Internationaler Joint Venture Erfolg: Eine Meta-Analyse

To analyze the success factors of international joint ventures (IJVs), this study meta-analytically integrates 106 studies of 32.318 firms. The results show that the success factors from the partner level (e.g., operational and strategic fit, partner experience) and IJV level (e.g., commitment, trust, control, interdependence, conflicts, conflict management, and organizational learning) determine IJV performance. Further, results reveal that IJV type, industry, and geographical distance moderate the relationships between success factors and IJV performance. Thus, this study contributes to extant knowledge by synthesizing and contextualizing quantitative empirical IJV research.     

The effect of trust on international joint venture performance in China

The role of trust between the parent companies of international joint ventures (IJVs) is re-examined, and it is suggested that trust between parents is not only a major predictor of the achievement of financial and non-financial goals by IJVs as reported in the literature, but also moderates the relationship between IJV performance and certain contextual factors.Based on the responses of senior executives of IJVs and their parent companies in China, it is confirmed that trust influences IJV performance. The moderating effects of trust on the relationships between IJV performance and local reliance and the experience of executives were confirmed for the senior executive sample, but the moderating effect of cultural distance was not consistent between the firm-level and country-level measures. There was no significant result regarding these moderating relationships for the parent sample, except local reliance.     

Causal attribution for peer performance and international joint venture divestment

We theorize that compared to peers' consistent subsidiary performance (i.e., negative subsidiary performance of unsuccessful peers and positive subsidiary performance of successful peers), firms are more likely to attribute peers' inconsistent subsidiary performance (i.e., negative subsidiary performance of successful peers and positive subsidiary performance of unsuccessful peers) to external factors that would also influence their own international joint venture (IJV) in the same market. As a result, peers' inconsistent subsidiary performance is more likely to make the observing firms adjust the expected prospects of their own IJV, thereby changing the likelihood of divestment. We also examine the boundary conditions for the effects of peers' inconsistent subsidiary performance, namely the stability of the external environment and the presence of local partner(s) in the focal IJV. Analysis of 460 Japanese IJVs established from 1996 to 2015 provides support for the importance of causal attribution in learning from peer performance.     

Negotiating control and achieving performance in international joint ventures: A conceptual model

Adapting well-established organization theories to international joint ventures (IJVs), this paper develops an overarching theoretical model of the determinants and effects of parent control of IJVs from an interpartner bargaining power perspective. Drawing upon power dependence, transaction costs, and agency theories, we argue that the relative bargaining power between IJV partners serves as the key determinant of control structure, and that control exerts a direct effect on the venture's performance. In addition, government influence and interpartner working relationship are critical factors that complicate the linkage between control and performance but may help to explain past conflicting results. Propositions regarding these relationships are formed for future empirical test, and implications and directions for future research are provided.     

Expatriate Managers,Product Relatedness,and IJV Performance: A Resource and Knowledge-based Perspective

Drawing from the resource and knowledge-based perspectives, we examine the role expatriates play as a critical managerial resource within the multinational's international joint-venture (IJV). By using a large sample (3772 IJV annual performance years) of Japanese IJVs in the USA from 1991 to 2001, we find that expatriate deployment shows a curvilinear (inverted-U) relationship with IJV performance. Further, this relationship is positively moderated by product relatedness between the parent and the IJV.     

Davidson-Marley BV: Establishing and operating an international joint venture

The company of Davidson-Marley BV, the international joint venture (IJV) of Davidson Instrument Panel (US) and Marley PLC (UK) is situated in Born in The Netherlands. Two previous articles described this IJV from the viewpoints of the two parents. This article is primarily dedicated to describing it from the viewpoint of the IJV itself. In particular, the views of the general manager and the human resources manager are presented in order to describe their perceptions of how well the IJV was established and how well it is poised for the future. These views describe not only the relationships with the parents themselves but also with the local community, with particular emphasis on the human resource practices that are both feasible and effective in The Netherlands. Together with the two previous articles, the intent of this investigation is to provide readers interested in international joint ventures with as much useful information about the human resource management issues as possible. The major goal has been to advance our understanding of how IJVs can be more effectively established and managed.     

