Human Resources and International Joint Venture Performance: A System Perspective

Abstract

Building on a general systems theory, we argue that the multi-system nature of the international joint venture (IJV) drives two distinct but inter-related sets of human resources (HR) issues: a set whose core is mainly within the venture subsystem (within-IJV HR set), producing a detrimental impact on venture performance; and a set associated mainly with the relational tension along the interface between the parent and the venture subsystem (relational/interface HR set). The relational set is detrimental at the system level, but actually has a positive performance impact at the venture subsystem level. Hierarchical regression results from a sample of 265 China-based IJVs offer support for the above hypotheses developed around the two sets of HR issues. We discuss implications for IJV theory, research, and practice.

Keywords: human resources, international joint venture, general systems theory