International Divestment Research Articles

Political drivers of international divestments of Russian MNEs

This paper discusses the impact of political factors on MNEs’ strategic choices to divest their foreign operations with a focus on Russian MNEs. The rising anti-globalization sentiments forced many firms to rethink their global strategy. We argue that Russian MNEs operating in countries that did not join the economic sanctions against Russia may be less inclined to divest their subsidiaries than those in countries that supported sanctions. We also suggest that Russian MNEs, located in a host country with similar institutions and political stability as Russia would be less likely to divest. We contribute to the divestment literature by emphasizing the political dimension of the foreign market exit.

Evolution of the International Movement Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions – BDS

The article describes insight into the factors and conditions influencing the formation of the international movement BDS including its key subjects and its most effective strategies for achieving all the goals identified. From the authors’ point of view Israel itself, by its extremely cruel and asymmetric measures against the Palestinian resistance to occupation during the second intifada stimulated the rise of the BDS movement popularity and as well as anti-Israeli tendencies in Western democracies. Another, no less important reason for the formation of the BDS is the failure of the peace process for the solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in accordance with the agreements reached in Oslo. Under these complicated circumstances, Palestinian Arab civil society has called on the international community to end the Israeli occupation. The study provided a thorough overview of the main financial sources of the movement. The use of funds from the EU community budget, national budgets of a number of Western states, the largest charitable foundations, etc. is stated. The authors analyze the reasons for the popularity of the movement at the beginning of the 21st century, including in some structural divisions of the UN and the European Union. Special attention is focusing on measures to counter the movement by Israel, the US and some European states. In the conclusion, the study identifies and characterizes the current status of the movement, which is steadily losing its adherents at all levels, including academic and confessional spheres.

Divestment cycles in the Portuguese electrical and electronics industry – an historical, multilevel analysis (1975–2015)

ABSTRACT This article deals with the topic of divestment. In the early 1990s, the Portuguese electrical and electronics industry (EEI) attracted high levels of foreign direct investment. This increase in capital flows played an important role in Portugal’s economic development. However, after a period of growth and expansion, divestments became more common and the Portuguese government had to work hard to retain the existing investments. This study adopts a qualitative and historical approach to examine how economic and social changes impacted divestments in the EEI between 1975 and 2015, contributing to develop extant theories on divestment. The article helps to understand what happened to the Portuguese manufacturing industry and to the EEI in particular, providing valuable lessons on international divestments and production relocations.

A tactical retreat? Conceptualising the dynamics of European grocery retail divestment from East Asia

The internationalisation of the firm is a highly dynamic process, in which periods of investment and expansion intermingle with periods of divestment and retrenchment. Academic research to date has focused on identifying the reasons for and the processes of divestment. Empirical studies either evidence generic pressures or provide case studies of specific incidents. There few longitudinal studies of international divestment, consequently the dynamic interactions between host market, home market and firm level factors, and how the institutional context changes over time is underplayed. This paper seeks to rectify this gap in our understanding.We explore the rationale and evolving dynamics of European grocery retail divestment in East Asia over a thirty year period. Taking an inductive approach and drawing on analysis of contemporary narratives drawn from company documentation, trade journals, newsfeeds and market reports, three phases can be identified characterised by specific factors and combinations of factors which intersect to provide the key pressures and stimuli for divestment. We conclude that at different time periods, different internal and external contextual influences manifest themselves through different priorities within the firm’s strategy – marked by a switch from local (host) market, to regional, to global firm-centric considerations. Longitudinal analyses allow a greater recognition of this dynamic interplay of factors, and the changes in these relationships, and provides a more nuanced understanding of the international divestment process.

Estudos de caso na internacionalização varejista: uma revisão de literatura

A pesquisa em internacionalização varejista (IV) passou por intensa fase de desenvolvimento desde a década de 1990, dominada por pesquisas de natureza quantitativa e com base na experiência de varejistas de grandes formatos, como supermercados. Entretanto, a internacionalização do setor varejista evoluiu em bases que os modelos existentes não têm sido capazes de explicar, gerando uma demanda por pesquisas com métodos mais profundos de conhecimento. O resultado foi um notório aumento de artigos publicados desde o início da década de 2000 baseados pesquisas de natureza exploratória e qualitativa, como estudos de caso. Este artigo pretende responder identificar quais foram as contribuições no conhecimento sobre IV oriundas de estudos de caso. Com base na literatura disponível, 42 artigos foram selecionados, sumariados e discutidos com vistas à identificação das contribuições mais relevantes para diferentes tipos varejistas, bem como para assuntos em IV ainda pouco pesquisados.

Backshoring in Light of the Concepts of Divestment and De-internationalization: Similarities and Differences

Objective : The purpose of this article is to evaluate the adequacy of the present theoretical knowledge relating to divestments and de-internationalization in the context of explaining the backshoring phenomenon – a relatively new, but gaining in importance specific behaviour of companies in the process of internationalization. Research, Design & Methods : The paper discusses various aspects of contemporary processes of internationalization. The employed research design is qualitative – the study has been based on conclusions drawn from critical literature studies. Findings: Although backshoring shares some common characteristics with the concepts of de-internationalization and international divestments, there are several noticeable differences: e.g. both de-internationalization and international divestments are rather related to wholly owned subsidiaries, while backshoring includes both activities outsourced to company’s foreign suppliers and to its subsidiaries. Implications & Recommendations: It is necessary to develop new concepts that in a holistic way will define the decision-making process of enterprises which use de-internationalization and backshoring of business processes as part of their long-term internationalization strategies. The article indicates some dependencies and issues that must be considered in formulating new theoretical proposals. Contribution & Value Added: The originality of this study lies in the in-depth analysis of the similarities and differences between the processes of de-internationalization/international divestments and backshoring.    Â

