Emerging economies present the case of rapid changes in markets and institutions. In this context,joint ventures between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and local firms are subject to a gamut ofcalculations between the partners for arriving at mutually beneficial contractual arrangements. In thisnote, we analyze two case studies utilizing a combination of the intangible asset theory of MNEs,Williamson's concepts of assetspecificity and holdup, and the resource-based theory of the firm. Bothcase studiesinvolve financialservices, namely, credit cards and insurance products. In these two cases,a large local bank provided the brand name, while the MNEs provided the back-end technical-support,which is a seeming reversal of the normal pattern in emerging markets. From a resource-based theoryperspective, at the inception of such joint ventures, investments in relation to specific assets may besmall and the possibility of holdup seems remote, but when markets become complex the possibilityof holdup increases dramatically. In this kind of context, joint venture partners have to adopt adynamic perspective and formulate ex ante strategiesfor addressing the holdup problem, even thoughstatic analysis may suggestthatthere is only limited or no possibility ofsuch holdup. Our analysis bringsforth fresh insights on the issue of joint ventures, especially in the context of financial services, in anemerging economy.