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Jack of all trades? Product diversification in nonfinancial firms

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Author Info
Mitchell Berlin

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Abstract

While financial firms keep searching for the secret formula to make profits out of providing multiple financial services under one roof, nonfinancial firms seem headed in the opposite direction. What can financial firms learn from the experience of diversified nonfinancial firms and those firms that have increased their focus? Mitchell Berlin examines this question and offers some possible explanations as to why nonfinancial firms have found it so hard to profit from diversification.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in its journal Business Review.

Volume (Year): (1999)
Issue (Month): May ()
Pages: 15-29
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedpbr:y:1999:i:may:p:15-29

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Related research
Keywords: Nonbank activities;

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

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    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
  13. Servaes, Henri, 1996. " The Value of Diversification during the Conglomerate Merger Wave," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(4), pages 1201-25, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. John, Kose & Ofek, Eli, 1995. "Asset sales and increase in focus," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 105-126, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  17. Comment, Robert & Jarrell, Gregg A., 1995. "Corporate focus and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 67-87, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  25. John G. Matsusaka, 1993. "Takeover Motives during the Conglomerate Merger Wave," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(3), pages 357-379, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  26. Gordon M Phillips & Vojislav Maksimovic, 1998. "Optimal Firm Size and the Growth of Conglomerate and Single-Industry Firms," Working Papers 98-14, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Mitchell Berlin, 2001. ""We control the vertical": three theories of the firm," Business Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, issue Q3, pages 13-22. [Downloadable!]
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