From gain-sharing to gain-generation: The quest for distributive justice in international joint ventures

This research investigates how distributive justice (DJ) affects cooperation-related outcomes in international joint ventures (IJVs) through several routes that intersect with reciprocal commitment, organizational attachment and contractual specification. Grounded in the convergent insights of IJV theory and justice theory, this study argues that DJ improves IJV performance through enhanced mutual commitment and interparty attachment, as well as through DJ's complementary role with IJV contract. The findings extend previous research by demonstrating that (1) DJ is an important variable affecting IJV stability via the mediation of interorganizational attachment and (2) DJ and IJV contract function as complements rather than substitutes in governing cooperation and improving IJV profitability and stability.     

Decision-making Autonomy in UK International Equity Joint Ventures

This paper investigates approaches to decision making in international joint ventures (IJVs) from the perspectives of the transactions cost and resource‐based theories of the firm. In particular, the concept of autonomy in decision‐making in a sample of UK‐European equity joint ventures is examined. The study adopts a multi‐method personal interview and self‐administered questionnaire approach to examine managerial perceptions of decision‐making and autonomy in the parent firms and the joint venture. The findings show that there are differences in the perception of autonomy between each of the parent firms, and between the parent firms and the IJV management. When we unpack the nature of autonomy in detail, it is found that IJV managers have greater degrees of operational autonomy than strategic autonomy and that decision making by IJV managers takes place within the context of constraints set within the IJV's business plan. This confirms the transaction cost theory which posits that key internal markets (for management, technology and capital) will be under parent control and also supports the resource based view that key capabilities are protected under the business plan established by the parent firms. The influence on IJV autonomy of the moderating variables IJV performance and IJV duration are also examined.     

International Joint Ventures: Partnering Skills and Cross-Cultural Issues

Cooperative activity has become an important element of strategic behaviour and, with increasing globalisation, many alliances are being formed across national boundaries, with the attendant challenges of surmounting linguistic and other cultural barriers. This article provides new perspectives on the partnering skills needed for success in such international joint ventures (IJVs). Based on the analysis of 60 personal interviews from a sample of 20 Anglo-European JVs, four categories of skills are analysed: inter-partner skills, managing the IJV managers, the “upward management” skills of IJV managers managing the ‘parent’ partners, and those of managing the IJV itself. The article presents a matrix to examine the four categories of skill in the context in which each are used. Serving both as an analytical device and a diagnostic tool, this matrix offers results that have important implications for the management of IJVs with regard to the selection and training of managers and the inculcation of the skills required for each level of operation.     

Transnational Diaspora and Civil Society Actors Driving MNE Internationalisation: The Case of Grameenphone in Bangladesh

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are viewed as proactive global economic actors that enter new and emerging markets with intentional strategies, building on their inherent resources and firm-specific advantages. However, an international joint venture involves numerous actors in the market entry process. While emerging markets tend to feature complex institutional contexts and idiographic entry challenges, our study with a focus on emerging market presents two under-examined types of stakeholders as distinct social actors' that affect internationalisation process: the transnational diaspora and civil society actors. It provides evidence of the reactive internationalisation of an MNE, showing how the transnational diaspora drove the MNE's internationalisation and how a civil society actor, in conjunction with a diaspora member, facilitated the creation of an international joint venture (IJV) in Bangladesh. This case study analyses and describes the stages of development, documenting how Norwegian Telenor, American Gonophone, Japanese Marubeni and Bangladeshi Grameen Bank created an IJV named Grameenphone in Bangladesh, and how diaspora and civil society actors made up the prime movers and organisational capability base for this process, which would not have happened without their market-driving and enabling influence. The findings illustrate the central role of transnational diaspora entrepreneurship and the related innovation, motivation, contextual intelligence, networking and funding that supported this emerging-market IJV development. The study contributes to research on international joint ventures, transnational diaspora entrepreneurship and civil society actors and the internationalisation of MNEs.     

