Abstract: At present, corporate internationalization has become one of the hot topics focused by the society and the public. Taking China’s A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2015 as samples, this paper empirically test the industrial peer effect in the international business of the listed companies. The findings show that there exists industrial peer effect in the international business of the listed companies in China, that the international background of the top management teams could bring international information to the company, produce international information acquisition imitation mechanisms, so as to enhance the industrial peer effect in the their international business, and that the industrial peer effect in the international business of the non-state-owned enterprises is significantly higher than that of the state-owned enterprises. Further research has found that the industrial competitive advantages of the enterprises can also promote the industrial peer effect in the international business.

Key words: international business; industrial peer effect; internationalization background; nature of ownership