Corporate Level Strategy: Theory and Applications

by Furrer; Olivier

• ISBN13: 9780415553421
• ISBN10: 0415553423
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2010-10-20
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The challenges faced by diversified corporations ' firms that operate in more than one industry or market ' have changed over the years. There is now a wide range of strategies, including corporate level strategy, to add competitive advantage to these corporations as a whole.In Corporate Level Strategy , Furrer guides the reader in developing the ability to consider the impact of change and other important environmental forces on the opportunities for establishing and sustaining corporate advantage by exploring three fundamental questions:Why are some companies highly specialized, while others embrace a wide range of products, markets and activities?What is the link between scope and performance?What can we say about the management of multi-business firms in terms of structure, management systems and leadership?Replete with case studies, learning objectives, summaries, questions and notes, this incisive book is an ideal read for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students. 

Author Biography

Olivier Furrer is Associate Professor of Strategic Management at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. His Current research interests are in the areas of international corporate social responsibility and response strategies in problematic strategic alliances.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. x
Preface	p. xiii
What is corporate level strategy?	p. 1
The definition of corporate level strategy	p. 1
Operationalizing the definition of corporate level strategy	p. 2
Corporate level strategy and diversification	p. 4
Does corporate level strategy matter?	p. 8
An historical perspective on corporate strategy	p. 8
Concluding remarks	p. 12
Why do multibusiness firms exist?: theoretical approaches to corporate level strategy	p. 14
Industrial organization theory	p. 15
Transaction cost theory	p. 17
Agency theory	p. 21
Dominant logic	p. 24
The resource-based view	p. 26
Strategic contingency and institutional theories	p. 27
Real option theory	p. 30
Concluding remarks	p. 32
Defining the business	p. 33
Why we need to define the business	p. 33
Limitations of traditional business definitions	p. 37
Abell's three-dimensional definition of business	p. 39
Concluding remarks	p. 44
Diversification strategies: creating corporate value	p. 48
Operational economies of scope	p. 50
Financial economies of scope	p. 55
Anticompetitive economies of scope	p. 60
Concluding remarks: value creation and types of diversification strategies	p. 63
The issue of relatedness: creating synergies	p. 65
Business attributes and relatedness	p. 69
Measuring relatedness	p. 71
Concluding remarks	p. 80
Diversification and performance: limits to the scope of the firm	p. 81
The diversification-performance relationship	p. 81
Limits on the scope of the firm	p. 85
Concluding remarks	p. 88
The role of the parent: managing the multibusiness firm	p. 91
The tasks and responsibilities of corporate management	p. 94
Managing the diversified firm	p. 99
Managing the related-diversified corporation	p. 105
Concluding remarks: developing and maintaining fit	p. 106
Organising and structuring the multibusiness firm	p. 108
Organizational structure: an historical perspective	p. 108
The theory of the multidivisional structure	p. 115
Organizational structure and corporate level strategies	p. 117
Concluding remarks	p. 121
Vertical integration: coordinating the value chain	p. 123
Creating corporate value through vertical integration	p. 125
Alternatives to vertical integration	p. 129
Concluding remarks	p. 132
The growth of the firm: internal development, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic alliances	p. 134
Choosing an entry mode	p. 134
Three entry modes	p. 142
Concluding remarks	p. 150
Restructuring strategies: reducing the scope of the firm	p. 151
Why do firms restructure?	p. 152
Restructuring strategies	p. 158
Concluding remarks	p. 161
Multipoint competition: managing market power	p. 163
Multipoint competition and interfirm rivalry	p. 164
Multipoint contact and intensity of competition: a contingency model	p. 166
Multipoint competition: strategic options	p. 171
Concluding remarks	p. 174
International diversification: global integration and
local responsiveness	p. 175
Motivations to internationalize	p. 176
Choice between related and unrelated international diversification	p. 180
Four worldwide corporate level strategies	p. 183
Concluding remarks	p. 188
Corporate governance: controlling top managers and meeting corporate social responsibilities	p. 189
Corporate governance: controlling managerial opportunism	p. 191
Stewardship theory: relaxing the opportunism assumption	p. 194
Stakeholder theory: relaxing the shareholder value maximization assumption	p. 196
Corporate responsibilities: economic, social, ethical, and philanthropic	p. 197
Concluding remarks	p. 199
Glossary	p. 200
Bibliography	p. 209
Index	p. 238
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