The structure-performance relationship in international joint ventures: a comparative analysis

In a recent study published in this Journal [Sim, A., & Ali, Y. (1998). Performance of international joint ventures from developing and developed countries: An empirical study in a developing country context. Journal of World Business, 33(4): 357-376.] compared the attributes and performance of joint ventures (JVs) between firms from developed versus developing countries. This study extends Sim and Ali's (1998) work by circumventing its key limitations. It compares the structure and capital market performance of two-party equity JVs across three sponsor categories: (i) partners from developed countries, (ii) partners from newly industrialized countries, and (iii) partners from developing countries. Based on a cross-sectional sample of more than 700 JVs involving American firms and non-American partners, this study finds that the structure of JVs varies significantly across-sponsor categories. These differences reveal themselves in terms of American firms' differential market performance. Moreover, some JV characteristics consistently influence firms' shareholder value whereas the impact of other characteristics depends upon a particular sponsor category.