Critical barriers to international construction joint ventures success : multiexpert views and contextual disparities

Abstract

International construction joint ventures (ICJVs) have evolved as an effective approach to sustainable development, given their myriad socioeconomic and environmental benefits. Despite the benefits, the successful implementation of ICJVs is still hindered by several barriers. However, limited studies exist that have comprehensively analyzed the critical barriers to ICJV success. This study aims to examine the criticality of barriers to ICJV success. Through a comprehensive literature review, 36 barriers were identified, and an expert survey was conducted with 123 ICJV experts from 24 different countries/jurisdictions around the world. The results confirmed the criticality of 22 of the 36 barriers used for the survey. Most of the critical barriers were attributed to lack of attention to management and organizational issues during ICJV implementation. In developed countries, the leading barriers are more collective (from the ICJV) than from individual partners; the reverse is rather true in developing countries. Mann-Whitney U test results showed some significant differences in the rankings of the barriers between the two contexts. Moreover, there was significant agreement on the ranking of the critical barriers between experts from the industrial sector and those from the academic sector. Five components were obtained through factor analysis, namely, knowledge limitations, operational and governance-related barriers, coordinating difficulties, system and cultural barriers, and interface-oriented and outlook barriers. This study contributes to deepening the understanding of barriers to ICJV success and helping ICJV front-liners (i.e., top team managers) and policymakers in developing suitable measures and policies to ensure successful implementation of ICJVs. It could also direct researchers toward examining the influences of these barriers on ICJVs’ overall performance goals to devise clear-cut frameworks, seeking their successful implementation in the future.