Experience in R&D collaborations, innovative performance and the moderating effect of different dimensions of absorptive capacity

•Experience in collaboration with domestic partners assists in forming collaborations with similar types of foreign partners.•Experience with foreign suppliers improves a firm's innovative outcome more in relation to foreign customers/competitors.•The effect that foreign suppliers have on innovative performance is enhanced if a firm has adopted organizational practices.•Policy makers should improve laws that allow foreign R&D collaborations and the easier transfer of foreign based knowledge.•Managers need to revise their organizational practices in order to gain more from collaborations with foreign suppliers.