Corporate divestitures can be a strategic tool for value creation when approached proactively. Despite their high managerial relevance, however, divestiture decisions are often made on a relatively unstructured and irrational basis, lacking routines and professional management. The entire field is very opaque and has been under-researched up to now – especially the behavioral limitations that play an important role as a managerial barrier to timely exits. Jan-Hendrik Sewing makes a significant contribution to opening the black box of current divestiture decision-making. He uses detailed case studies, including numerous interviews with corporate executives and experts from management consulting, private equity, and investment banking. The author develops a conceptual framework to identify remedies to behavioral pathologies and their origins. The study highlights multiple techniques for pursuing divestitures proactively and formulates best-practice recommendations.

Dr. Jan-Hendrik Sewing finished his doctoral thesis at the Dortmund University of Technology, Chair for Strategic and International Management.