Joint venture manufacturing in China: an exploratory investigation

International joint venture (IJV) manufacturing is important for both the C hinese economy and a large number of foreign investors. A review of the lit erature from both Western and Chinese researchers showed that although the purpose and advantages of IJV manufacturing in China are known a vital aspe ct - operations management - has largely been ignored Therefore, explorator y interviews with managers at six companies were conducted to investigate t he operations management issues faced by IJV manufacturers in China. Four m ain problems were identified: the difficulty with recruiting and training s uitable employees; all aspects of supplier management;problems with achievi ng high-quality output; and achieving an effective IJV business culture. Th e results have implications not only for researchers, in that they indicate where more research is necessary, but also for practitioners, since they i dentify the areas where IJV manufacturers are most likely to encounter prob lems in China.