Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Corporate-Level Strategy: Creating Value through Diversification

Gregory G. Dess
G. T. Lumpkin
Marilyn L. Taylor




Making Diversification Work
         What businesses should a corporation compete in?
         How should these businesses be managed to jointly create more value than if they were freestanding units?
Making Diversification Work
         Diversification initiatives must create value for shareholders
         Mergers and acquisitions
         Strategic alliances
         Joint ventures
         Internal development
         Diversification should create synergy
Synergy
         Related businesses (horizontal relationships)
         Sharing tangible resources
         Sharing intangible resources
         Unrelated businesses (hierarchical relationships)
         Value creation derives from corporate office
         Leveraging support activities
Creating Value
Leveraging core competencies
         3M leverages it competencies in adhesives technologies to many industries, including automotive, construction, and telecommunications
Sharing activities
         McKesson, a large distribution company, sells many product lines, such as pharmaceuticals and liquor, through its superwarehouses
Pooled negotiating power
         The Times Mirror Company increases its power over customers by providing “one-stop shopping” for advertisers to reach customers through multiple media—television and newspapers—in several huge markets such as New York and Chicago
Vertical integration
         Shaw industries, a giant carpet manufacturer, increases its control over raw materials by producing much of its own polypropylene fiber, a key input to its manufacturing process
Corporate restructuring and parenting
         The corporate office of Cooper Industries adds value to its acquired businesses by performing such activities as auditing their manufacturing operations, improving their accounting activities, and centralizing union negotiations
Portfolio management
         Novartis, formerly Ciba-Geigy, uses portfolio management to improve many key activities, including resource allocation and reward and evaluation systems
Related Diversification: Economies of Scope and Revenue Enhancement
         Economies of scope
         Cost savings from leveraging core competencies or sharing related activities among businesses in the corporation
         Leverage or reuse key resources
n  Favorable reputation
n  Expert staff
n  Management skills
n  Efficient purchasing operations
n  Existing manufacturing facilities
Leveraging Core Competencies
         Core competencies
         The glue that binds existing businesses together
         Engine that fuels new business growth
         Collective learning in a firm
n  How to coordinate diverse production skills
n  How to integrate multiple streams of technologies
n  How to market diverse products and services
Three Criteria of Core Competencies
         Three criteria (of core competencies) that lead to the creation of value and synergy
         Core competencies must enhance competitive advantage(s) by creating superior customer value
         Develop strengths relative to competitors
         Build on skills and innovations
         Appeal to customers
Three Criteria of Core Competencies
         Three criteria (of core competencies) that lead to the creation of value and synergy
         Core competencies must be difficult for competitors to imitate or find substitutes for
         Easily imitated or replicated core competencies are not a sound basis for sustainable advantages
         Specialized technical skills acquired only in company work experience are an example
Sharing Activities
         Corporations can also achieve synergy by sharing tangible and value-creating activities across their business units
         Common manufacturing facilities
         Distribution channels
         Sales forces
         Sharing activities provide two payoffs
         Cost savings
         Revenue enhancements
Cost Savings through Sharing Activities
         Most common type of synergy
         Savings obtained through
         Eliminating duplicate jobs
         Eliminating duplicate facilities
         Eliminating related expenses
         Savings may be offset by
         Greater costs of coordinating shared activities
         Costs of compromising design or performance of a shared activity
Enhancing Revenue through Sharing Activities
         Acquiring firm and its target may achieve a higher level of sales growth together than either could have achieved on its own
         Combined distribution channels can escalate sales of the acquiring company’s products
         Enhanced effectiveness of differentiation strategies
         Can have a negative effect on a given business’s differentiation
Related Diversification: Market Power
         Two principal means to achieve synergy through market power
         Pooled negotiating power
         Vertical integration
         Government regulations may restrict this power
Pooled Negotiating Power
         Similar businesses working together can have stronger bargaining position relative to
         Suppliers
         Customers
         Competitors
         Abuse of bargaining power may affect relationships with customers, suppliers and competitors
Vertical Integration
         Benefits
