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

Web

Globalization and Emerging Markets - Course Catalog

take the perspective of a large-cap mining firm in Mongolia, a domestic conglomerate in the Philippines, a muckraking foreign-run hedge fund in Russia, or the Prime Minister of Bhutan considering the development of a new hydropower... View Details

01 Mar 2010
News

Alumni Books

the bill. Moguls have propagated a myth that justifies their poor performance: since they manage creative talent and artistic product, traditional strategic, financial, and operational appraisal metrics do not apply to them. But since 2000, the largest media View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Finance; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

July 2024
Module Note

Organization: Managing the Corporation

By: David J. Collis

Ongoing management of the corporate portfolio is critical to realizing value in diversified companies. This requires designing and administering structures, systems, and processes appropriate for the set of businesses and the resources that underpin value creation... View Details

Keywords: Organization; Corporate Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Business or Company Management; Diversification; Value Creation; Corporate Governance; Business Units

April 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Supplement

Governance at Metallgesellschaft (B)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Corporate Accountability; Business Conglomerates; Governing and Advisory Boards; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Mining Industry; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States

April 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Governance at Metallgesellschaft (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

MG Corp., a U.S. subsidiary of Germany's international conglomerate, Metallgesellschaft, engaged in a disastrous hedging strategy that nearly dragged the entire enterprise into bankruptcy. This case explores issues of responsibility and accountability among the... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Corporate Accountability; Business Conglomerates; Governing and Advisory Boards; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Mining Industry; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States

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; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Corporate Governance; Organizational Structure; Adoption; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Education Industry; Energy Industry; Latin America; Mexico

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

March 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Oscar de la Renta

By: Bharat N. Anand, Elizabeth Lea Carpenter and Samhita Patwardhan Jayanti

Over three decades, Oscar de la Renta (ODLR) had established itself as one of the premier luxury brands in America. Its mainstay business had always been producing and marketing high-priced, couture/ready-to-wear luxury goods. Now, in September 2003, it faced a series... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Production; Family Ownership; Luxury; Competition; Diversification; Expansion; United States

July 2001
Teaching Note

Newell Company: Corporate Strategy TN

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Teaching Note for (9-799-139). A rewritten version of an earlier teaching note. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Strategy; Diversification; Strategic Planning; Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Horizontal Integration; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Retail 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

June 1991
Background Note

Corporate Advantage: Identifying and Exploiting Resources

By: David J. Collis

Describes the economic theory that was behind the view that resources are central to the creation of value in multibusiness corporations and identifies tests that resources must pass to become part of a firm's "distinctive competence". Describes how those resources can... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Business or Company Management; Resource Allocation; Competitive Strategy; Theory; Value Creation

17 Apr 2017
News

Jeff Immelt Wants a Radical Transformation of GE

Jeff Immelt (MBA 1982) wants to change just about everything at GE, from its image as a slow-moving corporate behemoth, to the focus of its core businesses, to the location of its corporate offices. In May, the company that made the first lightbulb, as well as... View Details

Keywords: Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Manufacturing

24 Nov 2014
Research & Ideas

Corrupting Silence: Companies Must Speak Up Against Bribes

In a 2012 Harvard Business School case on corruption at German conglomerate Siemens AG, Peter Solmssen —brought in to clean house —reflects on how people approach a business bribe. "The stupid ones say, very simply, what are you going to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

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

By 2050, the Earth's population will likely exceed 9 billion people, up 30 percent from 6.9 billion today, according to projections from both the US Census Bureau and the United Nations. What's more, the population in the world's cities is expected to increase by 3... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

2011
Working Paper

From Social Control to Financial Economics: The Linked Ecologies of Economics and Business in Twentieth Century America

By: Marion Fourcade and Rakesh Khurana

As the main producers of managerial elites, business schools represent strategic research sites for understanding the formation of economic practices and representations. This article draws on historical material to analyze the changing place of economics in American... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Practice; Business Education; Labor and Management Relations; Decision Making; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Change; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Finance; Knowledge; Production; Business Conglomerates; Education Industry; United States

Read Now

October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Provident Life and Accident Insurance: The Acquisition of Paul Revere

By: Mihir A. Desai, Frank Williamson, Mark Veblen and Yuming Zou

Provident Life & Accident Insurance Co. has made an initial bid to acquire a primary competitor, Paul Revere, from conglomerate, Textron. The due diligence process uncovers a significant block of problematic disability insurance policies. Provident is forced to assess... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Financial Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Policy; Investment; Business Strategy; Cash Flow; Price; Bids and Bidding; Financial Reporting; Business Conglomerates; Insurance Industry; Service Industry