Determinants of International Joint Venture Success in the UAE Construction Industry: A Quantitative Assessment of Key Organizational and Environmental Factors

International joint ventures (IJVs) have become the most common entry mode in emerging markets, but their performance has been uncertain due to organizational and environmental complexities. This paper examines the significant factors that define the success of IJVs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) construction industry, a less-studied yet strategically relevant environment. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 100 managers working in multinational construction IJVs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The six predictors analyzed include cultural differences, knowledge transfer, trust/commitment, conflict and control, cooperation, and host-country environment, which were assessed using reliability testing, correlation analysis, and multiple regression. Findings indicate that cooperation, the host-country environment, and knowledge transfer are critical positive predictors of perceived IJV success, together explaining 45.6% of the variance. The direct effects of cultural differences, trust/commitment, and conflict issues were weak or non-significant. The results indicate that behavioral and relational practices, which are facilitated by a stable institutional environment, are more dominant than structural factors.