1. Strategy & Competitive Advantage in Diversified Companies

2. Pros & Cons of Single & Diversified Businesses
Single Business: + focus
+ clear identity
- risk
Diversified Business: + spreading risk
+ increased opportunity
- complexity / mgt

3. Strategy & Competitive Advantage in Diversified Companies
Challenge is to craft a multi-business, multi-industry strategy.
When to diversify?
What businesses to enter?
How to enter them?
Actions to boost the combined performance /
competitive advantage of businesses?
Prioritising & steering corporate resources in right directions.

4. When to diversify? Diminishing growth prospects in present business
Competencies & capabilities readily transferable
Resources & managerial depth to expand
Increases shareholder value 2+2=5
What kind & how much?
Related / unrelated diversification / combo
Small extent (<10% tot.rev) or large extent
Small no. of large businesses / large number of small businesses

5. 3 Tests for Judging a Diversification Move
The industry attractiveness test
The cost-of-entry test
The better-off test

6. Diversification Strategies
A. Related Diversification Strategies
Common approaches:
Entering business where salesforce, advertising, distribution facilities may be shared.
Closely related technologies / expertise
Transferring know-how from one business to another or brandname & reputation to new product / service
Acquiring new business that will uniquely help firm’s position in existing business.
The greater the relatedness the bigger the window for creating competitive advantage.

7. Diversification Strategies
Advantages of Related Diversification...
+ Degree of unity in business activities
+ Strategic fits - technology, operating, distribution / customer related, management
+Economies of scope
IMPORTANCE OF SKILL AT EXPLOITING LINKAGES

8. Diversification Strategies
B. Unrelated Diversification Strategies
Diversifying into any business with a good profit potential (usually through acquisition)
Screening nb: targets for profit & ROI
degree of investment required
industry growth potential
impact on bottom line of parent co.
Often taking advantage of undervalued co.s / lack capital

9. Unrelated Diversification Strategies
Advantages & Disadvantages…
+ diverse spread of risk
+ optimal ST use of financial resources
+ more stable corporate profits
+ increased shareholder wealth
- complexity / managerial expertise
- without c.ad. of ‘fits’ whole may be </= sum
- difficult to coordinate cyclical nature of ind.

10. Unrelated Diversification Strategies
Unrelated diversification is a financial approach to creating shareholder value; related diversification is a strategic approach.
To succeed - achieve consistently high ROI
- negotiate gd. acquisition prices
- sell at right time
- shift resources at right time
- manage better than if indep.

11. Diversification Strategies
C. Strategies for entering new business…
(i) Acquisition: + quicker
+ hurdles entry barriers
- difficult to find right company
Apply cost-of-entry test

12. Diversification Strategies
(ii) Internal Start-up: + Good fit & control
- Entry barrier
- Capital investment
- Speed
Attractive when…
ample time, aggressive response unlikely,
cost of entry lower than acquisition, skills exist in-house, new capacity won’t over-supply, industry fragmented.

13. Diversification Strategies
(iii) Joint Ventures
Useful when…
Independent action uneconomical / risky
Pooling resources results in synergy
Only or best source of access

14. Diversification Strategies
D. Divestiture & Liquidation Strategies
due to change or mis‘fit’
“If we weren’t in this business today would we
want to get into it now?”
When is a turnaround possible or not?
Sell - partial / outright
Early liquidation better than bankruptcy / depletion.

15. Diversification Strategies
E. Corporate turnaround, retrenchment & portfolio restructuring strategies
Poor performance in one or more business units
Turnaround - problems are ST, ind. is attractive
Retrenchment - smaller no. of businesses
Restructuring - change the mix of businesses

16. Diversification Strategies
F. Multinational Diversification (DMNCs)
Diverse businesses & national markets
- Complexity of strategising across businesses & countries
+ opportunity for strategic coordination / sustainable c.ad. not open to companies who operate only domestically

17. Diversification Strategies
Sources of Advantage for a DMNC…
Fits / Economies of scope - expertise, technology, worldwide distribution, bargaining power, leveraging brandname.
Cross subsidisation / multiple profit sanctuaries
‘Fit’ advantages more reliable & sustainable than cross-subsidisation