Exploring emerging market multinational enterprises' divestment from emerging markets

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dc.contributor.advisorLuiz, John
dc.contributor.authorChambers, Hannah
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-12T07:24:47Z
dc.date.available2025-11-12T07:24:47Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.date.updated2025-11-12T07:21:09Z
dc.description.abstractWhile many studies have examined the internationalisation of multinational enterprises (MNEs) into emerging markets, there is comparatively little research on their divestment from these markets. Additionally, most studies on foreign divestment focus on multinational enterprises from developed markets rather than emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs), leaving a gap in the literature on EMNEs' divestment from emerging markets which this research aimed to explore. This dissertation discusses how and why emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) divest from emerging markets. Specifically, this research explores the antecedents of divestment, focusing on the divestment motives, decisions, and strategies of South African MNEs that operated in Nigeria in order to address the main overarching research question. Consequently, South African MNEs are the primary focus of EMNEs, and Nigeria is the focal emerging market for this research. This research employed a qualitative, inductive, and exploratory approach, utilising multiple case studies of South African MNEs that were operational in Nigeria before subsequently divesting. The research findings of this study were based on semi-structured interviews, with the majority of the interview participants being from the South African MNEs, along with two additional subject matter experts. To obtain the overall research findings from these interviews, the data was analysed through manual thematic coding, without the use of any coding software. Additionally, this research incorporated triangulation with secondary research in order to verify and add depth to the findings from the interviews. This study views the results of the reasons for divestment from three perspectives: host country turbulence and institutional voids leading to divestment, home country's institutional weakness influencing divestment and firm-related challenges influences on divestment. In conjunction with this, it then separately discusses the divestment approaches or strategies adopted. The findings of this study contribute to and have implications for academia, EMNEs, and stakeholders involved in international business operations.
dc.identifier.apacitationChambers, H. (2025). <i>Exploring emerging market multinational enterprises' divestment from emerging markets</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42179en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationChambers, Hannah. <i>"Exploring emerging market multinational enterprises' divestment from emerging markets."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB), 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42179en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationChambers, H. 2025. Exploring emerging market multinational enterprises' divestment from emerging markets. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB). http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42179en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Chambers, Hannah AB - While many studies have examined the internationalisation of multinational enterprises (MNEs) into emerging markets, there is comparatively little research on their divestment from these markets. Additionally, most studies on foreign divestment focus on multinational enterprises from developed markets rather than emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs), leaving a gap in the literature on EMNEs' divestment from emerging markets which this research aimed to explore. This dissertation discusses how and why emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) divest from emerging markets. Specifically, this research explores the antecedents of divestment, focusing on the divestment motives, decisions, and strategies of South African MNEs that operated in Nigeria in order to address the main overarching research question. Consequently, South African MNEs are the primary focus of EMNEs, and Nigeria is the focal emerging market for this research. This research employed a qualitative, inductive, and exploratory approach, utilising multiple case studies of South African MNEs that were operational in Nigeria before subsequently divesting. The research findings of this study were based on semi-structured interviews, with the majority of the interview participants being from the South African MNEs, along with two additional subject matter experts. To obtain the overall research findings from these interviews, the data was analysed through manual thematic coding, without the use of any coding software. Additionally, this research incorporated triangulation with secondary research in order to verify and add depth to the findings from the interviews. This study views the results of the reasons for divestment from three perspectives: host country turbulence and institutional voids leading to divestment, home country's institutional weakness influencing divestment and firm-related challenges influences on divestment. In conjunction with this, it then separately discusses the divestment approaches or strategies adopted. The findings of this study contribute to and have implications for academia, EMNEs, and stakeholders involved in international business operations. DA - 2025 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Divestment KW - Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises (EMNEs) KW - Emerging Markets KW - South Africa KW - Nigeria KW - Internationalisation LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2025 T1 - Exploring emerging market multinational enterprises' divestment from emerging markets TI - Exploring emerging market multinational enterprises' divestment from emerging markets UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42179 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/42179
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationChambers H. Exploring emerging market multinational enterprises' divestment from emerging markets. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB), 2025 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42179en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentGraduate School of Business (GSB)
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerce
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectDivestment
dc.subjectEmerging Market Multinational Enterprises (EMNEs)
dc.subjectEmerging Markets
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.subjectNigeria
dc.subjectInternationalisation
dc.titleExploring emerging market multinational enterprises' divestment from emerging markets
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
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