both theory and practice. Based on the behavioral theory of the firm, this paper explores the mechanism of how different dimensions of aspiration gap (intensity and duration) affect the EMNEs’ internationalization pace, and the contingent effects of market turbulence and institutional development in their home country. Using the panel data of A-share listed multinationals in China, our empirical research shows that EMNEs’ internationalization pace increases with the intensity of aspiration gap, and decreases with the duration of aspiration gap. Further analysis demonstrates that the market turbulence weakens the relationships between aspiration gaps and internationalization pace, while the institutional development strengthens the relationships. Our study contributes to the researches on both aspiration gap and the internationalization process of EMNEs.

Key words: aspiration gap intensity, aspiration gap duration, internationalization pace, market turbulence, institutional development