How to retain local senior managers in international joint ventures: The effects of alliance relationship characteristics

How can international joint ventures keep their local senior managers from quitting? Drawing on international business literature, social exchange theory, and social integration theory, this study examines how the characteristics of an alliance relationship affect local senior managers' turnover intentions. The findings from 139 ventures in China show that decision-making participation and social integration help retain local senior managers. However, the effects of participation and social integration decrease with high levels of foreign ownership control. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Corporate social responsibility in international joint ventures: Empirical examinations in South Korea

This study aims to investigate organizational characteristics and develop a framework relating to corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of international joint ventures (IJVs) established in the South Korean market. Based on institutional and stakeholder theories, regression analyses produced a framework facilitating a better understanding and identification of factors that drive CSR in local markets. Consumers, competitors, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were discovered to be primary determinants of responsible behaviors. Additionally, some significant differences were found with respect to CSR related to IJV’s formative characteristics. This study contributes to furthering knowledge of IJVs and CSR, as well by providing some practical implications for organizations pursuing international markets.     

Determinants of ownership preference of international joint ventures: new evidence from Chinese manufacturing industries

Given the large size and rapid growth of foreign direct investment in China, the subject of ownership preference is of great interest to academics as well as to firms intending to invest in China. This study focuses on two sets of variables: industry-specific factors and venture-specific factors. Statistical tests based on information of 818 international joint ventures (IJVs) in China show that duration and scale of IJVs are positively associated with the level of foreign ownership. Industry-specific factors such as skill intensity, market concentration, market potentials, and foreign business agglomerations also positively influence the ownership preference of foreign firms, while local industry R and D intensity and productivity are found to be significant but negatively associated with the ownership preference.     

Performance of international joint ventures in Turkey: perspectives of Western firms and Turkish firms

This study compares responses from Western partner firms and local partner firms from a sample of international joint ventures (IJVs) in Turkey, in order to analyse the performance of IJVs on a range of topics including overall performance, the relative importance of performance criteria, and actual performance in terms of various dimensions of expected performance. The results of the hypotheses tests indicate that while both groups of partner firms are equally satisfied in terms of overall IJV performance, Turkish partner firms are more satisfied than Western partner firms regarding comparison with home country operations and host country competitors. The study also finds that the relative importance of IJV performance criteria varies to a moderate extent between Western and Turkish partner firms, and that both groups of partner firms evaluate IJV performance equally favourably across most underlying dimensions of IJV performance.     

International new ventures: The cross-border nexus of individuals and opportunities

We draw on entrepreneurship research to present a framework for international new ventures as the cross-border nexus of individuals and opportunities. Opportunities may be associated with cross-border combinations of resources and/or markets and therefore vary along these two dimensions. This framework accounts for the emergence of firms whose very existence stems from opportunities to engage in the cross-border combination of resources and/or markets. This perspective has important implications for whether internationalization follows competitive advantage or vice versa and also helps explain how the identification and exploitation of opportunities to create international new ventures may contribute to economic development.     

Dual-edged tools of trade: How international joint ventures help and hinder capability building of Chinese firms

Forming international joint ventures (IJVs) with multinational corporations (MNCs) from advanced economies has been widely adopted by firms in emerging economies as an organizational approach to building up their innovative capabilities. In this paper, we emphasize that such an approach has both advantages (knowledge transfer from MNCs) and disadvantages (overdependence upon MNCs and reduction of innovation incentives) in the capability building of indigenous firms. Utilizing a longitudinal dataset consisting of 474 industries in China during 1998–2002, we find supporting evidence for the co-existence of the positive and negative impacts of IJVs. Specifically, we find that IJV presence has an inverted U-shape impact on innovative capabilities of indigenous firms; such an impact is stronger in industries with low (versus high) technology gap. We discuss the implications of our findings for research, managerial practice, and government policy.     

