What Differences in the Cultural Backgrounds of Partners Are Detrimental for International Joint Ventures?

The impact of partner diversity within multiparty international joint ventures

“…The negative role of host country experience for the dissolution of MPIJVs is consistent with existing research that has argued that such experience allows firms to learn how to cooperate with local firms and is thus conducive to the survival of IJVs (Barkema & Vermeulen, 1997). The positive effect of an equal equity distribution on the dissolution of MPIJVs is in line with prior research on dyadic…”

“…Although prior research has not investigated the effects of three key facets of diversity simultaneously, the role of differences between (two) partners has traditionally played a central role in explanations of the dissolution of (dyadic) IJVs (e.g., Barkema & Vermeulen, 1997;Park & Ungson, 1997;Steensma & Lyles, 2000;Xia, 2011). One stream of research on the role of inter-firm differences in IJVs has suggested that partner firms' resources and capabilities need to be complementary and synergistic in order for the IJV to be competitive, perform well, meet partner firms' objectives, and reduce the chances that partners decide to terminate the joint venture (Inkpen & Beamish, 1997;Park & Ungson, 1997).…”

“…Therefore, the increasing difficulty of monitoring partner firms' behaviors with a growing number of partner firms make free-riding and opportunistic behaviors more likely (Gulati & Singh, 1998;Parkhe, 1993a) as well as making them more difficult to detect (Hennart & Zeng, 2005;Zeng & Chen, 2003). The difficulties and costs associated with monitoring partner firms are greater when partner firms originate in different countries, i.e., at higher levels of variety (Barkema & Vermeulen, 1997). We suggest that a modest increase in variety does not lead to disproportionate cost increase due to the existence of slack resources.…”

Decision makers facing uncertainty: Theory versus evidence

“…It is based on the answers given to three questions concerning employment stability, rule orientation and stress at work. 2 These questions are closely related to three of our …ve selected questions, respectively, job security, oppurtunity to use initiative and pressure (each belonging to a di¤erent decision problem). Our approach is however methodologically di¤erent from Hofstede's one.…”

“…For an overview of replication studies until 1994 see Sondergaard (1994). See also, among others, HofstedeBond (1984), Barkema-Vermeulen (1997) and Merritt (2000). For an alternative theory of 'uncertainty orientation'and its link with Hofstede's concept of uncertainty avoidance see Sorrentino-Roney (2000) and Shuper et Al.…”