Organizational Image, Identity, and International Divestment: A Theoretical Examination

International divestment is a prevalent phenomenon and should be viewed as an integral part of the internationalization process. Nevertheless, the field of international business and strategy has paid scant attention to this topic. We develop a conceptual framework to examine a firm's propensity to divest internationally and the type of foreign operations it will divest. We posit that a firm's international divestment decisions are influenced by its organizational image and identity. Premised on this behavioral perspective, this article develops a theoretical model and generates a set of propositions to shed light on the topic of international divestment.

Institutional Distance, International Divestment, and Organizational Capabilities

This study empirically explores how institutional distance between the home and host countries may affect the international divestment from the host country, using Mahalanobis distance, which incor...

The effect of operational flexibility on decisions to withdraw from foreign production locations

Research on international divestment has identified a variety of factors that influence the closure of individual subsidiaries. Drawing on the concept of operational flexibility, this paper investigates the flexibility characteristics of an international production network to predict divestments of elements of this network. The analysis of 596 production locations of 189 German manufacturing firms reveals that the decision to divest a foreign location due to rising and uncertain labor costs is moderated by the ease of dismissing workers and the opportunity to shift production to locations with opposite labor cost developments. Furthermore, the results suggest that the costs of increasing production output moderate the influence of labor cost developments in the remaining locations of the network on the decision to withdraw from a location.

International retail divestment activity

PurposeThe research presented here initiates the process of the detailed analysis of international retail divestment activity through the identification of the volume of global divestment activity and the characteristics of that activity during the timeframe of 1987‐2003.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology followed here is essentially historical in nature and draws on a wide range of contemporary periodicals, reports and other sources.FindingsThe paper reports findings on: the form and extent of divestment activity; the year of divestment; divestment by retail sub‐sector; divested chain size; length of time spent in the market of divestment; divestment by retail sub‐sector; and the market of origin of divesting retailer.Originality/valueThis paper provides an initial indication of the volume and nature of international retail divestment in the period considered. Such material has not been available previously. International retailing research has primarily focused on the internationalisation process rather than retail divestment from international markets. However, divestment from international markets is an issue of increasing importance within the competitive global environment. Previously research into retail divestment has focused on individual company experience. For the first time, the research presented here attempts to build a picture of the scale and dimensions of international retail withdrawal. The paper shows that patterns of international divestment are discernible.

The International Divestment Activities of European Grocery Retailers

Internationalisation by retailers is a major corporate strategy and has become a substantive research focus for retail academics in Europe. The majority of research has concentrated on the expansionist dimensions of this activity. Only recently has attention turned to the role and importance of divestment and exit within the internationalisation process. Drawing on a database recording international activity by European based grocery retailers over the past fifty years, this paper aims to establish the general characteristics and patterns of divestment activity in this sector. Over 270 divestment activities have been identified. The geographical, temporal, entry mode and format related dimensions of this activity are explored.

International divestements—an empirical perspective

Considering the flurry of international expansion over the last half century, it is perhaps inevitable that multinational enterprises have lately been finding the need to divest many of those foreign activities. Indeed, international divestment is a basic tool of every MNE's strategic business policy. Of all the various reasons to divest, the most salient seem to be to concentrate the scope of business and ameliorate poor financial results. As this study of Dutch MNEs points out, alternative or more attractive growth opportunities, the lack of a local competitive edge, copycatting, and an unfavorable political climate prove to be significantly less important motives.

International Divestments: An Empirical Perspective

The experience of Dutch international companies is that divestments in the 1980s and 1990s brought increased strategic focus to management and stock market favour.

Strategic Restructuring through International Acquisitions and Divestments

Strategic Restructuring through International Acquisitions and Divestments

Failed Multinational Ventures: The Political Economy of International Divestments

Failed Multinational Ventures: The Political Economy of International Divestments

Failed Multinational Ventures: The Political Economy of International Divestments.

Failed Multinational Ventures: The Political Economy of International Divestments.

Failed Multinational Ventures: The Political Economy of International Divestments. By Leon Grunberg. (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1981. Pp. xi + 176. $23.95.)

Failed Multinational Ventures: The Political Economy of International Divestments. By Leon Grunberg. (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1981. Pp. xi + 176. $23.95.)

Failed Multinational Ventures: The Political Economy of International Divestments. By Leon Grunberg. (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1981. Pp. xi + 176. $23.95.)

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.

Failed Multinational Ventures - The Political Economy of International Divestments

Failed Multinational Ventures - The Political Economy of International Divestments

International divestment. Business International and J. J. Boddewyn, Professor, Brauch College. N. Y.: Business International (One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza), 1976, 134 p. $154.00

The International ExecutiveVolume 19, Issue 2 p. 1-3 Research Roundup International divestment. Business International and J. J. Boddewyn, Professor, Brauch College. N. Y.: Business International (One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza), 1976, 134 p. $154.00 First published: Spring/Summer 1977 https://doi.org/10.1002/tie.5060190202AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume19, Issue2Spring/Summer 1977Pages 1-3 RelatedInformation