conglomerates - Publications - Faculty & Research

March 2017
Case

Cantel Medical

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Cantel Medical Corporation provided infection prevention and control products and services for patients, caregivers, and other healthcare providers. In 2016, Cantel generated sales of $665 million and net profits of $60 million, double the levels of five years earlier.... View Details

Keywords: Cantel; Charles Diker; Furniture Industry; Matrix Organization; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Chemicals; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Business History; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Problems and Challenges; Research and Development; Opportunities; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Information Technology; Biotechnology Industry; Chemical Industry; Health Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; New Jersey

Citation

Educators

Purchase

17 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Who is Boss in the Sharing Economy?

When is a company not a company? A modern-day Zen koan, maybe, but the evidence is all around us—Airbnb, Elance-oDesk, Handy, HourlyNerd, TaskRabbit, Uber. These businesses seem much more like conglomerations of independent professionals... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Service; Technology

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Psychology, Pathology, and the CEO

respect as the TV unit. The sports division had to fight for airtime. Employees regularly went to the press to air grievances, reinforcing the BBC's culture of blame. Invensys: A global conglomerate that was created largely through... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

The Ingredients of a Deal Disaster

inadvertently omitted from social contract negotiations. For example, in 1988, Komatsu, Japan's leader in earth-moving construction equipment, and U.S. conglomerate Dresser Industries combined their North American engineering,... View Details

Keywords: by Ron S. Fortgang, David A. Lax & James K. Sebenius

14 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 14

conglomerate Tata Group and Envision, an entrepreneurial alternative energy company based in China-and found significant commonalities. These three companies demonstrate the essential attributes of a game-changing organization: they are... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 27, 2007

Russian conglomerate that has become the third largest shareholder in SUN Interbrew, has announced its intention to take part in the company's management and attain a leading position in the Russian beer market. Is there a role for the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

31 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 31

Maersk was a global conglomerate with large shipping and oil & gas businesses. Among the talent management issues being discussed: an increase in employee turnover, internal training and development programs, hiring experienced talent... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

February 2019 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Scandal at Steinhoff

By: Kristin Mugford and Phil Caruso

Keywords: Volatility; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Bonds; Corporate Accountability; Failure; International Finance; Restructuring; Business Conglomerates; Crime and Corruption; Retail Industry; South Africa; Austria; Netherlands

Citation

Educators

Purchase

05 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 5, 2008

Financial Studies (forthcoming) Abstract I evaluate the effect of loyalty on individuals' portfolio choice using a unique dataset of retirement contributions. I exploit the statutory difference that in 401(k) plans stand alone employees can invest directly in their... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 11, 2018

In 2016, Bruce Wayne, Managing Director of Energy Finance Corporation (EFC), was refining the Investment/Credit Committee materials for the development of up to 10 power generating plants in Argentina. As a subsidiary of the much larger International View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

27 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 27

Hanguk is a large Korean conglomerate multinational that has been keen to attract foreigners. Dylan was hired by Peter to work in Hanguk's U.S. operations. After 18 months, Dylan was promoted to company HQ in Seoul to work with Peter's... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 22, 2007

reluctant to sell the company because his original vision was to create a family-owned conglomerate that would last for generations. Of his eight children, two are appropriate successors, but neither shows much interest in following in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

14 Jan 2015
Research & Ideas

Thriving in the Turbulence of Emerging Markets

the Bajaj Group in India; Güler Sabancı, head of the $14 billion Sabancı conglomerate in Turkey; and Manu Chandaria, chairman of the multimillion-dollar Comcraft Group in Kenya. Growing In A Slow-moving Economy Rahul Bajaj In his... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Manufacturing; Auto

18 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 18, 2018

419-016). Purchase this case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/419019-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 418-010 SOS Group: Scaling a Social Enterprise Conglomerate By 2016, SOS Group, the largest social enterprise group in France, was... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

21 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 21

Harvard Business School Case 717-403 Videojet In 2005 Craig Purse, the CEO of Videojet, a company recently acquired by the conglomerate Danaher, is dealing with the unexpected failure of a new high-tech printer just launched in the... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

23 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 23

City Cayman Islands (HCCI), a 2,000 bed conglomeration of multiple super-specialty hospitals within a single campus located on Grand Cayman Island. The first phase of HCCI, a 104 bed hospital focused on cardiac care and orthopedics, was... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 24, 2007

is reluctant to sell the company because his original vision was to create a family-owned conglomerate which would last for generations. Of his eight children, two are appropriate successors, but neither shows much interest in following... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Mar 2010
Research & Ideas

Ruthlessly Realistic: How CEOs Must Overcome Denial

Companies you describe as crippled by denial include the supermarket chain A&P, the retail conglomerate Sears, and the short-lived delivery experiment Webvan. How did these companies succumb to denial? A: To paraphrase Tolstoy, every... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Auto; Retail; Technology

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Historically Speaking: A Roundtable at HBS

1971 after incurring heavy losses. But the deathblow to the company came when RCA followed the advice of Wall Street and spent millions of dollars turning itself into a conglomerate that included everything from frozen foods to rental... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

January 2018
Case

Ak Gıda: IPO or Strategic Sale

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Eren Kuzucu

In 2015, Yıldiz Holding, one of the world’s largest producer of confections, biscuits and crackers, was at the end of its divestiture process from Ak Gida, one of the leading dairy companies in Turkey. The company had adopted a dual track process, pursuing an initial... View Details