No / International Joint Ventures (IJVs) have become one of the most important ways for companies to expand their activities and exploit business opportunities abroad. In China, for example, which has become the world's largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment, IJVs with local companies are the most important way of doing business. However, many companies have learnt that the performance of their joint ventures in China does not meet their expectations. This study focuses on functional diversity - differences in business practices between foreign and local companies - and its influence on IJV performance. We investigate the influence of this functional diversity on the performance of IJVs and discuss how companies can moderate this influence through adaptation, trust, commitment and communication. Hypotheses are formulated and empirically tested using data gathered through a questionnaire survey of managers of German-Chinese IJVs. The results show that although functional diversity has a negative impact on IJV performance, managers can influence the magnitude of this impact. We use insights from interviews with managers of German-Chinese IJVs in China to supplement our discussion and provide some indication of best practice.

No / This paper analyses the differences in the way partner firms assess the performance of international joint ventures (IJV). It is argued that an understanding of these differences is important for the practice of, and for research into IJV management. From a managerial point of view, firms, as well as IJV management, need to know how the partners evaluate the venture's performance. From a research perspective such differences can distort the results of studies that compare the performance of IJVs with other organizational designs or aim to identify the determinants of IJV performance. A multiple constituency approach is employed to develop hypotheses and test them using empirical data gathered through a questionnaire survey among 110 managers of German¿Chinese joint ventures (GCJV) in the People's Republic of China. This is supplemented by qualitative data gathered through in-depth interviews with 25 managers. The findings highlight a number of differences regarding the way in which partner firms assess the performance of IJVs that are relevant for practice and research.

Vor dem Hintergrund der Ausspracheabweichungen, die chinesische Muttersprachler beim Erwerb der deutschen Aussprache produzieren bzw. aufweisen, widmet sich die vorliegende Arbeit einer intensiven kontrastiven phonetisch-phonologischen Analyse des Deutschen (Standardbinnendeutsch) und des Chinesischen (Putonghua) auf der segmentalphonetischen und -phonologischen, der phonotaktischen und der suprasegmentalen Ebene, um hierauf aufbauend internetbasierte Lehr- und Lernmaterialien zur deutschen Aussprache für chinesische Muttersprachler zu entwickeln. Exemplarisch für diese Konzeption stehen zwei zweieinhalb- bis dreiminütige selbst entwickelte und professionell ausgearbeitete Lernvideos (zu den deutschen Kurz- und Langvokalen sowie zu Konsonantenhäufungen). / Considering pronunciation deviations which are produced by Chinese native speakers in the learning of German pronunciation, this dissertation conducts an intensive contrastive phonetic-phonological analysis of German (Standard internal German) and Chinese (Putonghua) on the segmental, the phonotactic and the suprasegmental levels, in order to further develop internet-based teaching and learning materials for German pronunciation targeting Chinese native speakers. Two educational videos about German pronunciation for Chinese native speakers based on this contrast are developed as a result of this analysis, with one focusing on German short and long vowels and the other on consonant clusters.