Joint venture strategy formulation and implementation: A contingency approach

This dissertation presents and tests a contingency model of joint venture performance. The effects of joint venture strategy formulation and implementation are examined and compared in the two contexts of domestic and North Sea oil exploration and production joint ventures. Complementarity, the extent to which the joint venture partners bring nonredundant distinctive competencies to the partnership, is the key strategy formulation concept for this study. The strategy implementation concepts are ownership/control by the parent organizations and joint venture child autonomy.;Contrary to expectations, the overlap of parent distinctive competencies is found to be positively related to joint venture performance. In addition, there appears to be a need for similarity of the business philosophies of the parent organizations.;Influence by all parent firms in the more strategic functional areas, such as exploration, is found to be an important factor contributing to joint venture success. In the functional area of production technology, higher performance is associated with leadership by the parent with greatest technical expertise and experience. It is also important that all joint venture parents perceive themselves as having some influence over joint venture decision making to establish good partner relations.;No significant findings are found in the analysis of the child autonomy contingency hypothesis. It appears that there is a greater need for child autonomy in the initial formative stages of the joint venture, until the first well is drilled.;Governmental and regulatory influences of the United Kingdom appear to cause prospective partners in the North Sea to more carefully select joint venture partners. A higher degree of overlap of the distinctive competencies of the parent firms is found in the North Sea than in the domestic joint ventures. Little difference is found between domestic and North Sea joint venture strategy implementation.;Strong support is found for a multidimensional approach to joint venture strategy implementation and performance.