Degree Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2019
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Theses & dissertations (College of Business)
Major
Business and Technology
First Advisor
David R. King
Second Advisor
Samuel M. DeMarie
Abstract
This dissertation consists of two academic papers studying strategic restructuring through acquisitions and divestitures. Divestitures refer to detaching part of a firm operations or assets through sells-offs, spin-offs, equity carve-outs, or split-offs. There is more research on acquisitions than divestitures, and current research on corporate divestitures is fragmented across multiple disciplines and theoretical perspectives.
The first paper, serving as the foundation for this dissertation, reviews and synthesizes findings and theoretical implications over the last two decades on divestment antecedents, process, and outcomes. Casting light into different stages of the divestment process and identifying likely interactions between antecedents and processes, and their implications on divestiture performance, findings suggest that divestment capabilities may be limited to specific types. This implies that companies can employ different types of divestitures or use divestitures adjacent to other restructuring techniques to improve outcomes. Accordingly, the second paper empirically investigates divestment of prior acquisitions to explain how corporations use a combination of divestitures and acquisitions to restructure their business portfolios. Findings show that managers view acquisitions that lower corporations’ risk as more valuable than acquisitions that increase the risk, and thus, are more likely to retain the former while divesting the latter.
In conclusion, the theoretical perspectives and empirical results by this dissertation contributes to a better understanding of divestitures as a means of strategic restructuring of corporations’ business portfolios. It facilitates divestment decisions by providing a better understanding of divestiture drivers and execution mechanisms. In addition, it identifies gaps and future study directions.
Copyright Owner
Sina Amiri
Copyright Date
2019-08
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
114 pages
Recommended Citation
Amiri, Sina, "Strategic restructuring: Study of divestitures and acquisitions" (2019). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 17388.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/17388
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons
