Model for Organizational Governance Structure Choices in Construction Joint Ventures
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 6
Abstract
Due to the recent trend of utilizing joint ventures (JVs) in construction, construction firms are faced with the challenges in managing construction JVs. Among those challenges, the choice of organizational governance structure has a profound impact on JV performance, but receives little attention. The objective of this study is to investigate the choice of organizational design in construction of JVs and the underlying rationales of the choice. Through the theoretical lens that integrates both cost and resource perspectives, we develop a model that focuses on four major factors for determining governance structure choices, namely, corporate cultural difference, trust, needs for procurement autonomy, and motivation for learning. A case study of eight JVs in the Taiwan High Speed Rail project was conducted to empirically evaluate the proposed model. It is shown that the eight cases studied jointly replicate the linkage between the hypothesized determinants and the governance structure choices and reasonably support the proposed model.
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Acknowledgments
The writers greatly appreciate the help and data offered by the participating professionals from the JV firms studied. Financial support from the National Science Council (NSC Grant No. UNSPECIFIED96-2221-E-002-219) is gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 6 • June 2009
Pages: 518 - 530
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 28, 2007
Accepted: Dec 29, 2008
Published online: May 15, 2009
Published in print: Jun 2009
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