Foreign divestments: a review and research agenda
Qualitative Research in Financial Markets
ISSN: 1755-4179
Article publication date: 9 November 2022
Issue publication date: 28 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Foreign divestment of subsidiaries is a growing research field. The global increase in investments has led to more divestments. However, much about the processes and circumstances leading to foreign divestments (FDs) requires further investigation. This study aims to review and consolidate the existing literature on foreign divestment and identify avenues for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
This study performs a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of studies on FDs to highlight the traditional and emerging perspectives in the field. This work examines foreign divestment theories based on operations, human resources, finance and marketing business functions.
Findings
This study sets forth a basic foreign divestment framework and highlights potential research areas. Future studies should expand to emerging economies, explore complex relationships, distinguish foreign divestment types and identify the limits of various theories and perspectives.
Originality/value
This study discusses traditional theories such as economies of scale, portfolio adjustment, reverse eclectic, real options and transaction cost economies. This study also examines emerging perspectives: attention-based, behavioral, committedness, contingency, favoritism, flexibility, hysteresis, legitimation, network and resource-based views. This study uses traditional and emerging theories to explain foreign divestment decisions in different business functions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the editors and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback during the review process.
Citation
Baker, H.K., Kumar, D. and Rani, N. (2023), "Foreign divestments: a review and research agenda", Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 336-360. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRFM-12-2021-0206
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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