Risk assessment for construction joint ventures in China

The construction industry in China is developing toward the international procurement practice, and such development has attracted many foreign firms into the Chinese construction market through the formation of Sino-foreign joint ventures. Joint venture has become an important sector in the Chinese construction industry. However, the difference in management systems, technological practice, and cultural background among the partners within joint ventures brings difficulties to the function of joint venture. A significant degree of risk is involved in joint venture investments. Thus, foreign firms increasingly intend to spend more effort in studying proper strategies of managing risks in their joint venture businesses. Based on a survey, this paper establishes a risk significance index to show the relative significance among the risks associated with the joint ventures in the Chinese construction procurement practice. Real cases are examined to show the risk environment faced by joint ventures. The paper also investigates practical applications of risk management in the business of joint ventures.