The impact of organizational culture on competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency in Spanish-Moroccan international joint ventures

Abstract

Purpose -The characteristics of a particular organizational culture may affect performance in achieving the objectives of international joint ventures (IJVs), a type of partnership that is often used in international business relations between developed and emerging countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the underlying dimensions that characterize organizational culture in these countries may affect firms' performance, specifically their competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency. Design/methodology/approach -The survey conducted for this study was addressed to Spanish-Moroccan IJVs trading in Morocco. The research hypotheses were tested using multivariate analysis techniques (exploratory factor analysis and linear regression model). Findings -Based on information provided by the CEOs of Spanish-Moroccan IJVs between small-to medium-sized firms, the present study shows that levels of competitiveness, effectiveness and/or efficiency in these organizations are influenced by the involvement of staff in management, the degree of centralization of decision taking and the firms' emphasis on results or on procedures. Practical implications -This research contributes to the knowledge of the main factors related to the organizational culture of joint ventures that influence competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency achieved. Originality/value -The value provided by this research lies in the sample examined, in its focus on a very common type of partnership between SMEs, which has been little studied previously, and in the fact that the results obtained are extensible to other realities, such as partnerships between European companies and those from countries with similar characteristics (located in Africa or in countries where an Arab culture prevails).

International joint ventures research on Africa: A systematic literature review, propositions, and contextualization

“…Zaheer & Mosakowski, 1997) and facilitating the deployment of the relevant expertise and capabilities to create the stability needed for the success of the IJV has been discussed in the IJV literature. In the context of Africa, empirical evidence suggests the appointment of a CEO who hails from the host country of the IJV or a CEO who understands the local market has a positive influence on the performance of the IJV (Argente-Linares et al, 2013a, 2013bGómez-Miranda et al, 2015). While Choi and Beamish (2004) did not find any significant performance differences in local partner-dominant management, we saw a significant positive role played by local partners in the performance of IJVs in Africa (Bartels et al, 2002;Boateng & Glaister, 2003;Dadzie et al, 2014;Hearn, 2015;Luiz & Charalambous, 2009).…”

“…While different dimensions and constructs are presented in different frameworks (Javidan, House, Dorfman, Hanges, & Sully de Luque, 2006;Earley, 2006;Magnusson, Wilson, Zdravkovic, Zhou, & Westjohn, 2008;Steenkamp, 2001), the relevance of national and, thus, organizational cultural dimensions is generally accepted despite criticisms of the above frameworks (Venaik & Brewer, 2013). The role of organizational culture has been studied in IJVs (Gómez-Miranda et al, 2015;Kivrak et al, 2014) and related IB entry modes like acquisitions (Bjorkman, Stahl, & Vaara, 2007;Zander & Zander, 2010).…”

“…Others argued for the significant role of local partners in enhancing the performance of IJVs, especially market‐seeking IJVs (Dadzie et al, 2014) and the service industries (Luiz & Charalambous, 2009), even in challenging institutional environments (Bartels et al, 2002). While the above‐mentioned studies focused on the strategic paths of the IJVs, authors such as Argente‐Linares et al (2013a, 2013b) and Gómez‐Miranda et al (2015) extended the study of performance to include the role and nationality of the CEO and ownership by the staff and the board of directors in IJV performance in Africa. They argued for selecting a CEO who hails from the host country or an experienced foreign national who is knowledgeable about the host country’s business environment.…”

“…The role of expatriate managers in steering the IJV through the liabilities of newness and foreignness (Dutta & Beamish, 2013; S. Zaheer & Mosakowski, 1997) and facilitating the deployment of the relevant expertise and capabilities to create the stability needed for the success of the IJV has been discussed in the IJV literature. In the context of Africa, empirical evidence suggests the appointment of a CEO who hails from the host country of the IJV or a CEO who understands the local market has a positive influence on the performance of the IJV (Argente‐Linares et al, 2013a, 2013b; Gómez‐Miranda et al, 2015).…”

“…This could be a result of the nature of the themes explored. Eight studies (36%) used IB theories, such as social capital theory (Ado et al, 2017), the OLI paradigm (Dadzie et al, 2014; Dadzie et al, 2018), institutional theory (Hearn, 2015; Luiz & Charalambous, 2009), resource dependency and structural contingency theory (Hearn, 2015), organizational culture and national culture theories (Gómez‐Miranda et al, 2015; Kivrak et al, 2014), and the resource‐based view and Porter’s competitive strategy (Acquaah, 2009).…”