Dimensions of Control in UK International Joint Ventures*

From a sample of UK joint ventures with partners from Western Europe, the USA and Japan, dimensions of parent control of the ventures are considered by way of a taxonomy based on the mechanisms, extent and focus of control. The origins of the mechanisms of control identified in the study indicate that UK parents have not been sufficiently responsible for providing the mechanisms to allow them to exercise a greater leverage of control than that obtained by the foreign partners. The origins of the mechanisms of control also indicate relatively little autonomy for the managements of the joint ventures. Evidence from the study supports the view that joint venture parents seek to focus their influence of control over particular decisions and activities of the venture, rather than attempting to extend their control over the whole venture. The study considers the mechanisms and focus of control across the characteristics of the sample: contractual form of the venture, relative equity shareholding of the UK parent, time period of formation, nationality of foreign partner, industry group of the venture and broad purpose of the venture. Chi-squared tests show that there is little evidence of any systematic variation in the dimensions of control across the characteristics of the sample, the major exception to this being the relative equity shareholding of the UK parents.     

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.     

国际合资企业中的合作匹配度分析

本文提出并界定了中外合资企业合作匹配度的概念,建立了合作匹配度的计算模型与合资决策模型,分析了合资协议达成的理想匹配条件。     

跨国公司母公司对IJVs的控制：研究现状与展望

从多个视角系统地梳理了跨国公司(MNC)母公司对国际合资公司(IJVs)控制的相关学术研究成果,分析了相关研究的发展脉络和演变路径,并在此基础上详细评述了影响MNC母公司对IJVs控制的因素,以及对IJVs的控制与IJVs绩效之间的关系,并对后续有关研究方向进行了展望。     

Task-related and Partner-related Selection Criteria in UK International Joint Ventures

This paper identifies partner selection criteria in a sample of UK international joint ventures with Western European, US and Japanese partners. Rankings of selection criteria are derived for the sample using a typology that distinguishes between task-related and partner-related selection criteria. The most important task-related criteria are found to be access to knowledge of local market, access to distribution channels, access to links with major buyers and access to knowledge of local culture. The most important partner-related selection criteria are trust between the top management teams, relatedness of partner's business and reputation. A parsimonious set of selection criteria for the sample is provided by means of factor analysis. Hypotheses are tested on the relationship between the relative importance of selection criteria and a number of characteristics of the sample—partner nationality, industry of the joint ventures, joint-venture purpose, geographical location of the venture, initial approach for joint-venture formation and relative partner size. The greatest variation in the relative importance of selection criteria occurs with the geographic location of the joint venture.     

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.     

UK International Joint Ventures: An Analysis of Patterns of Activity and Distribution

To date no study has presented data which systematically considers the detailed activity of UK firms in joint venture formation over a significant period of time. This paper attempts to rectify this position by providing key statistics on the formation of joint ventures between UK firms and partner firms in Western Europe, the USA and Japan over the 1980s. The study examines several dimensions of activity: Trends in UK joint ventures over time, geographic distribution, industry characteristics, joint venture purpose, number of partners, contractual form and the equity share of UK partners.     

UK International Joint Ventures with the Triad: Evidence for the 1990s

This paper identifies and analyses some basic trends and patterns in international joint venture activity between UK firms and partner firms located in the Triad (North America, Western Europe and Japan) over the 1990–96 period. Several dimensions of UK international joint venture activity are examined: trends over time, geographic distribution of foreign partners, industry characteristics, the purpose of the venture, the number of partners and the UK partners' equity shareholding. The study serves to update and extend previous analyses of UK international joint venture activity with partners from developed market economies.     

中国国有企业和中外合资企业中的领导风格及异化:比较与启示

本文是一项对中国国有企业与中外合资企业的比较研究,我们用组织行为学和人力资源管理中的两个重要指标——领导风格和异化来比较两类企业的管理和社会效益。对相关企业员工所回答的问卷的统计分析显示出国有企业和中外合资企业不同的领导风格和员工异化状态,文章讨论了差别的原因及其对于国有企业管理变革的启示。     

一类合资企业的最优股权结构

本文研究合资企业与母公司的关系,给出了一个理论模型,解释合资企业最优股权结构及投资结构,以及实现最优结构的前提条件。我们的结论是:在某些假设条件下,最优投资结构为1:1,并给出了在这种情况下的最优股权结构。     

