Controlling international joint ventures from a distance

University of Technology, Sydney. Dept. of School of Accounting.International joint ventures (IJVs) are increasingly used as an important strategic option for pursuing international strategies. An extensive body of literature has investigated the processes leading to the formation of IJVs, parent partner’s control and performance evaluation of IJVs. Issues associated with how parent companies control IJVs, the use of accounting and other information in the management control system (MCS) and to evaluate the performance of IJVs have not attracted the same attention. This study proposes a research model to investigate (i) the effect of motives, bargaining power, international experience, involvement in other IJVs and interpartner working relationship, on parent partners ' MCS choices and (ii) the effect of international experience, involvement in other IJVs, interpartner working relationship and MCS choices on IJVs performance. A cross-sectional questionnaire was used to collect data from Australian parent partners of IJVs operating outside Australia. The research model was tested using PLS-Graph, a structural equation modeling technique. Strong results were found supporting the research model and indicating that most of the factors investigated influence parent partners MCS choices and/or impact on the performance of IJVs. The results confirm that bargaining power (in particular, the relative provision of critical resources) and motives have a significant effect on parent partner’s choices on all dimensions of the MCS, while international experience and involvement in other IJVs have a significant effect on focus of control. The most substantial significant effect on performance was that of the state of interpartner working relationship. Involvement in other IJVs, control extent and the use of formal control also had a significant positive effect on performance, while broader control focus was found to be negatively associated with performance outcomes. Additional tests indicated that the size of parent partners of IJVs could explain some aspects of the variance in MCS choices and the impact on performance outcomes. The results also revealed multiple dimensions of IJVs performance measured as achievement of parent partners' objectives. Robust results indicate that the model may be used as a reliable tool in future research. The research provided confirmation of prior findings and, at the same time, exploration of novel effects and relationships. Finally, the study suggested an IJV control framework model identifying different domains and levels of research to review, classify and evaluate the extant literature. Contributions of this study provide useful indications to researchers, management, practitioners and those searching for a better understanding of issues related to control and performance of IJVs

The implications of motive divergence on international joint venture management control systems and performance

International Joint Ventures (IJVs) are increasingly regarded as an important means of international expansion. A large body of literature has investigated the key characteristics of IJVs, however most of the research has been exploratory rather than confirmatory. This paper has developed a model to investigate (i) the effect of parent partner motive divergence and parent partner resource contributions to IJVs on parent partner management control systems (MCS) choices, (ii) the impact of parent partner resource contributions to IJVs on parent partner motive divergence and (iii) the impact of parent partner motive divergence and parent partner management control system choices on IJV performance. The data for this paper was gathered from a cross sectional survey questionnaire which collected data from Australian based parent partners of IJVs operating abroad. The results provide confirmatory evidence that motive divergence has a significant impact on performance and some impact on parent partner management control system choices. Resource contributions made by parent partners to IJVs was also found to have a significant impact on parent partner MCS choices and motive divergence. These findings provide confirmatory evidence of exploratory results and sound suggestions to the world of practice

Controlling international joint ventures: An investigation of australian parent partners

International joint ventures (IJVs) are an important modern organisational form, with their complexity presenting significant management and control issues. Our research uses a cross-sectional survey of Australian parent partners of IJVs to provide insights into the characteristics of Australian companies and their IJVs, performance outcomes and choices of parent partners management control systems (MCS) design in terms of operational areas they seek to control (focus), the extent to which they exercise control (extent) and the mechanisms of control used (formal and informal). Australian parent partners of IJVs generally are, partnering in countries close to Australia in the Asia-Pacific, in activities similar to those they undertake in Australia, contributing a significant amount of resources, but overall have only limited IJV experience. Australian parent partners focus on a limited set of controls, often with tighter formalised control structures. Finally, overall they are satisfied with the performance of their IJVs, with higher satisfaction for organisational learning and product/customer dimensions than financial performance

An investigation of wholly-owned foreign subsidiary control through transaction cost economics theory

© 2015 AFAANZ This paper investigates the management control systems used by multinational corporation headquarters to control wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries. Our theory development is based on transaction cost economics. First, we conduct a series of exploratory interviews, providing an insight into the context, and second, we provide empirical evidence based on cross-sectional survey data. Our results indicate that activity traits (uncertainty, asset specificity and post hoc information impactedness) have significant implications on control choices, in particular the control archetype combinations chosen by headquarters, although not all results are consistent with theory predictions. Our findings are supported by extensive alternative testing

Emphasis on accounting controls: asset specificity and the use of accounting and non-accounting information within IT outsourcing engagements

