The value of restructuring in emerging economies: the case of the Czech Republic

Although the value creating effect of firm restructuring which results in a reduction of internal markets (including spin‐offs, carve‐outs and other divestitures) is generally well accepted for U.S. firms, there is little evidence on the extent to which such arguments can be extended to firms in emerging economies. This study addresses this void in the literature by examining the issue of restructuring in the newly emerging economy of the Czech Republic. Several hypotheses relating to internal and external markets in emerging institutional environments are developed and tested using a large database of original and restructured Czech firms undergoing privatization. After controlling for factors such as size and performance, it is found that restructuring significantly reduced the value of firms, despite the general belief that Czech firms emerging from the communist era were highly overdiversified. This finding, while contradicting a majority of the work on restructured firms in the United States, nonetheless supports the notion that sizeable internal markets play an enhanced role in underdeveloped institutional environments. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.