THE ROLE OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURE NEGOTIATIONS - CASE-STUDIES FROM EASTERN-EUROPE

Recent literature has suggested that a key stakeholder may be able to shift the balance of bargaining po,ver during a joint venture negotiat ion, and thus change the outcome of the process, This paper explores t he role of central and eastern European transitional governments as ke y stakeholders, and how they influence international joint venture neg otiations, This role is described and analyzed by examining eight dyad s of western European and central/eastern European enterprises that ha ve recently negotiated agreements, The findings suggest that transitio nal governments as key stakeholders intervene at different stages of t he negotiation process, have both direct and indirect influences on th e process, and that they can change the balance of power in the negoti ations, sometimes to the detriment of their own state-owned enterprise .