Factors affecting international construction joint ventures: a systematic literature review

Abstract

International construction joint ventures (ICJVs) have become an important way of exploiting business opportunities for construction companies worldwide. Yet, several barriers and risk factors contribute to their failure. This study aims to identify the barrier and risk factors affecting ICJVs through the lens of a systematic review methodology. Findings from 43 peer-reviewed articles showed an increasing publication trend for the past three decades (1990–2020). The bulk of the studies were conducted in Asia and Europe, particularly China and the UK, respectively. Overall, 37 barrier factors were identified, and these fall into six categories, namely, inter-organizational differences, lack of expertise and confidence, lack of effective planning and strategies, lack of knowledge of ICJV’s fundamentals, conflicts, and management difficulties. Next, 53 risk factors were identified and grouped into six, namely, policy and political risks, legal risks, financial risks, management risks, project and technical risks, and market risks. More importantly, knowledge gaps in existing studies are highlighted and future research directions are then proposed. The list of failure factors creates a valuable frame of reference for researchers and practitioners to develop more reliable, comprehensive, and proactive management strategies for ICJVs.

Keywords:

• International construction joint ventures
• barrier factors
• risk factors
• construction management
• literature review

Acknowledgment

This paper forms part of a Ph.D. study entitled “Determinants of success for international construction joint ventures in Ghana.” The authors acknowledge that this paper shares a similar background and methodology with other related papers published by the author, but with different objectives/scopes. The authors acknowledge the Department of Building and Real Estate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for funding this research. Appreciation is finally due to the editors and anonymous reviewers who provided constructive comments and suggestions that helped to improve this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.