This study observes the nature of asset specificity in different Information Technology (IT) outsourcing typologies, and investigates the relevance of accounting and non-accounting numbers in relation to these outsourcing typologies, with consideration to the findings of literatures concerning Transaction Cost Economics Theory and Social Capital Theory. It represents a response to the lack of research on relationships of IT outsourcing engagements. A case study research method is used to analyse the effect of asset specificity on the nature of relationship, and the use of accounting and non-accounting information in supporting the decision making processes of the Outsourcing Service Provider. Contrary to the findings of many researchers, the outsourcing-service provider adopted an integrative approach to its relationships as opposed to a distributive approach even in engagements that were highly asset specific, and short-term in duration. Additionally, the nature of asset specificity for IT outsourcing engagements is not static, but dynamic and in continual flux. Overall, this study suggests that large IT outsourcing-service providers value non-accounting factors in decision-making processes, in addition to accounting information, thus reflecting the Integrative Outsourcing Typology. This further validated the fact that factors advocated by Social Capital Theory such as corporate reputation, trust and collaborative interactions are crucial in IT outsourcing relationships

Controlling newly established foreign subsidiaries in transition economies

This paper invest igates the management control system choices exercised by a multinational corporation headquarters to control a newly established wholly owned foreign subsidiary located in a t ransition economy. Specifically t his paper aims to identif y what the core ch allenges of establishing and operating subsidiaries in transition economies are and how these are addressed t hrough the mult inational headquarters' management control systems. A case study is conducted of an Eastern European based subsidiary owned and controlled by a multinational corporation origi nating from South-East Asia. The challenges of operating the subsidiary in the transition economy are reported, which primarily ent ail cultu ral differences, lack of experience, lack of external integration and recruitment issues. Preliminary f indings indicate that the management control system primarily util ises personnel and results controls, which appear to address operational and management challenges

Geometry of Invariant Tori of Certain Integrable Systems with Symmetry and an Application to a Nonholonomic System

Bifibrations, in symplectic geometry called also dual pairs, play a relevant role in the theory of superintegrable Hamiltonian systems. We prove the existence of an analogous bifibrated geometry in dynamical systems with a symmetry group such that the reduced dynamics is periodic. The integrability of such systems has been proven by M. Field and J. Hermans with a reconstruction technique. We apply the result to the nonholonomic system of a ball rolling on a surface of revolution

Closing the knowledge gap on the composition of the asbestos bodies

Asbestos bodies (AB) form in the lungs as a result of a biomineralization process initiated by the alveolar macrophages in the attempt to remove asbestos. During this process, organic and inorganic material deposit on the foreign fibers forming a Fe-rich coating. The AB start to form in months, thus quickly becoming the actual interface between asbestos and the lung tissue. Therefore, revealing their composition, and, in particular, the chemical form of Fe, which is the major component of the AB, is essential to assess their possible role in the pathogenesis of asbestos-related diseases. In this work we report the result of the first x-ray diffraction measurements performed on single AB embedded in the lung tissue samples of former asbestos plant workers. The combination with x-ray absorption spectroscopy data allowed to unambiguously reveal that Fe is present in the AB in the form of two Fe-oxy(hydroxides): ferrihydrite and goethite. The presence of goethite, which can be explained in terms of the transformation of ferrihydrite (a metastable phase) due to the acidic conditions induced by the alveolar macrophages in their attempt to phagocytose the fibers, has toxicological implications that are discussed in the paper

Poisson structures for reduced non-holonomic systems

Borisov, Mamaev and Kilin have recently found certain Poisson structures with respect to which the reduced and rescaled systems of certain non-holonomic problems, involving rolling bodies without slipping, become Hamiltonian, the Hamiltonian function being the reduced energy. We study further the algebraic origin of these Poisson structures, showing that they are of rank two and therefore the mentioned rescaling is not necessary. We show that they are determined, up to a non-vanishing factor function, by the existence of a system of first-order differential equations providing two integrals of motion. We generalize the form of that Poisson structures and extend their domain of definition. We apply the theory to the rolling disk, the Routh's sphere, the ball rolling on a surface of revolution, and its special case of a ball rolling inside a cylinder.Comment: 22 page

A low-mass planet candidate orbiting Proxima Centauri at a distance of 1.5 AU

Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).Our nearest neighbor, Proxima Centauri, hosts a temperate terrestrial planet. We detected in radial velocities evidence of a possible second planet with minimum mass m c sin i c = 5.8 ± 1.9 M ⊕ and orbital period P c = 5.21 - 0.22 + 0.26 years. The analysis of photometric data and spectro-scopic activity diagnostics does not explain the signal in terms of a stellar activity cycle, but follow-up is required in the coming years for confirming its planetary origin. We show that the existence of the planet can be ascertained, and its true mass can be determined with high accuracy, by combining Gaia astrometry and radial velocities. Proxima c could become a prime target for follow-up and characterization with next-generation direct imaging instrumentation due to the large maximum angular separation of ~1 arc second from the parent star. The candidate planet represents a challenge for the models of super-Earth formation and evolution.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio