Publications

June 1995
Teaching Note

Basic Industries TN

By: Joseph L. Bower

Teaching Note for (9-313-121). View Details

Keywords: Policy; Capital Budgeting; Risk and Uncertainty; Organizations; Business Conglomerates; Technology; Construction Industry

September 2001 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Virgin Group, The: Filling in the Value Gap

By: Frances X. Frei, Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar and Corey B. Hajim

Chronicles the successes and failures of the Virgin Group. By examining these examples, students discover attributes of Virgin's overall service concept, which, at its core, competes on quality rather than on price. Students are challenged to consider how Virgin might... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Competition; Price; Business Conglomerates; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Market Entry and Exit

01 Feb 2002
News

Telling the Electronic Century's Unfinished Story

savings and loans. I compare this disaster to a Greek epic, in which RCA is lured away from its core capabilities by "Sirens" consisting of the business press, the academy, and Wall Street, for whom conglomerates were then the business... View Details

Keywords: Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

February 2010
Teaching Note

Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company's Global Strategy (TN)

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Teaching Note for [308058]. View Details

Keywords: Business History; Global Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Vertical Integration; Goals and Objectives; Mergers and Acquisitions; Auto Industry; China; United States

01 Mar 2023
News

The Latest Model

Prysm Group Cofounders Hurder (left) and Barrera: bringing an industry-agnostic approach to helping business leverage emerging technologies Prysm Group cofounders Hurder (left) and Barrera: bringing an industry-agnostic approach to helping business leverage emerging... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; blockchain; cryptocurrency; economic models; innovation; consulting; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

14 Apr 2023
Blog Post

New MBA Course Asks Students: What’s More Important—Purpose or Profits?

he made financial inclusion a priority for the insolvent bank that he was asked to lead, and how he ultimately transformed it into one of the largest banking conglomerates in Africa. Lagercrantz discussed why and how he built what is... View Details

October 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Thermax—Changing of the Guard

By: Christina R. Wing and Inakshi Sobti

Thermax is an engineering company in India that provides integrated solutions in energy, environment, and chemicals. The Aga family along with family trusts owns 62% of the company. Post a restructuring exercise in 2000, Thermax transforms itself from a small family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transformation; Business Conglomerates; Strategy; Management Succession; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture

August 2004 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Li Ka-Shing

By: Nitin Nohria and Bridget Gurtler

From his humble beginnings in China as a teacher's son, a refugee, and later as a salesman, Li provides a lesson in integrity and adaptability. Through hard work, and a reputation for remaining true to his internal moral compass, he was able to build a business empire... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Success; Business Conglomerates; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; China

November 2006 (Revised August 2008)
Supplement

China Resources Corporation (B): China Resources Microelectronics

By: Dennis Campbell and David Lane

Supplements the (A) case. Late in October 2006, China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd. (CRC) CEO Charlie Song Lin, CFO Jiang Wel, and Information Center GM Derek Cheng were traveling from Hong Kong to Wuxi, China to attend the first ever meeting of China Resources... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Business Conglomerates; Profit; Governance Controls; Management Systems; Business Strategy; China

December 2004 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Nestle and Alcon--The Value of a Listing

By: Mihir A. Desai, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

In response to a perceived undervaluation by the capital markets, Nestle is considering divesting a part of its ophthalmology subsidiary, Alcon, and must decide on a listing location. In the process, students are challenged to wrestle with the valuation of a... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; International Finance; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Markets; Taxation; Business Subsidiaries; Valuation; Food and Beverage Industry; Health Industry; Europe; United States

27 Feb 2024
Blog Post

IFC India: Development while Decarbonizing - Understanding India’s Agriculture Landscape

initiatives. This prompts reflection on the need for exploring alternative funding avenues, such as collaborations with local conglomerates or government entities, to strike a balance between profitability and sustainability. Another... View Details

March 2001
Case

Sime Darby Berhad (C): Responding to the Asian Crisis

By: Tarun Khanna and Danielle Melito Wu

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Economy; Capital Markets; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; Malaysia

01 Dec 2007
News

A View from the Top

devoted time and resources to protecting the world’s wide-open spaces. Two of this year’s winners cited family life. “Finding a balance is something I’m proud about,” remarked Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (MBA ’87), leader of the 173-year-old Ayala Corporation, a View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Management

01 Jun 1997
News

Short Takes

with the ungainly conglomerates assembled in the 1960s and 1970s that provided a variety of seemingly mismatched products and services. And while many consultants and investors are seeking to extend this focused model into emerging... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

January 2013
Supplement

Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company's Global Strategy (B)

By: William C. Kirby, Nancy Hua Dai and Erica M. Zendell

Supplements the A Case 308-058. With an almost forty-year history as a business in China, the Wanxiang Group has navigated through the significantly different political and economic changes in China to succeed as a global leader in the auto parts industry, and to... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Global Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Vertical Integration; Goals and Objectives; Mergers and Acquisitions; Auto Industry; China; United States

20 Sep 2018
Cold Call Podcast

Did Entrepreneur Ernesto Tornquist Help or Hurt Argentina?

Keywords: Re: Geoffrey G. Jones; Manufacturing

01 Dec 2022
News

The State of Play

If the category of offerings known as “immersive experiences” were a soup, it would probably have to be a gumbo—a saucy and colorful assemblage of potentially disparate things. And while it’s rooted in familiar traditions, it’s also open to whatever bright new ideas or... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

July 2024
Module Note

Organization: Managing the Corporation

By: David J. Collis

Ongoing management of the corporate portfolio is critical to realizing value in diversified companies. This requires designing and administering structures, systems, and processes appropriate for the set of businesses and the resources that underpin value creation... View Details

Keywords: Organization; Corporate Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Business or Company Management; Diversification; Value Creation