Performance of international joint ventures in Turkey: perspectives of Western firms and Turkish firms

This study compares responses from Western partner firms and local partner firms from a sample of international joint ventures (IJVs) in Turkey, in order to analyse the performance of IJVs on a range of topics including overall performance, the relative importance of performance criteria, and actual performance in terms of various dimensions of expected performance. The results of the hypotheses tests indicate that while both groups of partner firms are equally satisfied in terms of overall IJV performance, Turkish partner firms are more satisfied than Western partner firms regarding comparison with home country operations and host country competitors. The study also finds that the relative importance of IJV performance criteria varies to a moderate extent between Western and Turkish partner firms, and that both groups of partner firms evaluate IJV performance equally favourably across most underlying dimensions of IJV performance.     

Acquisition of local market information in international joint ventures: service sectors

This research attempts to identify key factors affecting the acquisition of local market information in foreign majority-owned international joint ventures (IJVs). By using Spearman rank correlation coefficient and ordinary least squares regression, we reveal that most of the factors included in our model play a pivotal role in enhancing learning for foreign parents of IJVs. These results contribute to current knowledge by filling several research gaps and provide useful and practical implications for multinational enterprises.     

A new way to look at an old problem: International joint venture partner selection via constrained systematic search

Although international joint ventures (IJVs) provide many benefits to multinational enterprises (MNEs), IJVs continue experiencing high dissolution rates; there is a pressing need to re-evaluate the partner selection process for IJVs. In this article, I utilize constrained systematic search (CSS) as the proposed process by which to improve the partner selection process and reduce IJV dissolution rates. CSS is a process MNEs can utilize to gain private information about potential IJV partners. The implementation of CSS can improve the success rates for an MNE entering an IJV in two ways: MNEs can more effectively identify (1) information withholding/misleading behavior of potential partners and (2) complementary resources in potential partners.     

Learning in international new ventures: A systematic review

The present paper reports the findings of a systematic review on learning among International New Ventures (INVs). Learning has been studied fairly extensively by scholars in the field of organization theory. Learning is a prerequisite for internationalization, and the behavior of individuals working in INVs seems to indicate a strong predisposition or aptness to learning. In spite of this, research on learning among INVs has been limited and fragmented up to the present time. In seeking to advance the research niche of INV learning, we conducted a systematic review of articles published on learning within INVs. Our contributions are related to: (i) providing a review of current knowledge of learning among INVs; (ii) relating the findings of our review to the organizational learning theory proposed by March (1991); and (iii) a future research agenda.     

New entrepreneurial ventures in a globalized world: The role of market orientation

The present study examines the performance consequences of a market orientation for new entrepreneurial ventures in a globalized world. We show that market orientation indeed positively impacts the performance of new entrepreneurial ventures, regardless of their geographical setting. While market orientation turns out to be a general success factor in a globalized world, the strength of the performance relationship however is contingent to the national culture as one major differentiator between geographical settings. The effect turns out to be stronger in collectivist and high uncertainty avoidance cultures. Findings are derived based on large samples with German and Thai new entrepreneurial ventures. Partial least square is applied as the method of analysis.

International entrepreneurship in the post Covid world

How will the world look post Covid-19? What is the role of international entrepreneurship (IE) in this new world? This article attempts to answer these two questions. It highlights the changes caused by Covid and how they might affect the scope and types of international entrepreneurial activities in years to come. It also discusses how international entrepreneurs are likely to operate and shape the emerging world order. The article concludes by outlining the implications of these changes for IE scholarship, offering an agenda for future research.     

Managing international joint ventures to improve performance: The role of structural and social mechanisms

Poor performance has been a major concern in research on international joint ventures (IJVs). This study integrates the IJV management mechanisms from transaction cost theory (TCT) and social exchange theory (SET) in order to gain insights into management mechanisms that improve IJV performance. The framework consists of three structural (i.e., symmetric dependence, symmetric equity share and resource complementarity) and three social (i.e., trust, communication and cultural adaptation) IJV management mechanisms, which are considered as potential determinants of IJV performance. Based on the analysis of data collected from 89 IJVs established by Nordic firms in Asia, Europe and the USA, results indicate that TCT-based symmetric dependence and resource complementarity on the one hand and SET-based trust, communication and cultural adaptation on another significantly improve IJV performance. However, impact of symmetric equity share on IJV performance remains negative and non-significant, explaining that IJV partners may consider it rather a safeguard to their own stake and interests in IJVs. In addition, SET-based IJV management mechanisms are found to be more effective than the TCT-based IJV mechanisms in improving IJV performance.     

