{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T10:31:44Z","timestamp":1776853904065,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":64,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,26]],"date-time":"2019-04-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1556236800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BJM"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2019,6,18]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>The purpose of this paper is to review the existing research on industrial divestment in order to identify the reasons for it, the process whereby it is achieved, and the outcomes of industrial sell-offs and closures. The study reports the main findings that have gained acceptance in the literature, gaps in the research and potential directions for future research.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>A three stage systematic literature review protocol was used to conduct this review. The results are organized according to an \u201cAntecedents \u2013 Process \u2013 Outcomes\u201d framework.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>The traditional accounts of industrial divestment have been framed in terms of firms\u2019 weak performance and over-diversification as antecedents to divestment, leading to corporate governance issues. However, the list of antecedents of industrial divestment is more extensive. There is no consensus over the impact of some factors on divestments, as is the case of firm and unit size. The results are not conclusive as to whether firm performance improves after divesting.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>Future research should analyze the relationship between the antecedents of investment and divestment. The divestment process is not well studied and more studies that engage in theory building are needed, namely, on primary data and examining the short-term and long-term impacts of divestment on performance.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Practical implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>This review offers a comprehensive synthesis of the antecedents, the process and outcomes of divestment through sell-offs and closures. Factors such as environmental conditions and the entry mode strategy are important in determining the divestment of subsidiaries. Divestments may be positively or negatively regarded by shareholders, depending on the context of the firm. Promoting managerial changes facilitates divestment.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>This paper synthesizes knowledge of the main reasons as to why firms completely dispose of their assets, contributing to this under-researched field.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/bjm-01-2018-0040","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,26]],"date-time":"2019-04-26T07:09:12Z","timestamp":1556262552000},"page":"443-461","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["A systematic review of the literature on industrial divestment"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0816-1402","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pedro","family":"Silva","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6613-8796","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonio Carrizo","family":"Moreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"key2021041509544704200_ref001","unstructured":"Academy of Management (2019), \u201cReviewer guidelines\u201d, available at: http:\/\/aom.org\/annualmeeting\/reviewerguidelines\/ (accessed February 9, 2019)."},{"key":"key2021041509544704200_ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcorpfin.2014.07.004","article-title":"Does familiarity with business segments affect CEOs\u2019 divestment decisions?","volume":"29","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Corporate Finance"},{"issue":"10","key":"key2021041509544704200_ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1365","DOI":"10.1080\/00036849700000027","article-title":"Divestment of foreign production operations","volume":"29","year":"1997","journal-title":"Applied Economics"},{"issue":"9","key":"key2021041509544704200_ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"715","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1097-0266(199710)18:9<715::AID-SMJ912>3.0.CO;2-6","article-title":"Predicting divestiture of unrelated acquisitions: an integrative model of Ex Ante conditions","volume":"18","year":"1997","journal-title":"Strategic Management Journal"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2021041509544704200_ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1287\/orsc.9.1.87","article-title":"Portfolio restructuring and limits to hierarchical governance: the effects of environmental uncertainty and diversification strategy","volume":"9","year":"1998","journal-title":"Organization Science"},{"issue":"2","key":"key2021041509544704200_ref006","first-page":"693","article-title":"Firm structure, multinationals, and manufacturing plant deaths","volume":"89","year":"2007","journal-title":"The Review of Economics and Statistics"},{"issue":"2","key":"key2021041509544704200_ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"380","DOI":"10.1287\/orsc.1090.0444","article-title":"Why do firms divest?","volume":"21","year":"2010","journal-title":"Organization Science"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2021041509544704200_ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"246","DOI":"10.1287\/orsc.1110.0724","article-title":"When do firms divest foreign operations?","volume":"24","year":"2013","journal-title":"Organization Science"},{"key":"key2021041509544704200_ref009","unstructured":"Bloomberg (2018), \u201cGM plans more than 14,000 job cuts, seven factory closings\u201d, available at www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-11-26\/gm-to-cut-10-000-jobs-targets-5-factories-for-closing-next-year (accessed December 7, 2018)."},{"issue":"2","key":"key2021041509544704200_ref010","first-page":"25","article-title":"U.S. foreign divestment: a preliminary survey","volume":"8","year":"1973","journal-title":"Columbia Journal of World Business"},{"issue":"6","key":"key2021041509544704200_ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"751","DOI":"10.1177\/0149206306292879","article-title":"What have we acquired and what should we acquire in divestiture research? 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