Toward a typology of exit strategies
In: Management decision, Band 54, Heft 8, S. 1986-2007
ISSN: 1758-6070
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to advance a proactive perspective on business exit and develop a typology of exit strategies.Design/methodology/approachThis is a research paper, which builds on extant theoretical and empirical research.FindingsBusiness exit, along with entry, is an integral part of corporate strategy that a firm could utilize to reshuffle its business portfolio and embrace new opportunities. In today's changing environment characterized by high uncertainty and high velocity, it becomes increasingly important for firms to manage business exit deliberately and proficiently. The traditional perspective which generally perceives exits as failures or responses to failures is no longer sufficient. A proactive perspective on exit could be advanced to better inform exit research and practice. Adopting the dynamic capabilities approach, this paper develops a typology of four exit strategies – retreat, redeploy, realign, and reconfigure – and examines the essential tasks of these strategies as well as the corresponding dynamic capabilities required for their successful implementation.Originality/valueThe proactive perspective advanced in this paper systematically coalesces and elaborates on extant research and formally advocates the importance and feasibility of proactive exit. The typology offered not only helps integrate the dynamic capabilities approach with exit research but also helps better inform exit practice.