Ownership and trust in the governance structures of Spanish-Moroccan SMEs constituted as international joint ventures

Abstract

The choice of a specific governance structure can be related to different aspects. This structure can be critical in the success of a firm. In SMEs constituted as international joint ventures (IJVs) the governance structure may depend on different elements to large firms and they should be described. The relationship between partners can be decisive in determining these structures. So, the ownership, the participation of partners in different levels of governance, and trust are key factors in determining the choice of the governance structure. The results, from 210 SMEs constituted as Spanish-Moroccan IJVs, reveal the importance of the ownership concentration and the overlapping of roles in the choice of governance structures. Control and trust are important issues. The existence of a board or a sole administrator allows aligning the interest of partners and managers, limiting the possible situations of opportunism by managers. The existence of owner-managers in Spanish-Moroccan IJVs is positively related with the existence of a board, possibly because there is no convergence of interests between partners. The results show that trust and the control exercised via the governance structure are substitutive mechanisms.