Corporate turnarounds as strategic reorientations: A field study of turnaround attempts from firm-based decline
Barker, Vincent Leland
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/19064
Description
Title
Corporate turnarounds as strategic reorientations: A field study of turnaround attempts from firm-based decline
Author(s)
Barker, Vincent Leland
Issue Date
1992
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Duhaime, Irene M.
Department of Study
Business Administration
Discipline
Business Administration
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Business Administration, General
Business Administration, Management
Language
eng
Abstract
This study develops and empirically tests propositions derived from a model of the corporate turnaround process. This model, based on several established streams of organizational research, proposes that successful turnaround attempts for firms suffering from firm-based decline (as opposed to industry decline) will be positively associated with declining firms (a) changing their strategic orientation, (b) changing their strategic decision makers, (c) maintaining enough slack resources to enact strategic change and (d) being able to combine several or all three of these factors in one turnaround attempt.
Hypotheses based on propositions from the model are tested with regression analyses utilizing field data collected from structured interviews with top managers in 29 corporations attempting turnarounds (some successful, some unsuccessful) from firm-based decline. The results indicate that declining firms are more likely to have successful turnaround attempts when these firms: (a) significantly alter their strategic orientation as part of the turnaround attempt, (b) are able to combine this change in strategic orientation with Chief Executive Officer changes, (c) empower new Directors on the Board of Directors and (d) are not collapsing towards a financial crisis at the time of the turnaround attempt. Implications of these findings for both corporate management and turnaround research are discussed.
The study extends and improves on past corporate turnaround research in several ways. First, past research is integrated and extended by combining several independent streams of research into an inclusive and detailed model of the turnaround process. Second, an important distinction is made between turnaround attempts from firm-based decline (r-type decline) and industry-based decline (k-type decline). The study design then subsequently controls the potential sample of firms restricting it to firms attempting turnarounds from firm-based decline. Finally, the study uses structured interviewing to collect data, which is a methodology that enables clearer testing of the hypotheses relative to the case-based or archival methods used by past researchers.
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