Challenges in Researching Corporate Restructuring*

This article reviews research on corporate restructuring by examining representative studies of acquisitions, divestitures and management buyouts. Theoretical arguments used in prior research on these aspects of restructuring are presented and the empirical evidence is reviewed. Three challenges in researching corporate restructuring are identified: trading off theoretical abstraction for institutional detail, defining strategically meaningful research questions, and the pursuit of partial models versus development of a comprehensive theory of restructuring. the conclusion is that theoretical and methodological pluralism are essential for advancement of research on this topic. the article concludes with a call for more research involving institutional detail and linking modes of restructuring to performance.