Performance and survival of joint ventures with non-conventional ownership structures

The international joint venture (JV) literature has focused on two parent JVs formed between one foreign and one local firm. Yet, other types of JVs exist. This paper identifies four distinct forms of JVs based on the JV partners' nationality and equity affiliation. These are (i) JVs that are formed between affiliated home-country based firms; (ii) JVs that are formed between unaffiliated home-country based firms; (iii) JVs that are formed between home-country based and local firms;and (iv) JVs that are formed between home-country and third-country based firms. Our analysis of 737 Japanese JVs in Asia demonstrates that the conventionally assumed form of JV represented only 30 percent of the total. Further, each of the four JV forms significantly differed in terms of incidence, performance, and survival likelihood.