Abstract

Turning around distressed operations is an alternative response to underperformance — as contrasted with using transactions such as divestitures or resource redeployment to deal with troublesome assets during corporate renewal. Taking the perspective of private-equity owners whose interests are primarily financial, we explain how their approach to turnarounds of troubled companies may differ from that of managers within publicly traded firms who may envision the realization of longer-term sources of operating synergy among their firms' lines of business. Financial owners can revitalize firms' performance more effectively because they use turnarounds differently. Observations have implications for consulting engagements involving organizational decline, for corporate directors who must respond to outside pressures for performance improvements from shareholder activists, as well as for managers who are faced with corporate renewal challenges inside their companies. Managers within publicly traded firms are not maximizing value for their firm's investors if they cannot turn around troubled operations effectively.