中外合资企业控制权分配与绩效关系的实证研究

合资企业契约的不完备性决定了控制问题是合资企业的核心问题,合理的控制权结构可以帮助合资企业的母公司实现自己的战略目标,并且保持竞争优势。与之前研究不同的是,本文通过引入分割控制的概念,利用106家中外合资企业的数据对控制权分配与绩效之间的关系进行了实证检验。研究发现,合资企业的中方只对某些经营活动进行控制的分割控制,最有利于合资企业的中方实现战略意图。     

新贸易模式与世界经济失衡——基于NITP-GEM的研究

贸易问题既是世界经济失衡的主要表现之一,也是主要原因之一。本文在国际货币基金组织的全球经济模型(GEM)的基础之上,建立了一个基于新贸易模式的全球经济模型(NITP-GEM),以此为工具研究20世纪80年代以来演变出的新贸易模式在当前世界经济失衡中的作用,及在此背景下汇率调整、贸易保护、财政政策等对世界经济失衡的调整效应。研究发现,在新贸易模式下,世界经济失衡是稳态解的必然内涵,是一种特殊的均衡,其他领域的政策和调整方案在世界经济再平衡上收效甚微。     

Why TNCs try to make their subsidiaries sole proprietorship enterprises in China?

A review on the evolution of the Transnational Corporations’ (TNCs) equity ownership structure in their subsidiaries in recent 20 years reveals an increasingly clear preference for sole proprietorship. Based on results of the prior researches, this paper presented a two-stage evolutionary model to explain the underlying reasons of the tendency in China. It is shown that the TNCs’ strategic choice for their subsidiaries’ equity ownership structure is a decision-making process and result, which makes the parent company, as the principal part, based on the current business strategies of the parent company (local or global integration) at the premise of the investment environment of host country, pursue possibly unproductive receipts by choosing or changing the structure of the equity ownership. Translated from Guangli Shijie 管理世界 (Business World), 2003, (1): 57–62     

Resolving post-formation challenges in shared IJVs: The impact of shared IJV structure on inter-partner relationships

The “50/50”, or the shared management international joint venture (shared IJV) remains a popular and yet challenging control structure to govern IJVs. The purpose of this study is to understand the post-formation management of shared IJVs, specifically the relationship between shared structure, relational conditions and management of post-formation challenges. Our evidence is based on 26 in-depth interviews across four cases of shared IJVs between British multinationals and Asian companies. Our findings indicate that the highly integrative nature of shared IJVs, including high operational interdependence and shared decision-making, encourages partners to work closely together, communicate frequently and intensely and exchange personnel. Although share management can lead to inter-partner conflicts, the equal investment and mutual responsibility partly provides partners with motivation and opportunities to learn about each other, to better implement the control structure, to build trust, and to commit to the venture and partner. These relational conditions facilitated the successful management of post-formation challenges such as diversity related conflicts and macro volatility.     

我国蜂蜜贸易国际竞争力的比较分析

根据FAOSTAT和中国统计年鉴等提供的最新数据,在运用市场占有率、显示性对称比较优势分析和综合竞争力分析的基础上,综合测算和分析了我国蜂蜜贸易竞争力的变化。结果表明,2002年后我国蜂蜜的竞争力不降反升,已超越加拿大,但较阿根廷低。原因在于2002年以来,我国蜂蜜质量的整体提高和蜂蜜营销能力的增强,直接导致国际竞争力得到提高。因此,要提高我国蜂蜜的国际竞争力就要转变长期依靠价格竞争的方式,着重蜂产品质量和企业营销能力两个方面的提高,变贸易劣势为优势。最后,提出了增强我国蜂蜜国际竞争力的六条建议。     

新经济形势下如何提升浙江省中小企业的国际竞争力

本文选取贸易专业化指数和显示性比较优势指数等指标,分别从商品结构、贸易方式和不同地区比较的角度对浙江中小企业的国际竞争力做了具体分析,并且阐述了浙江中小企业国际竞争的优劣势。面对当前人民币升值、原材料价格上涨等国内外新经济形势,本文从政府、行业和企业三方面就如何提升浙江中小企业的国际竞争力提出了相应对策和建议。