N) A joint venture entails establishment of a firm that is jointly owned by two or more otherwise
independent firms. Fuji-Xerox, for example, was set up as a joint venture between Xerox and Fuji
Photo.
Teaching Tip: 1000ventures, {http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/jv_main.html},
offers a wealth of information about joint ventures. The site is a busy one, but worth a visit.
Advantages
O) Joint ventures offer several advantages. First, a firm can benefit from a local partner’s
knowledge of the host country’s competitive conditions, culture, language, political systems, and
business systems. Second, when the development costs and/or risks of opening a foreign market
are high, a firm might gain by sharing these costs and/or risks with a local partner. Third, in many
countries, political considerations make joint ventures the only feasible entry mode.
Disadvantages
P) Joint ventures also have some significant disadvantages. First, as with licensing, a firm that
enters into a joint venture risks giving control of its technology to its partner. Second, a joint
venture does not give a firm the tight control over subsidiaries that it might need to realize
experience curve or location economies. Third, shared ownership arrangements can lead to
conflicts and battles for control between the investing firms if their goals and objectives change
over time, or if they take different views as to what the venture’s strategy should be.
Video Note: One of the longest running joint ventures in the auto industry, the NUMMI venture
between Toyota and General Motors, is coming to an end. To explore the joint venture in more
detail and its demise, consider the video in the International Business Library on Pinterest
(http://www.pinterest.com/mheibvideos/) California Braces As NUMMI Auto Plant Nears Closing.
Wholly Owned Subsidiaries
Q) In a wholly owned subsidiary, the firm owns 100 percent of the stock. Establishing a wholly
owned subsidiary in a foreign market can be done two ways. The firm can set up a new operation
in that country, or it can acquire an established firm and use that firm to promote its products in the
country’s market.
Advantages
R) Wholly owned subsidiaries offer three key advantages. First, when a firm’s competitive
advantage is based on technological competence, a wholly owned subsidiary will often be the
preferred entry mode, since it reduces the risk of losing control over that competence. Second, a
wholly owned subsidiary gives a firm the tight control over operations in different countries
necessary for engaging in global strategic coordination (i.e., using profits from one country to