The Multibusiness Phenomenon beyond Conglomerates and Business Groups: A Corporate Management Perspective

Abstract

Businesses and not multibusiness firms are the ones that compete. While each business needs its own competi- tive 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 multi- business 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.