An empirical inquiry of negotiation effects in cross-cultural joint ventures

This study addresses the negotiation effect in the context of cross-cultural joint ventures (JV) in a volatile environment. We examined how negotiation variables are linked to the subsequent performance of JV operations. Our analysis of 155 JVs suggests that topic inclusiveness and term specificity are positively related to venture performance. Length of negotiations and government involvement in negotiations have no main effect on performance but moderate the link between term specificity or topic inclusiveness and performance. When length of negotiations is longer or if government involvement is weaker, the performance effect of negotiations becomes stronger. Companies with longer cultural distance from the host country tend to arrange higher term specificity and higher topic inclusiveness to neutralize an unfavorable influence of cultural distance on performance.     

Location-boundedness,investment irreversibility,and divestment of international joint ventures under host market demand uncertainty

We employ the real options perspective to examine how the irreversibility of location-bound assets and resources affects the divestment of international joint ventures (IJVs) under exogenous uncertainty in host countries. Utilizing a large sample of Korean IJVs and addressing a sample selection of IJVs and the endogeneity of firms’ choice of location-bound investments, we find that high host market demand uncertainty interacts with localized products or local sales forces and reduces divestment rates of IJVs. We also find that the deterrent effects of these two country-specific investments are more salient for IJVs with local sourcing and sales. These findings imply that the deterrent effect of location-boundedness is congruent with the uncertainty-based real options theory when explaining IJV divestment.     

Labour Mobility in Europe as a Result of Changes in Central and Eastern Europe*

Abstract. International migration of labour has become a burning issue and is on the lips of politicians, social scientists, employers and workers. It has has become a global issue, with national borders becoming less important due to process of economic integration. The issue is very complicated since many factors are involved: unemployment, the stand of trade unions and national movements often opposing more liberal immigration rules, non-adherence of countries to international norms, in particular ILO labour standards. However, there are also gains for both labour-exporting and labour-importing countries. The article tries to trace the history of international norms concerning international migration of labour, as well as to touch upon hard facts accompanying such migration. It is difficult to collect these in a systematic manner, given the dearth of information on the subject, due to its sensitivity. However, the paper provides a variety of contro-versial information which is from the press rather than from official data, and therefore difficult to verify. It is a subject on which considerable prejudice clouds rational debate.     

Risk perception and post-formation governance in international joint ventures in Taiwan: The perspective of the foreign partner

This paper draws on a risk analysis framework in order to develop a systematic understanding of the risks perceived by partners, and to investigate the implications of risk perception for the configuration of control, in the post-formation governance of international joint ventures. The key variables in this framework consist of six situational factors which are considered as potential antecedents of perceived risk: conflict, opportunism, cultural difference, dependence, partner fit, and ownership share; partner's perception of risk; and post-formation governance as a set of outcome variables. The framework is tested using a sample of international joint ventures located in Taiwan. The findings show that conflicts between partners, opportunistic behavior by the local partner, cultural differences, and perceived partner misfit are related to foreign partners' risk perceptions. This study suggests that when foreign partners face likely performance and partnership risks after an IJV is established, they tend to resort to tighter post-formation governance measures in order to increase or maintain their confidence in their joint ventures.     

HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY,MANUFACTURING, AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: AN ALTERNATE PERSPECTIVE ON SCHMENNER'S HYPOTHESES

Two simultaneous developments took place during the so‐called Industrial Revolution (1760–1830): the industrialization of Britain and other countries in Europe and the deindustrialization of a number of non‐European countries, including India. I identify international relations as a major driver of the three components—demand, innovations, and capital formation—of the Industrial Revolution. I also offer an alternate perspective on hypotheses proposed by Schmenner in the preceding article in this issue.     

Strategic planning for MIS

This article report on a study of the strategic decision to develop computerized management information systems (MIS) in 32 business organizations. THe findings suggest that this decision is a complex policy decision which involves protracted environmental negotiations, a high and escalating commitment of organizational resources, and extensive organizational preparation. Eleven organizational and environmental factors which influence the decision are identified through a literature review. The influence of these factors on the success of the decision is examined and recommendations are made for managing the decision-making process to insure improved decision outcomes.     

