Diversification - Publications - Faculty & Research

William G. Mather

Mather headed the company for 50 years. He was instrumental in consolidating several mining operations into one powerful force. He also embarked on a major diversification program by investing in iron-ore industries and steel operations. View Details

Keywords: Agriculture & Mining

Thomas F. Manville

Manville introduced approximately 1,300 products, mainly made of asbestos. During the quarter-century of his successful presidency, he set a precedent for highly conservative management. He was renown for his great salesman-skills, View Details

Keywords: Construction & Real Estate

C. William Pollard

Pollard led ServiceMaster’s dramatic growth and diversification through the acquisitions of Terminix, TruGreen/ChemLawn, Merry Maids, and American Home Shield. During his tenure, Pollard continued ServiceMaster’s 22 consecutive years of... View Details

Keywords: Services

Dean A. McGee

McGee, reputed to be one of the most brilliant petroleum biologists of his generation and a skilled manager, built a $1 billion+ energy company and pursued an aggressive diversification plan. Under his tenure, Kerr-McGee achieved a... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

Alvin G. Brush

In 1935, American Home Products purchased Brush’s company, Affiliated Products, Incorporated and installed Brush as AHP’s new CEO. Over the next thirty years, Brush presided over a massive growth and diversification plan, purchasing... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare

Hamish Maxwell

Maxwell presided over the major diversification of Philip Morris through the acquisitions of Kraft and General Foods. In so doing, Maxwell created the largest consumer goods company in the world and significantly lessened Philip Morris’... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

Samuel C. Johnson II

Taking the helm of the family business in 1966, Johnson began a diversification plan to lessen the company’s exposure to the introduction of “no-wax” floors. He aggressively moved the company into the personal care field and developed a... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

2012
Article

The Unbundling of Advertising Agency Services: An Economic Analysis

By: Mohammad Arzaghi, Ernst R. Berndt, James C. Davis and Alvin J. Silk

We address a puzzle surrounding the shift from bundling to unbundling of U.S. advertising agency services and the slow pace of change over several decades. We model an agency’s decision as a tradeoff between the fixed cost to the advertiser of establishing a... View Details

Keywords: Bundling; Unbundling; Advertising Agency Services; Fixed Cost; Higher Media Prices; Volume; Diversification; Advertising; Change; Advertising Industry; United States

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Munns presided over the continued growth and diversification of Smith Kline. He orchestrated strategic acquisitions in the consumer and medical business arenas, introduced “Contac” and other Smith Kline medicines to the international... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare

Donald C. McGraw

McGraw initiated a period of diversification and expansion for McGraw-Hill, moving beyond book and magazine publishing. He orchestrated the successful acquisition of three industry reference sources: Standard & Poor’s Corporation, F.... View Details

Keywords: Publishing & Print Media

J. Willard Marriott, Jr.

Marriott, Jr. is responsible for the rapid growth and diversification of Marriott International. Today, with more than 1,600 owned or franchised hotel properties worldwide, Marriott International is the second-largest lodging company in... View Details

Keywords: Restaurants & Lodging

Rose M. Knox

Knox built the largest gelatin distribution company in the U.S. After her husband’s death, Knox directed advertising to women, published recipes and financed constant research on gelatin usage. Through diversification efforts, Knox... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

Robert F. Bensinger

Bensinger, the last Brunswick family member to run the company, is credited with the company’s survival and prosperity. Taking the helm of the family company at the brink of the Depression, Bensinger embarked on a growth and View Details

Keywords: Fabricated Goods

22 Nov 2019
Video

Keshub Mahindra

Keshub Mahindra, who was Chair of the India-based diversified business group Mahindra and Mahindra, explains how in the early 1990s the group sold off businesses unrelated to its core that it had accumulated... View Details

18 Nov 2019
Video

Adi Godrej

Adi Godrej, Chair of the India-based Godrej Group, discusses the decision to deploy the cash generated by the group’s businesses to acquire consumer products companies in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

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31 Oct 2019
Video

Binod Chaudhary

Binod Chaudhary, the prominent Nepalese entrepreneur, describes how under his leadership his diversified group has moved into new businesses, and how seizing these opportunities has influenced the trajectory of... View Details

05 Feb 2020
Video

Abbas Akbarally

Abbas Akbarally, the Chair of Akbar Brothers which is Sri Lanka’s and the world’s largest tea company, discusses why and how his firm began diversifying it’s portfolio by importing and selling cement.

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04 Feb 2020
Video

Savannah Maziya

Savannah Maziya, the founder of South Africa-based Bunengi Holdings, recounts how her involvement in the mining industry naturally led to involvement in both infrastructure and agriculture as the business needed to supply logistics as well as food for its workers. View Details

Samuel F. Hinkle

Starting as a chemist with Hershey, Hinkle played a prominent role in the development of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Krackel, Mr. Goodbar and fortified chocolate bars issued as K, C, and D rations during World War II. As CEO, Hinkle put Hershey on a course for View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

April 2005 (Revised August 2008)
Case

Crisis at Japan Communications, Inc.

In 2001, Seiji Frank Sanda is facing his worst crisis since founding Japan Communications Inc. (JCI) in 1996. His planned IPO was stopped, leaving JCI with a large organization and strong revenues, but losses and a dwindling balance sheet. He is seriously considering... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Entrepreneurship; Crisis Management; Communications Industry; Japan

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