Joint Venture Success and Cultural Impacts in the Irish Infrastructure Operation Industry

The intention of this research was to investigate the factors attributed to successful joint ventures, paying particular attention to cultural variances, in the Irish infrastructure operation and maintenance sector. Culture is an important aspect of international business partnerships; culture and communication are inseparably linked, so much so that most communicative behaviour is governed by the person’s culture. With the growth of international joint ventures in the recent years there are more foreign partnerships forming and this in turn demands that different cultures must work together to make the venture successful. The aim of this research was to explore the experiences and perceptions of seven senior managers, comprising Irish and foreign managers, who had experience employed in or managing joint venture organisations. Semi structured interviews were used to gather the data from the participating managers. The data was then analysed to identify key themes in relation to what effects joint venture success and how culture plays a role in its business cycle. The research has highlighted the importance of being culturally aware, how differences can present themselves and if not understood or managed appropriately how they can manifest as negative influences on the venture. By means of a qualitative research approach, the researcher has documented the experiences and perceptions of the senior managers and used the data uncovered to develop some findings, conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for further research on attributing factors to create a successful joint venture and how different cultures act on its success