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The article discusses the commonalities and differences between the Soviet Union and China in the evolution of the philosophy and practical policy vis‐a‐vis joint ventures with the West. The comparative study is set against the background of the ongoing reform in both countries which seeks to integrate Soviet and Chinese economies into the world economic community. It is emphasised that the terms, impact on the overall economic situation, and prospects of joint ventures with the West in the USSR and China, are determined by the scale, scope and consistency of the implemented reforms which, in their turn, are dependent to a certain extent on the results of business co‐operation with Western firms.

This paper attempts to study the motives behind a Hong Kong‐Japanese joint venture between two retailers from the perspectives of firm‐specific advantages provided by both partners of the international joint ventures (IJVs). The analysis focuses on the local partner’s motives and how the IJVs have provided the opportunity for it to overcome the increasing Japanese competition in the retail sector after the mid‐1980s. Finally, the IJVs are evaluated according to the available secondary data in terms of how much the local partner has achieved from the IJVs.

Currently, learning in international joint ventures between developing and developed countries tends to be viewed as a one‐way process, with Western partners assuming superiority in both technology and management. Learning is often dominated by the rational drive to achieve organisational effectiveness without sufficient attention to cultural differences, which has created problems of mutual understanding. In this paper we examine learning processes in Chinese‐Western joint ventures as well as the cultural context where learning is taking place. We argue that improved management of joint ventures lies in the process of collective learning of joint venture partners. To achieve this, it is important for partners from diverse cultures and socio‐economic backgrounds to understand the different modes of managing and organising. We illustrate this with examples from our study of Chinese‐Western joint ventures.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of intangible assets and similarity of resources on the choice between acquisitions and joint ventures and whether it is different in domestic and European operations. In order to test these relations, a sample of domestic and European growth deals was selected (563 deals, of which 449 are acquisitions and 114 are joint ventures). Results demonstrate that it is more probable that firms will choose acquisitions if there is a close similarity between the resources of the firms. Also, if the operation is domestic, companies with higher proportions of intangible resources prefer acquisitions.

Strategic alliances have a variety of governance structures that can be broadly classified as joint ventures, minority equity alliances, and contractual alliances. This paper seeks to empirically examine the roles of four key determinants of governance structure choice, namely, joint R&D and joint marketing objectives, alliance management experience, and international partners.

Several hypotheses are developed regarding governance structure choice and are tested with data from 765 alliances. A multinomial logistic regression (logit) model is used for statistical analysis, with five control variables.

All hypotheses are supported, so that the roles of alliance objectives, alliance management experience, and international partners are demonstrated as being significant as determinants of governance structure choice in alliances.

Limitations stem from the data being from a single source, one that also relies on press announcements that may be biased toward larger alliances.

Briefly, alliance managers should find it useful to assess the relative presence of the four determinants of structural choice studied in this investigation in order to make an informed selection of the appropriate governance structure.

The study contributes to the knowledge of the key determinants of governance structure choice in strategic alliances by examining empirically, with a large sample of alliances from various industries, the significant roles of four factors, namely, joint R&D and joint marketing objectives, alliance management experience, and international partners.

1992 was the year of the Single European Market. By 31 December 1992, agreement should have been reached on some 286 directives, which aimed to dismantle physical, technical and fiscal barriers to trade. In so doing, it was expected that community businesses would become more integrated, allowing them to compete on more equal terms as Eurobusinesses with the global players of the US and Japan. It was predicted that greater intra‐Community competition would be a necessary precursor of this outcome, and that this will lead to industries restructuring through mergers and joint ventures to increase market share and economies of scale by reaching a “minimum efficient size”. Examines the trends in cross‐border mergers/acquisitions and joint ventures for the period 1986 to 1989 and concludes that, for both small and large firms, such activity has increased. Further, an analysis of EC material on the subject reveals that firms′ reasons for such developments appear to have become more market‐oriented over time.

Briefly outlines the development and attraction of the “joint venture” approach to foreign investment in China. Provides a number of in‐depth interviews with top management personnel of five well‐known international joint ventures. Attempts to discover what strategic management knowledge was transferred from the Western partner. Finds only limited evidence to suggest such a transfer was taking place but suggests that these ventures are still relatively new. Points to China’s likely entry into the World Trade Organisation as an opportunity for change.

Different forms of inter-organisational encounters, including joint ventures, alliances, mergers and acquisitions, have over the last decades become fashionable and much-sought means of globalisation. A continuous concern shared by managers involved in these different forms of inter-organisational encounters is the challenge of making them work in practice – their successful implementation and management. The cultural dimensions of these different kinds of inter-organisational encounters, particularly in cross-border contexts, have been deplored as being particularly difficult. This paper builds on prior research and aims to understand how the cultural dimensions of inter-organisational encounters have been approached by researchers on mergers and acquisitions on the one hand and researchers on alliances and joint ventures on the other hand. Based on a comparative literature review, the findings suggest that the two fields, despite their valuable contributions and the similarities in the phenomena they study, have remained surprisingly isolated from one another and would offer opportunities for cross-fertilisation. Through its theoretical contribution, the paper intends to offer insights to researchers in both streams of research.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the initial stock price reaction and long‐run returns for joint venture announcements between US MNCs and foreign governments as well as the firm characteristics and political risk factors of the foreign governments that affect the abnormal returns. In addition we determine changes in total and systematic risk following the joint venture.

Announcement abnormal returns are calculated using event study cumulative abnormal returns. Long‐run returns use a buy and hold methodology. Cross section regressions are performed on both the announcement and long run returns.

Announcement abnormal returns are a positive 0.37 percent; however, the long‐run returns are a significant −3.99 percent the end of the first year. Both short‐run and long‐run returns are higher when the level of internal conflict is low, and surprisingly when the level of corruption is high. Also, surprisingly, short‐run returns are higher when ethnic violence is higher, but, as expected, long‐run returns are higher when there is higher democratic stability.

One implication is that when US managers are confronted by foreign government corruption, there may be a conflict between the success of the project and the ethical/legal requirements of the company.

The paper focuses on joint ventures with foreign governments rather than the usual foreign companies. Also, unlike previous papers that have used only one measure of political risk, this paper uses five of the PRS categories of political risk.

This study aims to identify mechanisms to manage conflicts that occur when organizations with different cultures, habits and experiences try to coordinate effectively in international joint ventures (IJV). This study proposes that partners can promote their joint venture performance to the extent that they rely on cooperative rather than competitive conflict management. This study further hypothesizes that adopting collectivist values strengthens relationships and thereby provides a foundation for cooperative conflict management.

The authors collected data for this study in Shanghai, which is currently the most attractive province in China for FDI (FDI Intelligence, 2014). In all, 75 pairs of foreign and Chinese managers at middle and senior levels, knowledgeable about the joint venture relationships, completed their respective questionnaires.

Results of the structural equation analyses support the hypotheses that collectivist values support cooperative conflict management that in turn facilitates joint venture learning and performance. In contrast, individualistic values promoted competitive conflict management which in turn frustrated IJV performance.

Results suggest that IJV managers can strengthen their venture by developing collective values and training such cooperative conflict management skills as self-expression and demonstrating understanding of opposing views.

This study directly documents that while conflicts may interfere they can also stimulate discussions and decisions that promote coordination and performance of IJVs. This study contributes to conflict management research that has largely focused on investigating the consequences of approaches by examining conditions that promote constructive conflict management approaches.