What Have We Acquired and What Should We Acquire in Divestiture Research? A Review and Research Agenda

Abstract

In strategic management research, divestitures have mostly been treated as side aspects or mirror images of even broader phenomena such as corporate restructuring or mergers and acquisitions. The current article “unbundles” portfolio restructuring research by carving out the insights that have been generated on the specific industry and firm-level determinants of divestitures, the financial and organizational implications of divestitures, as well as the divestiture process since the 1980s. Through the consolidation of the dispersed knowledge on divestitures, its critical analysis, and the outline of novel avenues for future research, the article aims to reenergize divestiture research in management science.