The role of leadership in international retail divestment

European Business Review

Volumn 22, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 25-42

  Cairns, Patricia ^a   Quinn, Barry ^b   Alexander, Nicholas ^a   Doherty, Anne Marie ^c  

^a ABERYSTWYTH UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER   (United Kingdom)

^c University of Glamorgan   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Decision making; Divestment; Leadership; Organizational restructuring; Retailing

Indexed keywords

EID: 74349102202     PISSN: 0955534X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/09555341011008990     Document Type: Article

References (77)

1. Afshar, K.A., Taffler, R.J., Sudarsanam, P.S. (1992), "The effect of corporate divestments on shareholder wealth: the UK experience" in Journal of Banking & Finance, Vol. 16, pp. 115-35.
2. Alexander, N., Quinn, B. (2001), "Divestment and the internationalisation process".
3. Alexander, N., Quinn, B. (2002), "International retail divestment" in International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 112-25.
4. Alexander, N., Quinn, B., Cairns, P. (2005), "International retail divestment activity" in International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 5-22.
5. Arlidge, J. (2008), "Tesco rolls into China", The Sunday Times, 13 April.
6. Barkema, H., Bell, J., Pennings, J. (1996), "Foreign entry, cultural barriers and learning" in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 17, pp. 151-66.
7. bbc.co.uk/news (2004a), "Marks and Spencer confirms that chairman is to quit", available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/3697881.stm.
8. bbc.co.uk/news (2004b), "New casualty as Marks and Spencer shakes it up", available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/3808477.stm.
9. bbc.co.uk/news (2004c), "Whatever happened to 'Lucky Luc?", available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/3699899.stm.
10. Benito, G.R.G. (1997), "Divestment of foreign production operations" in Applied Economics, Vol. 29, No. 10, pp. 1365-78.
11. Benito, G.R.G. (2005), "Divestment and international business strategy" in Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 5, pp. 235-51.
12. Benito, G.R.G., Welch, L.S. (1997), "De-internationalization" in Management International Review, Vol. 37, pp. 7-25.
13. Burt, S.L., Dawson, J., Sparks, L. (2003), "Failure in international retailing: research propositions" in International Review of Retail, Distribution & Consumer Research, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 355-73.
14. Burt, S.L., Dawson, J., Sparks, L. (2004), "The international divestment activities of European grocery retailers" in European Management Journal, Vol. 22, No. 5, pp. 483-92.
15. Burt, S.L., Davies, K., McAuley, A., Sparks, L. (2005), "Retail internationalisation: from formats to implants" in European Management Journal, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 195-202.
16. Burt, S.L., Mellahi, K., Jackson, T.P., Sparks, L. (2002), "Retail internationalisation and retail failure: issues from the case of Marks and Spencer" in International Review of Retail, Distribution & Consumer Research, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 191-219.
17. Butler, S. (2003), "Laura Ashley appoints two chief executives" in The Times, p. 31, 9 May.
18. Cairns, P., Doherty, A.M., Alexander, N., Quinn, B. (2008), "Understanding the international retail divestment process" in Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 111-28.
19. Castrogiovanni, G.J., Baliga, B.R., Kidwell, R.E. (1992), "Curing sick businesses: changing CEOs in turnaround efforts", Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 6, No. 3.
20. Cavazza, M. (2004), "Rose says back-to-basics is the best way forward" in Retail Week, p. 3, 18 June.
21. Caves, R.E., Porter, M.E. (1976), "Barriers to exit" in Masson, R.T., Qualls, P.D. (Eds.), Essays on Industrial Organisation in Honor of Joe S. Bain, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp. 39-69.
22. Chow, Y.K., Hamilton, R.T. (1993), "Corporate divestment: an overview" in Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 9-13.
23. Clark, G.L., Wrigley, N. (1997), "Exit, the firm and sunk costs: reconceptualising the corporate geography of disinvestment and plant closure" in Progress in Human Geography, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 338-58.
24. Cope, N. (2001), "Boots pulls out of Japan joint venture as losses grow" in The Independent, p. 14, 14 July.
25. Cope, N. (2003a), "Laura Ashley rules two chiefs better than one" in The Independent, p. 19, 9 May.
26. Cope, N. (2003b), "Laura Ashley sells European stores" in The Independent, p. 18, 19 June.
27. Duhaime, I.M., Grant, J.H. (1984), "Factors influencing divestment decision-making: evidence from a field study" in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 5, pp. 301-18.
28. Duhaime, I.M., Patton, G.R. (1980), "Selling-off" in Wharton Magazine, pp. 43-7, Winter.
29. Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989), "Building theory from case-study research" in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 532-50.
30. Eisenhardt, K.M., Graebner, M.E. (2007), "Building theory from cases: opportunities and challenges" in Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 25-32.
31. El-Amir, A., Burt, S.L. (2008), "Sainsbury's in Egypt: the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?" in International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 300-22.
32. Fildes, N. (2006), "DSG in search of Turkish delight", The Independent, 7 September.
33. Financial Express (2008), "Marks, Spencer forms retail JV with Reliance Retail", Financial Express, 19 April.
