Publications

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

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

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

September 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Sherritt Goes to Cuba (A): Political Risk in Unchartered Territory

By: Aldo Musacchio and Jonathan Schlefer

Ian Delaney, CEO of Sherritt, a primarily a mining company, visited Cuba in the early 1990s to negotiate a deal to export nickel for their Canadian refineries. The case describes the difficulties of doing business in Cuba and the challenges Delaney overcame to turn... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Joint Ventures; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; Canada; Cuba; United States

12 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

Creating Value Across Borders

Europe and Africa because property rights are more difficult to enforce there. —Walter Kuemmerle The first difference is the development of capital markets and the transparency of these markets. In countries where family-owned View Details

Keywords: by Staff

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

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

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Water, Electricity, and Transportation: Preparing for the Population Boom

someone at the top who says, ‘This will be good for the city‘—and who will make sure it isn't corrupt," said Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (HBS MBA 1987), chairman and CEO of Ayala Corporation, one of the largest business View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

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

July 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Digital Microscopy Is Making Me Crazy!

By: Willy Shih

For Carl Zeiss Microimaging, modular hardware and software enabled customers to tailor Zeiss's broad range of microscopy systems hardware and software to meet a wide range of needs from basic scientific research in the biological and medical sciences to clinical... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Corporate Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Science-Based Business; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Business Conglomerates; Digital Platforms; Opportunities; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Computer Industry

October 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Case

China Resources Corporation (A): 6S Management

By: Dennis Campbell and David Lane

In 2006, Jiang Wei, CFO of China Resources Corporation, was seeking to implement a variety of new management control systems in a complex diversified corporation during a period of rapid economic expansion in mainland China. Instilling efficiency, productivity,... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Business Conglomerates; Governance Controls; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Performance Improvement; Business Strategy; China

April 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

News Corporation

By: Bharat N. Anand and Kate Attea

In 2001, News Corp. is the smallest of the major media and entertainment conglomerates, but it has the broadest global presence. In an effort to establish a major distribution presence in the United States, News Corp. had looked to acquire DirecTV, the largest U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Globalization; Distribution; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; Competition; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Journalism and News Industry; United States; Australia