Title

The Relationship Between Firm Resources and Joint Ventures: Revisited

Authors

Vivien E. Jancenelle, Cleveland State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-7-2015

Publication Title

American Journal Of Business

Keywords

strategic management, firm resources, joint ventures, event-study, content analysis, resource heterogeneity

Disciplines

Business | Finance and Financial Management | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | Strategic Management Policy

Abstract

Purpose

– This study is a replication of Wolff and Reed’s (2000) work. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the combination of resources brought to joint ventures influence parent-firm performance. This study is also interested in whether or not the exposure of immobile resources through the semi-transparent membrane of the joint venture can have negative effects on parent-firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– The sample consists of two-parent joint ventures formed by publicly traded US firms between 1997 and 2013. The event-study methodology is used to calculate each parent-firm’s abnormal returns. This work also uses content analysis to analyze parent-firms’ annual reports (10-K).

Findings

– While Wolff and Reed’s results on resource allocation within joint ventures were not statistically significant, this replication study provided strong support to the resource allocation hypothesis. It was found that intangible resource heterogeneity within a joint venture creates higher performance gains for parent-firms than tangible resource heterogeneity. This work also successfully replicated Wolff and Reed’s findings on the negative impact of immobile resources exposure on parent-firm performance. Wolff and Reed’s results on resource complementarity were, however, not successfully replicated.

Originality/value

– This replication study goes beyond simply showing that engaging in a joint venture strategy creates value for parent-firms. Through the use of a new content analysis method, this study was able to provide strong support for Wolff and Reed’s theory on the performance gains provided by resource heterogeneity in a joint venture setting, and to confirm the results on potential adverse performance effects of immobile resources exposure.

Recommended Citation

Vivien E. Jancenelle, (2015) "The relationship between firm resources and joint ventures: revisited", American Journal of Business, Vol. 30 Iss: 1, pp.8 - 21

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/AJB-07-2014-0045

Version

Postprint

Publisher's Statement

This article is © Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/AJB-07-2014-0045. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Volume

30

Issue

1