Publications

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

November 1990 (Revised June 1993)
Case

FMC Corp.: A Recapitalization

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Julie H. Hertenstein

A proposed recapitalization will use new debt to pay a large dividend to some shareholders in return for a reduction of their voting power. The result will be a highly leveraged financial structure and negative owners' equity. Students can trace the effects of proposed... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Strategy; Asset Management; Financial Management; Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Business and Shareholder Relations; Capital Structure; Equity; Private Equity; Chemical Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Mar 2006
News

The Little Ice-Cream Company That Could

companies,” says Rogers. The Anglo-Dutch packaged-goods conglomerate Unilever had already bought Breyers. (It would buy Ben & Jerry’s in 2000.) Simultaneously, the Swiss food conglomerate Nestlé began to... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing

04 May 2010
News

The History of Beauty

Keywords: Prof. Geoffrey Jones; beauty products; grooming; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

28 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Building Histories of Emerging Economies One Interview at a Time

seen it all including Banco Nacional de Mexico's Agustín Legorreta (his bank was nationalized twice); Turkey's Güler Sabanci, the first woman in her family to run its $14 billion conglomerate and one of the globe's top business leaders;... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

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

November 2000 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Tellme Networks, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Nicole Tempest

Tellme, an early-stage, venture-backed company based in Silicon Valley, leverages speech-recognition technologies to provide: 1) a "voice portal" with news and other information accessible through any telephone, and 2) turnkey application development and hosting... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Business Conglomerates; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Venture Capital; Technology Adoption; Internet and the Web; Brands and Branding; Information Technology; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry

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

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

12 Jan 2004
Research & Ideas

Does Your HQ Operation Fit With Corporate Strategy?

underlying corporate strategy. A conglomerate will have a very different corporate headquarters than a firm that has diversified into a very tightly related set of businesses. The real takeaway is that "one size does not fit... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Mar 2024
Blog Post

IFC India: Our Godrej Site Visit

with mangrove conservation expert Hemant Karkhanis. Joshi provided an overview to the Godrej Group, its ESG strategy, and its mangrove conservation and restoration initiatives. Godrej Group, an international business conglomerate with... View Details

November 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Supplement

GE's Talent Machine: The Making of a CEO

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

CEO Jeff Immelt, ex-CEO Jack Welch, and HR Chief Bill Conaty discuss how GE has made talent development a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Immelt describes GE's deeply embedded philosophy around its people and how it has allowed the company to add value... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Talent and Talent Management; Human Resources; Business or Company Management; Performance Capacity; Performance Effectiveness; Competitive Advantage; System; Value

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