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Before Exit: Three Essays On Business Exit In Politically And Economically Adverse Environments, Ramzi Fathallah

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation re-conceptualizes the exit phenomenon in management research by focusing on what precedes exit in times of political and economic turbulence, when firms and entrepreneurs are forced to contemplate unwanted exit as they face multiple threats in their home country. The three essays of this thesis collectively highlight the inadequacy of theories that conceptualize exit as a sudden and complete cessation of activity by showing that exit is an adaptive process that unfolds over time, and across parts of given entities.

The first essay contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial exit by exploring how entrepreneurs proactively respond to political …