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What matters to managerial knowledge acquisition in international joint ventures? High knowledge acquirers versus low knowledge acquirers

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Abstract

Although there is a general agreement amongst scholars that international joint venture (IJV) is a vehicle to acquire technology and knowledge from foreign parents, key factors differentiating high knowledge acquirers from low knowledge acquirers are not yet conclusive. For the purpose of this study, the samples are divided into two groups based on the extent of knowledge acquisition using cluster analysis. Then the two groups are examined to identify the main factors classifying the groups by using logistic regression. This study finds that managerial knowledge that has more sticky characteristics than technology is acquirable know-how. It also shows that trust between parents, international experience of IJV employees, and foreign parent’s support in various managerial functions will considerably increase the extent of knowledge acquisition for IJVs. In conclusion, based on the findings from this study, this paper offers suggestions to IJVs and multinational enterprises investing in Korea.

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Notes

  1. Both foreign and local parents establishing IJVs are commonly called parents. In turn, this logically labels IJVs as children. No one may deny that the majority of parents generally trust children, which inherit their hereditary characteristics, and vice versa. However, trust between parents is a different agenda. The failure of IJVs is often derived from distrust between both parents, which results in their divorce. In this regard, this research will focus on trust between parent firms as a factor affecting knowledge acquisition in the children.

  2. Tatoglu and Glaister (1998) define that an IJV is a firm with foreign ownership of 10–90%. In contrast, Demirbag and Mirza (2000) point out that less than 20% of foreign ownership does not adequately reflect the characteristics of IJVs, and this will only increase the sample size.

  3. This study includes both manufacturing and service industries.

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  1. College of Commerce and Economics, Kyungsung University, 314-79, Daeyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Pusan, 608-736, South Korea

    Byung Il Park

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Appendices

Appendix 1

Table 4 Dependent variables.
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Appendix 2

Table 5 Independent variables.
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Park, B.I. What matters to managerial knowledge acquisition in international joint ventures? High knowledge acquirers versus low knowledge acquirers. Asia Pac J Manag 27, 55–79 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-008-9111-6

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