Partner nationality, market-focus and IJV performance: A contingent approach

Abstract

This study examines how Taiwanese firms engaging in various types of international joint ventures (IJVs) have performed in China, and how different types of market-focus affect IJVs’ performance. Based on the IJV classification scheme suggested by [Makino S., & Beamish P. W. (1998). Performance and survival of joint ventures with non-conventional ownership structures. Journal of International Business Studies, 29(4): 797–818], this study outlines and examines three categories of IJVs, according to partner nationality: Taiwan-Taiwan (T-T) JVs, Taiwan-Local (T-L) (China) JVs, and Taiwan-Foreign (T-F) (third-country) JVs. We propose two hypotheses, with associated sub-hypotheses, to examine the major effects of partner nationality on performance, as well as the moderating effects of local market-focus on the relationship between partner nationality and performance. Through the analysis of 236 Taiwanese JVs in China, we find that (1) T-L JVs perform better than T-T JVs and T-F JVs; (2) T-L JVs focusing on the local market do not perform better than those focusing on foreign markets; and (3) T-F JVs focusing on foreign markets perform better than those focusing on the local market.