ABSTRACT
These quotes underscore the challenges associated with managing international joint ventures as well as other cross-national partnerships and alliances. U.S.-based Johnson Controls and its French partner Saft Groupe SA formed a joint venture to manufacture batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles. But after five years, Johnson Controls was not happy with the partnership and began proceedings to dissolve the joint venture in 2011. Although we do not know precisely what led up to this point, it is likely that the gap between U.S. and French management cultures compounded the firms’ differences regarding the strategic direction of the joint venture. In the end, the two international companies had to agree to disagree, with one partner seeing significant problems with the joint venture and the other partner thinking things were just fine.2
