Learning through the international joint venture: lessons from the experience of China's automotive sector

Abstract

This study explores why international joint ventures (IJVs) based on the global South may meet with only partial success in nurturing local technological capability. The experience of China’s passenger-vehicle sector demonstrates that in the existence of a substantial technological capability gap between alliance partners, the IJV arrangement is likely to create a “passive” learning mode, and learners using this IJV arrangement may be able to strengthen their production capability but leaving their project execution and innovation capabilities largely undeveloped.