AN ECONOMIC-MODEL OF INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURE STRATEGY

The strategic choice between joint ventures, licensing agreements and mergers is analysed using eight key factors suggested by internalisati on theory. The model explains the increasing role of international joi nt ventures in the 1980s in terms of the accelerating pace of technolo gical innovation and the globalisation of markets, It offers a range o f predictions about the formation of joint ventures within industries, across industries, across locations, and over time, It exploits a pow erful modelling technique that has many other applications in internat ional business strategy.