Inertia toward Divestitures: A Family Firm's Curse?
Journal
Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings
ISSN
2151-6561
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2012-08-07
Author(s)
Abstract
Despite scholars' calls to extend the ‘long list' of antecedents for firms' divestiture activity and to examine behavioral antecedents for divestiture decisions, research in that regard has been scarce. Based on the concept of socioemotional wealth, this study therefore aims to address this gap by focusing on family firms' divestiture activity. Socioemotional wealth exerts a significant influence on the decision to divest; an inertia toward divestitures in family firms is the consequence. However, this perspective is incomplete: Family owners' financial wealth considerations counterbalance socioeconomic barriers to divest. The results confirm the theoretical reasoning and reveal an u-shaped relationship between family ownership and the probability to engage in divestiture activity that is strengthened by performance hazard.
Funding(s)
Language
English
Keywords
Socioemotional wealth
divestitures
family firms
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Book title
The Informal Economy
Publisher
Academy of Management
Publisher place
New York
Volume
Paper 1569
Start page
40
Event Title
72nd Academy of Management Annual Meeting (AOM) 2012 "The Informal Economy"
Event Location
Boston, USA
Event Date
03.-07.08.2012
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
210567