The multibusiness phenomenon beyond conglomerates and business groups : a corporate management perspective
Fecha
2019-10-20
Autores
Rivas-Montoya, Luz María
Londoño-Correa, Diana
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Resumen
Businesses and not multibusiness firms are the ones that compete. While each business needs its own competitive strategy, multibusiness firms require corporate management for capturing synergies. The competitive view has
triggered the emergence of multiple businesses within a single firm. Despite this, it is common to find managers who
are unaware of the benefits that joint management brings to the performance of a multibusiness company. Managing
multibusiness firms implies facing a paradox: leveraging business uniqueness while creating joint value for the multibusiness company. This paper characterizes the multibusiness phenomenon from the existence of ownership ties and
coordinated actions, by qualitatively researching 21 Colombian multibusiness firms. It contributes to the managerial
knowledge of these types of firms in two different ways: by identifying the multibusiness phenomenon in a variety of
companies, and by highlighting the benefits of the joint management of a multibusiness firm.