Determinants of performance in international joint ventures

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of IJV performance expectations for a sample of international joint ventures with parent firms from Europe, North America and Australia. A conceptual framework is proposed which identifies the determinants of IJV performance as the dominant control of the IJV by one parent firm, the level of autonomy granted to the IJV management, the level of trust between the partner firms, the effect of differences in the national cultures of IJV partners and the differences in the organizational cultures of IJV partners. Design/methodology/approach - The study adopts a self-administered questionnaire approach to examine the determinants of performance in the sample firms. The starting point for obtaining a sample of parent firms was the OSIRIS database. Paper copies of the questionnaires were posted to potential respondents. This was followed by an e-mail to the same potential respondents with the questionnaires attached. In total, 109 usable questionnaires were obtained from respondent companies - 22 questionnaires were returned from the postal survey and 87 questionnaires were returned from the follow-up e-mail. Findings - Predicted positive relationships between performance expectations and dominant control of the IJV, autonomy granted to the IJV management, and trust between the partner firms are supported by the data. The predicted negative relationship between performance expectations and national culture differences was not supported, however, the expected negative relationship between performance expectations and corporate culture differences was partially supported. Originality/value - This study adds to the international business literature on IJVs and provides new empirical evidence in the context of Europe, North America and Australia.