ABSTRACT
Increasing attention has focused o n j o int ventures and other types o f alliances as firms have shifted emphasis f rom strategies based o n competit ion, to ones incorporat ing not ions o f co -operat ion . Such collaborative agreements are b e c o m i n g increasingly important sources o f competitive strength and advantage as rapid changes take place in markets, products and technology. This p h e n o m - e n o n is not limited to national or domestic markets, but characterizes operations o n a g lobal scale. Hi l lebrand (1996) therefore argues that promot ing co -operat ion by po l i cy makers in industrializing countries is crucial if they are to c o p e successfully with industrial and technological change in a turbulent international environment . T o date, j o in t ventures involving multinational companies are one o f the most c o m m o n forms o f co-operative arrangement in these countries (Freeman and H a g e d o o r n 1994). G o v e r n m e n t pol icy makers in these countries have often encouraged j o int ventures as a mechanism for transferring advanced te chno logy and m o d e r n managerial practices to local firms as part o f their industrialization strategies. Yet, despite their widespread nature, managing jo int ventures has b e e n problematic due to the multiple ownership and thus scope for potential conflicts between j o int venture partners. 1 Moreover , j o int ventures m a y not m e e t parent expectations. For example , the per formance o f nearly two-thirds o f their j o in t ventures in the industrializing countries were considered to b e unsatisfactory by the managers o f multinational corporat ions (Beamish 1984). It is therefore unsurprising that j o int ventures have a high rate o f dissolution. C o n - sequently, j o in t ventures m a y not be particularly effective as mechanisms for techno logy transfer and industrialization, unless their dynamics are better understood .
