Using technological platforms for corporate diversification in multinationals

摘要

The paths of growth of many companies lead to diversification. Many different corporate strategies exist and therefore, also different approaches to diversification. An important way of generating new businesses is to leverage existing technological platforms into new application fields. This contribution discusses the management of corporate diversification based on technological platforms in multinationals. First, it presents major requirements in the diversification processes in multinationals. Among these requirements are the fit with the existing corporate strategy, the minimum size of new businesses and the increase of the overall value of the corporation. Second, it shows how appropriate technological platforms can be selected and how new applications can be identified and selected. Third, it describes how the multinationals that were examined for this study organised the diversification process based on technological platforms. Fourth, it discusses the implications of the findings for research into corporate diversification and for the technology-based theory of the firm. Finally, it draws a conclusion and presents suggestions for future research.