A goal programming model for partner selection decisions in international joint ventures

The formation of International Joint Ventures (IJVs) has become a widely used mode of international expansion. The selection of the appropriate partner constitutes one of the major factors of success for the IJV. There have been several research efforts, which were concerned with the study of criteria needed for the selection of a partner but not with the development of an appropriate quantitative model. The objective of this paper is to present a quantitative model, based on the goal programming technique, which uses appropriate criteria to evaluate potential candidates and leads to the selection of the optimal partner.