The overall objective of this paper is to produce success criteria considered critical in international joint ventures (IJV), specifically between Malaysian and foreign contractors outside Malaysia. The recognition of such criteria will contribute to the identification of non-viable projects and will enable improvements to be made to the IJV and other similar economies. Data specific to the present study was collected through face-to-face interviews, which were carried out with the General Manager of the respective companies to provide detailed information on their company structure, management and experience of any joint venture projects undertaken outside Malaysia. The main findings from the interviews are that the critical factors in IJV partner selection criteria were related to the reputation, inter-partner trust, experience, personal knowledge of the partner organizations, commitment and human resources management. The employment of Malaysian sub-contractors also lessened the complexity of management. This is largely due to the familiarity of working with fellow Malaysians in the Middle East
