The impact of organizational culture on competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency in Spanish-Moroccan international joint ventures
Abstract
Purpose
The characteristics of a particular organizational culture may affect performance in achieving the objectives of international joint ventures (IJVs), a type of partnership that is often used in international business relations between developed and emerging countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the underlying dimensions that characterize organizational culture in these countries may affect firms’ performance, specifically their competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey conducted for this study was addressed to Spanish-Moroccan IJVs trading in Morocco. The research hypotheses were tested using multivariate analysis techniques (exploratory factor analysis and linear regression model).
Findings
Based on information provided by the CEOs of Spanish-Moroccan IJVs between small- to medium-sized firms, the present study shows that levels of competitiveness, effectiveness and/or efficiency in these organizations are influenced by the involvement of staff in management, the degree of centralization of decision taking and the firms’ emphasis on results or on procedures.
Practical implications
This research contributes to the knowledge of the main factors related to the organizational culture of joint ventures that influence competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency achieved.
Originality/value
The value provided by this research lies in the sample examined, in its focus on a very common type of partnership between SMEs, which has been little studied previously, and in the fact that the results obtained are extensible to other realities, such as partnerships between European companies and those from countries with similar characteristics (located in Africa or in countries where an Arab culture prevails).
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development, in its Programme for Inter-University Cooperation and Scientific Research between Spain and Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia (PCI-Mediterranean). Project No. A/021477/08.
Citation
Gómez-Miranda, M.E., Pérez-López, M.C., Argente-Linares, E. and Rodríguez-Ariza, L. (2015), "The impact of organizational culture on competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency in Spanish-Moroccan international joint ventures", Personnel Review, Vol. 44 No. 3, pp. 364-387. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2013-0119
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited