Exit planning in small Australian firms

Abstract

It is commonly held that small businesses have a high failure rate (Rob and Watson, 2012; Shane, 2008). However, close analysis of business owners who discontinue operations show that they do not all fail (Watson and Everett, 1999). Some business owners operate successfully and cease operations when they exit. Other businesses are continued in a different form with or without their owners. These businesses do not fail or become bankrupt and are not forced to close due to poor performance. Their owners exit voluntarily from healthy businesses. Voluntary exits are intentional; they involve transferring part or the whole of a viable business to others with the aim of securing maximum value for the owner's investment (DeTienne, 2010; DeTienne and Cardon, 2012).