Framework of Joint Venture Development: Theory‐Building Through Qualitative Research

Based on an inductive, longitudinal case study, this paper proposes a framework of joint venture development. The framework is comprised of three overlapping stages of development: formation, adjustment, and evaluation with shorter, cyclical periods. These periods, labeled phases, can be described in terms of alternations between divergence and convergence of two types of group relationships: intra‐joint venture relations and boundary group relations. Propositions lay out the development from the formation to the evaluation stage explaining the cyclical nature of divergence and convergence. The framework advances the existing literature on joint venture development by pointing out both micro‐ and macro‐level driving forces and the conditions under which certain developmental patterns emerge.