When collaborative strategy turns into acquisition: Distinguishing and explaining partner acquisition versus joint venture buyout

In this chapter, we define the concepts of joint venture buyout and partner acquisition; explain the differences between the two; discuss their respective motivations and antecedents; and elaborate implications of this distinction for research and practice. Extract: "What comes after an alliance between two firms? The alliance may be dissolved and its activities stopped, effectively ending the relationship between the parent firms; another alliance may be formed to replace it; or the activities of the ex-alliance may continue but under the ownership and control of a single parent. Intriguingly, in the case of JVs this latter outcome may result from two developments. The first, which we refer to as a joint venture buyout (JVB), occurs when one parent firm takes over the shares that the other parent owned in their JV (Meschi, 2005; Zollo & Reuer, 2010). The second, which we refer to as a partner acquisition (PA), occurs when one partner acquires the other parent firm (Folta & Miller, 2002; Zaheer, Hernandez, & Banerjee, 2010).The two developments differ in what equity is being transacted. A JVB involves a change in ownership of one parent’s share of the JV’s equity, but does not affect either parents’ own equity. A PA involves acquisition of one parent by the other, so what is being transacted is one parent’s own equity. However, following a PA the acquiring parent also becomes sole owner of the alliance (Hagedoorn & Sadowski, 1999; Porrini, 2004)." (80)