The international context of cooperation: culture and institutions

Chapter 21 examines ways in which the national context of alliances is relevant to cooperative strategies. It focuses on two salient contextual features. One is national culture. The other is the institutional environment, which particularly refers to governments and interest groups such as NGOs. National context is consequential for alliances in several ways. The context from which international alliance partners originate encourages each of them to internalize a particular set of norms and practices. So, if there is a substantial difference (“distance”) between those contexts, misunderstanding and friction can readily arise between the partners. Additionally, it may be problematic for an alliance partner to build sympathetic and constructive relationships with governmental bodies and interest groups in the host country location of the alliance unit (such as a joint venture), if that location is culturally and institutionally distant from the partner’s domestic environment. The chapter considers “distance” arising from country differences and how it can be highly consequential for the management and ultimate viability of an international strategic alliance.