Title:International Joint Ventures as Political Arenas: Power Dynamics and Control Mechanisms

Speaker:Roberta Aguzzoli (Durham University) 

Time: 11:00(Monday) , April 20, 2026

Venue: Room 1008, Mingde Business Building (Zhongguancun Campus)

Language: English

 

ABSTRACT:

The literature on international joint ventures (IJVs) often assumes that power and control are primarily resource-dependent. However, this assumption overlooks the influence of context, particularly institutional environments and individual interests. Moreover, by attempting to measure power and control as objective constructs, this literature fails to account for the varied ways in which power is mobilized, including through manipulation or domination. Drawing on two case studies of Brazilian IJVs—we argue that a comprehensive understanding of power within IJVs requires recognizing that power and control are socially constructed and mobilized through both hard (coercive) resources and soft mechanisms (manipulation and domination) that evolve over time. We further content that power relations are especially important in formerly colonized countries, where social hierarchies and internalized feelings of inferiority may shape organizational interactions. Our research makes three key contributions to the IJV literature. First, it highlights the context-dependent nature of power relations, demonstrating how internalized societal beliefs influence power dynamics within IJVs. Second, it conceptualizes the IJV as a constituting political arena, in which actors negotiate and enact power. Third, it advances a nuanced understanding of power as individual-dependent, time-sensitive, and multifaceted.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY:

Roberta Aguzzoli is a Professor of International Business at Durham University Business School, Durham University (UK). She obtained her PhD in human resource management at UCD, Ireland. Her research interests include international and comparative policies and practices in multinational companies, internationalisation, emerging countries, human resources management, expatriation, postcolonialism and methodology. She is the VP for Webinars at the Academy of International Business Research Methods–Shared Interest Group (AIB RM-SIG) and an academic fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. She has published her research in leading academic journals in international business and management studies, such as Journal of International Business Studies, Human Relations, Tourism Management, British Journal of Management, Management International Review, Journal of International Management, among others. She serves on the editorial boards of Journal of International Business Studies, International Business Review, Multinational Business Review, and AIB Insights.