Bargaining power and the trade-off between the ownership and control of international joint ventures in China

Equity ownership and operational control constitute two crucial elements in the design of the governance structure of international joint ventures (IJVs). Based on the bargaining power theory, this study proposes that discrepancies between majority ownership and dominant control may exist as a consequence of bilateral bargaining, which is attributable to the influence of both contextual and resource content variables. Based on a survey database containing over 700 IJVs in China, our empirical findings illustrate contingencies under which equity share and dominance of control may reveal a trade-off relationship. The foreign partner will be more likely to secure a position of dominant control by accepting ownership concessions when it is at the upstream stage of the IJV, which is characterized by a high dependence on foreign input. Furthermore, while intangible resources furnished by the foreign parent exert positive impacts on the foreign partner’s attainment of dominant operational control in general, the foreign partner’s supply of product related knowledge and marketing expertise is particularly capable of rendering it bargaining power in managing the trade-off between ownership and control whenever necessary. These findings may suggest foreign firms adopt a flexible mindset in their negotiations with potential local counterparts in order to achieve collaborative goals.     

The many faces of emotional leadership

This article focuses heavily on overviewing and analyzing the seven articles in this special issue on emotions and leadership. The articles are discussed in terms of four key leadership issues. The first issue concerns the traits necessary for leadership. Empathy is shown to be an important variable that is central to both emotional intelligence and leadership emergence. The second issue concerns the relationship of emotions to the leadership process. It is argued that a key leadership function is to manage the emotions of group members, especially with regard to feelings related to frustration and optimism. The third issue involves our perceptions about leaders. Leaders' emotional displays are demonstrated to have a larger impact on perceptions of leaders than the content of the leaders' messages, at least in some circumstances. The fourth area involves the relationship between leadership and performance. Leaders' influences upon emotional process variables are found to have a large impact on performance. The article develops several propositions that summarize the content of this special issue and, in addition, develops new propositions that suggest future areas of research. The article concludes by touching on the review process and acknowledges the reviewers for this special issue.     

How do CEOs matter? The moderating effects of CEO compensation and tenure on equity ownership in international joint ventures

We propose that CEO compensation and tenure moderate the relationship between multinational corporations' (MNCs) R&D intensities and their percentages of equity ownership in international joint ventures (IJVs). Transaction cost economics (TCE) suggests a positive relationship between MNC R&D intensity and IJV equity ownership, but this relationship has not been confirmed consistently in prior research. We examine the moderating effects of CEO compensation and tenure on the relationship between MNC R&D intensity and IJV equity ownership, thereby bringing more nuanced explanations from agency theory and upper echelons theory into the discussion. Our proposed relationships were tested using a sample of 202 IJVs formed between U.S. MNCs and foreign partners in high-tech industries for the period 1993 to 2003. We found an overall positive relationship between MNC R&D intensity and the percentage of equity ownership in IJVs. Moreover, CEO tenure and bonus compensation each weaken the positive R&D intensity-equity ownership relationship in our sample, while CEO stock options compensation amplifies it. These findings indicate that CEO compensation and tenure influence decision making about equity ownership in IJVs, suggesting that scholars and boards of directors should consider these CEO-related factors when evaluating strategic decisions regarding IJVs.     

Internationalization Orientation in SMEs: The Mediating Role of Technological Innovation

This study examines the relationship between internationalization orientation and international performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the mediating effect of technological innovation. Prior research suggests that internationalization is a prominent strategic choice for SMEs growth and profitability. However, there is still no explicit agreement on how internationalization affects international performance. Similarly, the role of innovation on performance has long been emphasized, but the implications of technological innovation on international performance are still eluding us. Our investigation of 116 SMEs in the United Kingdom reveals that internationalization orientation has a significant effect on their international performance, with SMEs adopting simultaneously an inward and outward international orientation achieving superior results. We further demonstrate that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between technological innovation and international firm performance among SMEs. Meanwhile, we find that technological innovation positively mediates the effect of internationalization orientation on international firm performance, particularly for the SMEs exhibiting moderate levels of technological innovation activities. The findings of this study suggest that managers can improve international performance by combining inward and outward internationalization orientation with technological innovation activities in their strategic decisions.