Diagnosing critical barriers to international construction joint ventures success in the developing country of Ghana

Abstract

Purpose International construction joint ventures (ICJVs) implementation is plagued with several barriers, full understanding of which is still lacking due to a lack of an in-depth exploration of them, particularly in developing countries. To fill this knowledge gap, this study aims to investigate the critical barriers to the success of ICJVs hosted in developing countries by examining the Ghanaian case. Design/methodology/approach This study builds on a previous study that identified 37 barriers factors to ICJVs success via a systematic literature review. Through expert interviews, 34 potential barriers were identified, and a two-round survey was conducted with 84 ICJVs practitioners in Ghana. The data collected was analyzed using the combination of a multidimensional fuzzy logic method and confirmatory factor analysis. Findings Results showed that 22 barriers were critical. The top five most critical barriers were “lack of preparedness to accept company philosophy,” “competing objectives,” “opportunistic behavior of parties,” “conflicts” and “lack of management control.” Furthermore, the results uncovered and confirmed five significant underlying components for the 22 critical barriers, namely, organizational-related, cultural-related, knowledge-related, individual-related and logistics-related barriers. Practical implications The findings could be useful to ICJVs practitioners and policymakers in developing suitable strategies for the successful implementation of ICJVs. Further, foreign firms aiming to execute and promote ICJVs in Ghana could have prior knowledge of the critical barriers and prepare for them. Originality/value This study empirically analyzed the individual levels of barriers criticalities in ICJVs context and from a specific-country perspective – the developing country of Ghana – rather than in the context of construction joint ventures and from a cross-country perspective in extant studies.