Predicting organizational success within a project-based joint venture alliance

Project-based joint ventures (a special type of alliance) are an often-used method to form competitive organizational structures in the global market; they allow participants to quickly assemble project-needed assets on a short-term basis without substantial investment. However, published discussions of joint ventures describe mixed success and focus on factors that affect the ventures after they are formed. This paper exposes factors, which may be observed at joint venture inception, that are predictive of organizational success within the joint venture. The survey research of U.S. architecture/engineering/construction (A/E/C) firms indicates that smaller partners in a joint venture experience more market growth and are more successful. Also, a firm with strength in legitimacy (client trust) is more likely to gain in short-term income but will likely suffer some long-term market loss in comparison to its less-legitimized partners. It is further concluded that culture match among partners plays a significant role in ensuring profitable joint venture returns.