Publications

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

19 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 19, 2018

Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Recruit Holdings, an advertising media, staffing, and business support conglomerate was founded in 1960 by Hiromasa Ezoe. Recruit was built on the principle that the company should add... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

03 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 3

this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/815070-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 715-432 Group Functions at the Maersk Group In 2014, seven years after he was appointed CEO of the Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A.P.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Aug 2017
News

Jeffrey Immelt: How I Remade GE

“For the past 16 years GE has been undergoing the most consequential makeover in its history,” departing CEO Jeff Immelt (MBA 1982) writes in Harvard Business Review. “We were a classic conglomerate. Now people are calling us a 125-year-old start-up—we’re a digital... View Details

September 2024
Case

Topaz: Navigating Governance, Legacy, and Change

By: Christina R. Wing and Carla Larangeira

Since its founding in 2011, the Garza Sada brothers and their father positioned Topaz among leading family offices in Monterrey, Mexico, with several assets under management. Topaz aspired to have a transformative impact across multiple Mexican industries. An industry... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Family Business; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Education Industry; Energy Industry; Latin America; Mexico

September 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Supplement

Eaton Corporation: Portfolio Transformation and The Cost of Capital

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Scott Mayfield and Daniel Fisher

In 2000, Eaton Corporation was a broadly diversified industrial conglomerate. But its strategy was evolving and its focus was narrowing around “power management” and more recently on “intelligent power,” the use of digitally enabled products and services designed to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Cost of Capital; Corporate Finance; Value; Valuation; Industrial Products Industry; United States; Denmark; Republic of Ireland

December 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Kanebo Ltd. (A)

By: David F. Hawkins, Suraj Srinivasan, Akiko Kanno and Lizzie Gomez

Speculation as to how Japanese companies might implement IFRS with particular emphasis on consolidation accounting. View Details

Keywords: History; Business Conglomerates; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Consolidation; Financial Statements; International Finance; International Accounting; Standards; Goodwill Accounting; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

March 1998 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Tyco International

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery, Robert E. Kennedy, Lisa J. Chadderdon and Hal Hogan

Tyco, a diversified U.S. conglomerate, has grown rapidly for more than 20 years. This case examines Tyco's acquisition strategy as well as its internal control systems. View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Corporate Strategy; Business or Company Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

06 Nov 2017
Research Event

Who is Responsible for the Future of Cities?

over a period of months.” With or without government support or collaboration, technology will continue to disrupt cities. “Autonomous driving, electric cars, it’s all happening,” said Christian Irmisch, sales manager for commuter and regional trains at the German... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

09 Apr 2024
Blog Post

IFC India: JSW Steel

conglomerate and one of India’s largest steel producers. They are employing significant technology to build circularity into their production processes across both steel and cement production and are using their R&D capacity to... View Details

April 1993
Teaching Note

Grupo Industrial Alfa, S.A.,1982 (TN)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Teaching Note for (9-292-008). View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Borrowing and Debt; Restructuring; Rights; Business Strategy; Negotiation; System; Business Conglomerates; Currency Exchange Rate; Energy Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Mexico

March 2001
Case

Sime Darby Berhad (B): The Asian Crisis Begins

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

Web

Modern Corporate Strategy: Revitalizing the Corporation - Course Catalog

corporate strategy, ranging from conglomerates and private equity firms to tightly related corporate entities and startups. It demonstrates that the same "better off" and "ownership" tests apply to every effective corporate strategy. This... View Details

01 Jun 2016
News

Up by the Roots

start to finish,” he says. “That’s something I picked up from General Mills: We had to be able to have that kind of traceability and accountability to consumers.” That reputation attracted the attention of the luxury conglomerate LVMH,... View Details

Keywords: Francis Storrs

December 1992 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Becton Dickinson Division: Marketing Organization

By: Frank V. Cespedes

The marketing director for the largest division of a health care products company is reviewing the structure and staffing of the division's marketing organization. The division has authorization to hire an additional marketing manager. Hence, the immediate case... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Health Care and Treatment; Human Resources; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Managerial Roles; Product Marketing; Measurement and Metrics; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Health Industry

18 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 18, 2018

War II and the relative decline in importance of internationally-focused business groups during the second half of the twentieth century. The chapter then discusses the rise and fall of diversified and conglomerate type of groups like... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2007
Case

Free the Grapes--Direct-to-Consumer Shipping in the Wine Industry

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis A. Yao, Patricia Wu and Libby Cantrill

While wine tourism in the United States was booming, the majority of consumers who tasted a Cabernet Sauvignon in one of Napa Valley's tasting rooms were not permitted to ship the wine directly to their home. In 2002, direct-to-consumer shipping was either banned or... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Lawsuits and Litigation; Agreements and Arrangements; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

February 2004 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Random House

By: Bharat N. Anand, Kyle F. Barnett and Elizabeth Lea Carpenter

On June 12, 2003, the proposed merger of Random House and Time Warner Book Group was called off by the CEO of Random House's parent company, Bertelsmann. The announcement was welcomed by several critics who had questioned the logic of further consolidation in the book... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Information Publishing; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Vertical Integration; Internet; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry