Rising like a phoenix: from Bankruptcy to market leader

Abstract

This paper investigates how the most severe form of corporate crisis – bankruptcy – can be an opportunity to (re)gain competitive advantage. Based on a single-case study of a medium-sized firm that overcame bankruptcy and is now the market leader in its industry segment, we analyzed the factors that helped it to initiate a strategic renewal and to restructure the firm for the better. The case study illustrates the transformation process of the organization into the current market leader with clear competitive advantages. In particular, both the role of the entrepreneur and the activities and resources crucial to this process are analyzed. The case study highlights that the transformation required an entrepreneurial leader who brought forth an idea for strategic renewal grounded in leveraging the firm's existing resources as well as proactive, innovative, and market-oriented development of new capabilities and that all of these dimensions were crucial for sustainable reorganization.

La présente contribution se propose d'étudier la façon dont l'insolvabilité, manifestation la plus aiguë d'une crise au sein de l'entreprise, peut être exploitée et constituer l'opportunité d'une réappropriation de positions concurrentielles solides. Sur la base de l'étude du cas spécifique d'une entreprise de taille moyenne passée par l'insolvabilité et devenue par la suite leader de son marché dans son domaine de spécialité, nous analyserons les facteurs susceptibles d'influencer une réorientation stratégique et notamment, outre le rôle de l'entrepreneur, les ressources indispensables et décisives d'un processus de redressement. La conclusion essentielle de la présente contribution demeure l'importance d'un « entrepreneurial leader » s'employant résolument à la promotion de ses idées en matière de renouveau stratégique, et ce en combinant les ressources disponibles et le développement de nouvelles compétences innovantes et axées sur le marché, étant entendu que le succès d'une réorganisation dépendant non pas de mesures individuelles, mais de la somme de ces différents facteurs.

Keywords:

• reorganization
• strategic renewal
• entrepreneurship
• case study

Mots-clés:

• réorganisation
• de renouvellement stratégique
• l'esprit d'entreprise
• étude de cas

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stefan Mayr

Stefan Mayr is an assistant professor of Management Accounting and Control at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, where he earned his PhD degree. He works as a business consultant in the fields of restructuring and management control.

Christine Mitter

Christine Mitter is a professor of Management Accounting and Finance in the business program at the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg, Austria, and a lecturer of Management Accounting at the Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria. Her research interests focus on corporate and entrepreneurial finance, corporate restructuring, and bankruptcy.