Organizational structure and success of international joint ventures in emerging economies: the case of Spanish–Moroccan SMEs

Abstract

One of the most common ways in which SMEs internationalize their business is through the creation of joint ventures; nevertheless, many of these fail. To avoid this risk, it is important to identify the factors that favour the continuity of such enterprises. The aim of this paper is to analyse the factors related to organizational structure that determine the success of international joint ventures between SMEs in emerging economies, taking as the particular area of study the question of joint ventures between Spanish and Moroccan firms, located in Morocco. The research hypotheses were tested using a linear regression model applied to a sample of 210 international joint ventures. The results obtained from a structured survey show that, with respect to the success of the partnership, significant factors include the existence of majority ownership by the foreign partner, management by a local CEO and the effort made by each party to adapt to the management style of the other. This research contributes to the knowledge of the main factors related to the organizational structure of joint ventures that influence the level of success achieved. The value provided by this research lies in the breadth of the sample examined, in its focus on a very common type of partnership between SMEs, on which very little has been previously studied, and in the fact that the results obtained are extensible to other realities, such as partnerships between European companies and those from countries with similar characteristics (located in Africa or in countries where an Arab culture prevails).