Much of the negotiated environment consists of organizational linkages . Organizational linkages are a form of networking, and provide the benefits all networks offer. One part of the negotiated environment is shared social norms. Obviously, managers cannot simply create a normative environment. But they must respond to the existing one, and perhaps attempt to influence it.
Joint ventures are a mechanism for explicit interorganizational cooperation.
They are likely to occur under conditions of intermediate industry concentration, which is where uncertainty is highest. They are also likely when concentration is high, since firms in concentrated industries control more of the market when they cooperate. The distinction between the effects of high and intermediate concentration is not clear. The patterns of joint ventures between companies in two different industries mirror those for vertical mergers. The patterns of joint ventures within a single industry mirror those for horizontal mergers.