34. Finch, J. (2004), "Sainsbury's decline deepens" in The Guardian, p. 24, 27 March.
35. Gilmour, S.C. (1973), "The divestment decision process", Harvard Business School, Boston, MA.
36. Godley, A., Fletcher, S. (2001), "International retailing in Britain 1850-1994" in The Services Industries Journal, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 31-46.
37. Harrigan, K.R. (1980), Strategies for Declining Industries, Lexington Books, Lexington, MA.
38. Hayward, M.L.A., Shimizu, K. (2006), "De-commitment to losing strategic action: evidence from the divestiture of poorly performing acquisitions" in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 27, pp. 541-57.
39. Kalms, H.S. (2004), "The once and future Sainsbury's" in Retail Week, p. 18, 15 October.
40. Kelley, H.H., Michela, J.L. (1980), "Attribution theory and research" in Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 31, pp. 457-501.
41. McGregor, R. (2004), "China's domestic revolution helps B&Q" in Financial Times, p. 24, 2 December.
42. MacDonald, G. (2005), "Dixons poised to take on Russia" in Retail Week, p. 7, 22 April.
43. Markides, C.C. (1995), "Diversification, restructuring and economic performance" in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 16, pp. 101-18.
44. Markides, C.C., Berg, N. (1992), "Good and bad divestment: the stock market verdict" in Long Range Planning, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 10-15.
45. Mata, J., Portugal, P. (2000), "Closure and divestiture by foreign entrants: the impact of entry and post entry strategies" in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 549-62.
46. Mesure, S. (2004a), "Davis paid £3 million pounds as Sainsbury's profit falls" in The Independent, p. 44, 20 May.
47. Mesure, S. (2004b), "Sainsbury's shocks with profit warning" in The Independent, p. 52, 27 March.
48. Nees, D. (1981), "Increasing divestment effectiveness" in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 2, pp. 119-30.
49. Osborne, A. (2004), "Kingfisher poaches Ikea man to knock Russia into shape" in The Telegraph, p. 6, 10 June.
50. Palmer, M. (2004), "International retail restructuring and divestment: the experience of Tesco" in Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 20, No. 10, pp. 1075-105.
51. Palmer, M. (2005), "Retail multinational learning: a case study of Tesco" in International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 23-48.
52. Palmer, M., Quinn, B. (2007), "The nature of international retail divestment: insights from Ahold" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 26-45.
53. Planet Retail (2003), "Boots looks for toehold across Atlantic", Planet Retail, 20 November.
54. Planet Retail (2005a), "Daily news by Planet Retail", Planet Retail, 26 May.
55. Planet Retail (2005b), "Daily news by Planet Retail", Planet Retail, 20 September.
56. Planet Retail (2006a), "Daily news by Planet Retail", Planet Retail, 9 January.
57. Planet Retail (2006b), "Daily news by Planet Retail", Planet Retail, 13 June.
58. Retail Week (2003), "New head will take Boots back to basics" in Retail Week, p. 2, 9 May.
59. Retail Week (2005), "Dixons ramps up European stores empire" in Retail Week, p. 2, 29 April.
60. Rigby, E. (2005), "Tesco to beef up global arm" in Financial Times, p. 21, 13 April.
61. Rigby, E., Tricks, H. (2005), "The Orwellian routine that keeps Tesco ticking" in Financial Times, p. 5, 1 June.
62. Ross, J., Staw, B.M. (1993), "Organisational escalation and exit: lessons from the Shoreham nuclear power plant" in Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 36, pp. 701-32.
63. Salancik, G.R., Meindl, J.R. (1984), "Corporate attributions as strategic illusions or management control" in Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 29, pp. 238-54.
64. Schmidt, R.J. (1987), "Corporate divestiture: pruning for higher profits" in Business Horizons, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 26-31.
65. Staw, B.M. (1997), "The escalation of commitment" in Shapira, Z. (Ed.), Organisational Decision Making, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, pp. 191-215.
66. Staw, B.M., Barsade, S.G., Koput, K.W. (1997), "Escalation and de-escalation at the credit window: a longitudinal study of bank executives' recognition and write off of problem loans" in Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 82, pp. 130-42.
67. Tamayo, M. (2008), "Boots reveals expansion plan for Thailand", Global Insight, 9 July.
68. Torneden, R. (1975), Foreign Disinvestments by US Multinational Corporations, Praeger, New York, NY.
69. Treanor, J. (2004), "Investors urge Sainsbury's to speed Davis demise" in The Guardian, Vol. 9, p. 19.
70. Virany, B., Tushman, M., Rommanelli, E. (1992), "Executive succession and organisation outcomes in turbulent environments: an organisational learning approach" in Organisational Science, Vol. 3, pp. 72-91.
71. Voyle, V. (1999), "Dixons to buy Nordic retail chain" in Financial Times, p. 25, 30 November.
72. Wainscoat, N. (2006), "Boots opens in Kuwait in Middle-Eastern push", Retail Week, 17 May.
73. Warner, J. (2007), "The problem with G7: where's China?", The Independent, 20 October.
74. Weisbach, M.S. (1995), "CEO turnover and the firm's investment decisions" in Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 37, pp. 159-88.
75. Wood, Z. (2003a), "Boots clinches deal with US retail giants" in Retail Week, p. 1, 14 November.
76. Wood, Z. (2003b), "Laura Ashley looks for improved fashion offer" in Retail Week, p. 5, 16 May.
77. Wrigley, N., Currah, A. (2003), "The 'stresses' of retail internationalisation: lessons from Royal Ahold's experience in Latin America" in International Review of Retail, Distribution & Consumer Research, Vol. 13, pp. 221-43.