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How much does ownership really matter? Equity and trust relations in joint venture relationships

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Abstract

In this paper, I reaffirm the role of trust in interfirm relations and make an appeal for more cross-disciplinary work to further our insights into the functioning of important phenomena of interest such as international joint ventures. I also pose a couple of fundamental questions: (1) Is ownership over-rated? That is, should we and our scholarship be so consumed with issues of ownership? (2) Is trust under-rated? In what way might we and our scholarship change if we assumed trust rather than opportunism? In what way might it change firms' attitudes and behavior towards their partnership relations?

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Acknowledgements

Comments from Cyril Bouquet are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Canada

    Anoop Madhok

  2. Department of Public Administration and Organization Science, Visiting Professor, Vrije University, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Anoop Madhok

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  1. Anoop Madhok
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Correspondence to Anoop Madhok.

Additional information

Accepted by Arie Y Lewin, Editor-in-chief, 17 October 2005.

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Madhok, A. How much does ownership really matter? Equity and trust relations in joint venture relationships. J Int Bus Stud 37, 4–11 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400182

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400182

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