Patterns in strategic joint ventures of selected prominent cross-border contractors for 1999–2003

Abstract

Scholars have noted that cross-border businesses have been increasingly using alternative forms of overseas involvement instead of going-it-alone. A study was conducted to document and subsequently identify possible patterns from the strategic joint ventures adopted by selected contractors that appeared in the Engineering News Record’s annual top 225 international contractors survey from 1999–2003 inclusively, which was also the framed study period. The modes of strategic joint ventures that became the focus of the study were equity joint venture companies, serial joint ventures, and long-term joint venture contracts. Data was collected entirely from secondary sources, which were triangulated to remove possible biases. The study found patterns in terms of frequency of the various modes, nationality of partners, markets the joint ventures served, and industries the partners belonged to. The findings add to our knowledge on the behaviour of cross-border contractors.