Should we put locals in charge? managing relationships within prospective us-South African joint ventures

Using a data set derived from South African managers in our empirical analysis of potential U.S.-South Africa agreements. The picture that emerges from the analysis, posits that the need for highest work performance, knowledge management and strict control is high and the South African government's administrative barriers seem to be the most crucial problems for the prospective joint ventures. Furthermore, South African managers endorse issues such as plan for knowledge acquisition, distribution, interpretation and organizational memory/performance. US companies invest in South Africa to gain access to its market and South African companies get into joint ventures with US companies to tap into the appropriate knowledge know-how and financial resources. Key directions for future research in international business stemming from the conceptual framework are also highlighted.