Learning the wrong lessons from history: Underestimating strategic change in business turnarounds

Firms that are able to shift their trajectory from continual failure to sustained success are rare, yet turnarounds do occur and are part of the business landscape. Little progress has been made over the last two decades in discovering the key factors that can lead to firms escaping from continual failure. This study examines turnarounds in the late twentieth century, finding that the importance of strategic change may have been significantly underestimated in previous turnaround research. Emphasis is given to the care that must be taken when constructing research methodologies to ensure we avoid learning the wrong lessons from history.