         Secure source of supply of raw materials
         Secure distribution channels
         Protection and control over assets and services
         Access to new business opportunities and technologies
         Simplified procurement and administrative procedures
         Risks
         Costs and expenses associated with increased overhead and capital expenditures
         Loss of flexibility resulting from inability to respond quickly to changes in the external environment
         Problems associated with unbalanced’ capacities or unfilled demand along the value chain
         Additional administrative costs
Vertical Integration: Benefits and Risks
         A secure source of raw materials or distribution channels.
         Protection of and control over valuable assets.
         Access to new business opportunities
         Simplified procurement and administrative procedures
         Costs and expenses associated with increased overhead and capital expenditures
         Loss of flexibility resulting from large investments.
         Problems associated with unbalanced capacities along the value chain.
         Additional administrative costs associated with managing a more complex set of activities.
Vertical Integration
In making decisions associated with vertical integration, four issues should be considered
    1. Are we satisfied with the quality of the value that our present suppliers and distributors are providing?
    2. Are there activities in our industry value chain presently being outsourced or performed independently by others that are a viable source of future profits?
    3. Is there a high level of stability in the demand for the organization’s products?
    4. How high is the proportion of additional production capacity actually absorbed by existing products or by the prospects of new and similar products?
Unrelated Diversification: Financial Synergies and Parenting
         Most benefits from unrelated diversification are gained from vertical (hierarchical) relationships
         Parenting and restructuring of businesses
         Allocate resources to optimize
n  Profitability
n  cash flow
n  Growth
         Appropriate human resources practices
         Financial controls
Corporate Parenting
         Parenting—creating value within business units
         Experience of the corporate office
         Support of the corporate office
Corporate Restructuring
         Find poorly performing firms
         With unrealized potential
         On threshold of significant positive change
Corporate Restructuring
         Corporate management must
         Have insight to detect undervalued companies or businesses with high potential for transformation
         Have requisite skills and resources to turn the businesses around
         Restructuring can involve changes in
         Assets
         Capital structure
         management
Portfolio Management
         Creation of synergies and shareholder value by portfolio management and the corporate office
         Allocate resources (cash cows to stars and some question marks)
         Expertise of corporate office in locating attractive firms to acquire
         Creation of synergies and shareholder value by portfolio management and the corporate office
         Provide financial resources to business units on favorable terms reflecting the corporation’s overall ability to raise funds
         Provide high quality review and coaching for units
         Provide a basis for developing strategic goals and reward/evaluation systems
Means to Achieve Diversification
         Acquisitions or mergers
         Pooling resources of other companies with a firm’s own resource base
         Joint venture
         strategic alliance
         Internal development
         New products
         New markets
         New technology
Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures
         Introduce successful product or service into a new market
         Lacks requisite marketing expertise
n  Doesn’t understand customer needs
n  Doesn’t know how to promote the product
n  Doesn’t have access to proper distribution channels
         Join other firms to reduce manufacturing (or other) costs in the value chain
         Pool capital
         Pool value-creating activities
         Pool facilities
         Economies of scale
         Develop or diffuse new technologies
         Use expertise of two or more companies
         Develop products technologically beyond the capability of the companies acting independently
Unmet Expectations: Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures
         Improper partner
         Each partner must bring desired complementary strengths to partnership
         Strengths contributed by each should be unique
         Partners must be compatible
         Partners must trust one another
Real Options Analysis
         Stock options (financial assets)
         Real options ( real assets or physical things)
         Investments can be staged
         Strategic decision-makers have “tollgates”
         Increased knowledge about outcomes at the time of the next investment decision
Managerial Motives Can Erode Value Creation
         Growth for growth’s sake
         Egotism
         Antitakeover tactics
         Greenmail
         Golden parachute
         Poison pills



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