REEVALUATING THE DIVERSIFICATION/PERFORMANCE LINKAGE: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

摘要

Diversification continues to be a popular research topic among strategy scholars (Delios & Beamish, 1999; Geringer, Tallman, & Olsen, 2000). However, the evidence on the diversification/ performance linkage has been troubled with confusion and debate. The present study seeks to accomplish two primary objectives. First, the study adopts an international perspective with regards to diversification, using U.S. and Japanese firms. Second, the study employs a variety of performance and diversification measures. Results indicate that U.S. and Japanese firms share many similarities for market- and product-based diversification. However, multiple measures of product-based diversification revealed differences in the Japanese sample.