中外合资企业的跨文化冲突研究

从文化冲突的角度分析中外合资企业的跨文化管理问题。简要介绍了跨文化管理的理论研究,给出了一个具体的研究案例,最后结合整合同化理论提出了一些解决方法和措施。     

信任、治理策略与合资企业社会困境

 合资企业管理面临的重要挑战就是如何解决社会困境,困境管理能力直接影响合资企业的有效运作。合资企业的社会困境主要体现为合资伙伴个人自利理性的选择导致合资企业的失败。因此,探讨合资企业社会困境的影响因素和治理策略,并以此提升合资双方的合作关系,降低合资伙伴的机会主义行为,进而解决社会困境,对理论研究者和合资企业实践者都非常重要。        在社会困境理论、交易成本理论和关系交换理论的基础上,构建信任、合约治理、关系治理对合资企业行为影响的模型,将信任、合约治理、关系治理对合作和伙伴机会主义行为的影响进行实证研究。以242家合资企业为研究对象,运用结构方程的统计方法实证分析信任对两种治理策略、合作和伙伴机会主义行为的影响。将信任分为高信任和低信任两种情景,将其作为调节变量,探讨信任、治理策略和合资伙伴行为之间的关系。        研究结果表明,无论在高或低信任情景下,合资企业间信任对关系治理比对合约治理的正向影响大;与低信任情景相比,在高信任情景下,信任和关系治理对合作的正向影响大,合约治理对合作的正向影响小。        研究结论提供了有效解决社会困境的思路和治理方式,强调学习如何运用治理策略以破解社会困境是至关重要的,认为合资企业高管应考虑结合双重治理方式解决社会困境。由于不同类型的治理策略具有不同的功能,特定治理策略的使用取决于合资企业伙伴相互信任的密切程度。也就是说在低信任情景下,合资企业高管应重视运用合约治理促进合作行为;在高信任的情景下,运用关系治理处理社会困境的效用更大。此外,研究结论有利于提升对合资企业管理的认识,有效指导并改善实践以降低合资企业的失败率。     

新经济背景下合资企业与战略联盟的区别

从企业战略角度,以合作战略的两种形式--合资战略(joint venture strategies)和战略联盟战略(strategic alliance strategies)的差别性为分析对象,尝试认识在新经济背景下企业战略创造价值的两种不同方式.合资战略和战略联盟作为两种战略行动,共性是基于合作行为的资源配置方式,属于合作战略的范畴;但两者的差别体现出对企业而言截然不同的价值创造过程.合资战略本质上是企业组织内部化战略的结果,即在组织形式上趋向于母子公司之间关系,价值创造呈降低成本导向机理;战略联盟本质上是企业间关系变化的结果,这种企业间关系以协调为特征,既不同于市场交易关系,也不同于组织内部的层级关系,是内部层级市场和外部产权交换不可替代的产物,价值创造呈潜在的利润导向机理.     

基于元分析的国际知识管理研究特征分析

利用元分析方法,对1990～2007年间发表在20种国际管理学科核心期刊上的知识管理论文进行分析,从研究主题、参考学科、研究方法和分析层次4个维度分别揭示了国际知识管理的研究特征,明确了知识管理的研究现状和存在的问题,为完善知识管理学科结构提供实证研究数据,为知识管理的研究和发展提供参考依据.     

阶段融资框架下的风险投资企业控制权配置研究

基于不完全合约理论,在阶段融资架构下,分析了控制权初始占优配置以及随阶段进程的重新谈判与转移过程。通过分析两种不同控制权初始配置的优劣势并对其效率进行比较,本文发现项目发展前景和双方阶段融资时刻的谈判能力将影响控制权的初始占优配置;在阶段融资时刻,项目的盈利能力水平决定了风险投资家的最优阶段投资决策以及阶段时刻控制权的最优调整。研究结论解释了Kaplan和Str觟mberg关于控制权配置的实证结果。     

文化对企业行为的影响研究--来自我国合资企业的实证研究

这项研究以898个中外合资企业为样本,其中包括海外华资和来自西方文化背景的投资所建立的合资企业,分析了企业层面上的数据.假设文化能够影响企业进入的时间、行为和经营成果.通过AVONs分析和回归分析,结果表明了文化和技术资源的影响.     

中外合资企业跨文化管理的"钻石结构"模型研究--大亚湾核电跨文化管理的探索

本文在继承传统跨文化管理--从国家文化角度分析管理问题的基础上,重点从微观层面出发建立了一个跨文化管理的"钻石结构"模型,并运用这个结构模型来具体分析了大亚湾核电跨文化管理的实践活动,并对大亚湾核电跨文化管理的主要措施进行了探讨,希望这些结论能够对未来中外合资合作企业进行跨文化管理提供有益的参考和借鉴作用.     

国际领导协会第八次年会述要

2006年11月1日至6日,国际领导协会(Interna-tional Leadership Association,简称ILA)第八次年会在美国芝加哥举行,会议主题为“处于十字路口的领导与领导学(Leadership at the Crossroads)”。本次会议参会人员近700人,来自五大洲几十个国家,以美国为主,其他还有中国、加拿大、英国、澳大利亚、印度、新加坡以及非洲国家等。与会者主要为各大学相关研究机构的领导学学者和领导咨询与培训公司的主管人员,也有少数政府领导者和企业领导者。此次会议规模为历届最大。而此时,国际领导协会拥有的全世界会员数已高达1200多人。国际领导协会年…