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Corporate Diversification and Perfor Mance: An Investigation of Causality

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  • Ernest H. Hall Jr.

    (School of Business, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville INDIANA 47712, U.S.A.)

Abstract

The relationship between corporate diversification and organisation perfor Mance has been widely studied in the strategy literature (Christensen and Montgomery 1981; Lubatkin and Rogers 1989; Rumelt 1974, 1982). Although not universally accepted, the general prescription given to firms is that related diversification will lead to superior levels of perfor Mance while unrelated diversification will recognise inferior levels of perfor Mance (Rumelt 1974, 1982). But the issue of causality has not received very much attention (Grant, Jammine and Thomas 1988). The present study will address several questions: What is the effect of a firm's previous perfor Mance on its future diversification? Does diversification determine perfor Mance or does perfor Mance determine diversification? Results suggest that, regardless of strategic type, high levels of profitability may be necessary, but not sufficient requirements for diversification. Likewise, it was found that in certain situations, superior perfor Mance may serve as a substitute for diversification.

Suggested Citation

  • Ernest H. Hall Jr., 1995. "Corporate Diversification and Perfor Mance: An Investigation of Causality," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 20(1), pages 25-42, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:20:y:1995:i:1:p:25-42
    DOI: 10.1177/031289629502000102
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Nils Braakmann & Joachim Wagner, 2009. "Product Differentiation and Profitability in German Manufacturing Firms," Working Paper Series in Economics 115, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    4. Görzig Bernd & Gornig Martin & Werwatz Axel, 2007. "Produktdiversifizierung: Konvergenz zwischen ost- und westdeutschen Unternehmen / Product Diversification: Have East-German Enterprises Caught-Up with the West?: Eine Dekomposition mit Mikrodaten der ," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 227(2), pages 168-186, April.
    5. Braakmann Nils & Wagner Joachim, 2011. "Product Diversification and Profitability in German Manufacturing Firms," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 231(3), pages 326-335, June.
    6. Bernd Gorzig & Martin Gornig & Ramona Voshage & Axel Werwatz, 2010. "Eastern Germany on the brink of closing the productivity gap? Firm level evidence from manufacturing," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 499-511.
    7. Joachim Wagner, 2014. "Is export diversification good for profitability? First evidence for manufacturing enterprises in Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(33), pages 4083-4090, November.
    8. Bernd Görzig & Martin Gornig & Ramona Pohl, 2007. "Spezialisierung und Unternehmenserfolg im verarbeitenden Gewerbe Deutschlands," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 76(3), pages 43-58.
    9. Martuscelli, Antonio & Varela, Gonzalo, 2018. "Survival is for the fittest: Export survival patterns in Georgia," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 397-413.
    10. Nababan, Tongam Sihol & Nababan, Sere Eva & Tampubolon, Bantu, 2005. "Analysis of Relationship Between Market Reactions and Long Term Performance on Acquisitions," MPRA Paper 49110, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Emel Yücel & Yıldırım Beyazıt Önal, 2016. "Industrial Diversification and Performance in an Emerging Market," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 63(4), pages 441-454, September.
    12. Srinivasan, Raji & Lilien, Gary L. & Rangaswamy, Arvind, 2008. "Survival of high tech firms: The effects of diversity of product–market portfolios, patents, and trademarks," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 119-128.

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