IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v72y2017icp1-13.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How do institutional transitions impact the efficacy of related and unrelated diversification strategies used by business groups?

Author

Listed:
  • Ramaswamy, Kannan
  • Purkayastha, Saptarshi
  • Petitt, Barbara S.

Abstract

Drawing from institutional theory and organizational theory, this paper reports findings from a longitudinal study of Indian business groups as they were responding to pro-market institutional reforms. It explores their diversification choices at the group level, and the group performance consequences of these choices during a period of institutional change (1988–2012). Results show that although overall group diversification had a positive impact on performance, as institutions developed and market reforms took root, unrelated diversification resulted in poorer performance. However, related diversification strategies resulted in positive group performance outcomes after pro-market reforms had taken root. This suggests that the performance consequences of alternative diversification strategies adopted by business groups change as institutional development occurs, an important facet of business group evolution that has received limited attention in the extant literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramaswamy, Kannan & Purkayastha, Saptarshi & Petitt, Barbara S., 2017. "How do institutional transitions impact the efficacy of related and unrelated diversification strategies used by business groups?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1-13.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:72:y:2017:i:c:p:1-13
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.11.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296316306208
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.11.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hicheon Kim & Heechun Kim & Robert E Hoskisson, 2010. "Does market-oriented institutional change in an emerging economy make business-group-affiliated multinationals perform better? An institution-based view," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(7), pages 1141-1160, September.
    2. Heather A. Haveman & Michael V. Russo & Alan D. Meyer, 2001. "Organizational Environments in Flux: The Impact of Regulatory Punctuations on Organizational Domains, CEO Succession, and Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(3), pages 253-273, June.
    3. Tarun Khanna & Jan W. Rivkin, 2001. "Estimating the performance effects of business groups in emerging markets," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 45-74, January.
    4. Breschi, Stefano & Lissoni, Francesco & Malerba, Franco, 2003. "Knowledge-relatedness in firm technological diversification," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 69-87, January.
    5. Mingfang Li & Kannan Ramaswamy & Barbara Pécherot Petitt, 2006. "Business groups and market failures: A focus on vertical and horizontal strategies," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 439-452, December.
    6. Marianne Bertrand & Paras Mehta & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2002. "Ferreting out Tunneling: An Application to Indian Business Groups," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 121-148.
    7. Raveendra Chittoor & Prashant Kale & Phanish Puranam, 2015. "Business groups in developing capital markets: Towards a complementarity perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9), pages 1277-1296, September.
    8. Jacquemin, Alexis P & Berry, Charles H, 1979. "Entropy Measure of Diversification and Corporate Growth," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 359-369, June.
    9. Chari, Murali D.R. & Banalieva, Elitsa R., 2015. "How do pro-market reforms impact firm profitability? The case of India under reform," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 357-367.
    10. Lien, Yung-Chih & Li, Shaomin, 2013. "Does diversification add firm value in emerging economies? Effect of corporate governance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(12), pages 2425-2430.
    11. Vikas Kumar & Ajai S. Gaur & Chinmay Pattnaik, 2012. "Product Diversification and International Expansion of Business Groups," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 175-192, April.
    12. Lee, Keonbeom & Peng, Mike W. & Lee, Keun, 2008. "From diversification premium to diversification discount during institutional transitions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 47-65, January.
    13. Filatotchev, Igor & Wright, Mike & Uhlenbruck, Klaus & Tihanyi, Laszlo & Hoskisson, Robert E., 2003. "Governance, organizational capabilities, and restructuring in transition economies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 331-347, November.
    14. Murali D.R. Chari & Parthiban David, 2012. "Sustaining superior performance in an emerging economy: an empirical test in the Indian context," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 217-229, February.
    15. Bae, Sung C. & Kwon, Taek Ho & Lee, Jang W., 2011. "Does corporate diversification by business groups create value? Evidence from Korean chaebols," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 535-553, November.
    16. Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu, 2000. "Is Group Affiliation Profitable in Emerging Markets? An Analysis of Diversified Indian Business Groups," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 867-891, April.
    17. Bruce Kogut & Gordon Walker & Jaideep Anand, 2002. "Agency and Institutions: National Divergences in Diversification Behavior," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(2), pages 162-178, April.
    18. Raveendra Chittoor & MB Sarkar & Sougata Ray & Preet S. Aulakh, 2009. "Third-World Copycats to Emerging Multinationals: Institutional Changes and Organizational Transformation in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 187-205, February.
    19. Jose Manuel Campa & Simi Kedia, 2002. "Explaining the Diversification Discount," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1731-1762, August.
    20. Abhirup Chakrabarti & Kulwant Singh & Ishtiaq Mahmood, 2007. "Diversification and performance: evidence from East Asian firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 101-120, February.
    21. Charles W. L. Hill & Michael A. Hitt & Robert E. Hoskisson, 1992. "Cooperative Versus Competitive Structures in Related and Unrelated Diversified Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(4), pages 501-521, November.
    22. Sumit K. Majumdar & Arnab Bhattacharjee, 2014. "Firms, Markets, and the State: Institutional Change and Manufacturing Sector Profitability Variances in India," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(2), pages 509-528, April.
    23. Jagdish Bhagwati & Arvind Panagariya, 2004. "The Muddles over Outsourcing," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(4), pages 93-114, Fall.
    24. Xufei Ma & Xiaotao Yao & Youmin Xi, 2006. "Business group affiliation and firm performance in a transition economy: A focus on ownership voids," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 467-483, December.
    25. Arvind Virmani, 2004. "Economic reforms: Policy and institutions some lessons from Indian reforms," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi Working Papers 121, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India.
    26. Pankaj Ghemawat & Tarun Khanna, 1998. "The Nature of Diversified Business Groups: A Research Design and Two Case Studies," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 35-61, March.
    27. Belén Villalonga, 2004. "Does Diversification Cause the "Diversification Discount"?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 33(2), Summer.
    28. Goto, Akira, 1982. "Business groups in a market economy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 53-70.
    29. Singh, Manohar & Nejadmalayeri, Ali & Mathur, Ike, 2007. "Performance impact of business group affiliation: An analysis of the diversification-performance link in a developing economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(4), pages 339-347, April.
    30. Tarun Khanna & Yishay Yafeh, 2005. "Business Groups and Risk Sharing around the World," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(1), pages 301-340, January.
    31. Elizabeth Ngah‐Kiing Lim & Shobha S. Das & Amit Das, 2009. "Diversification strategy, capital structure, and the Asian financial crisis (1997–1998): evidence from Singapore firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(6), pages 577-594, June.
    32. Marleen Dieleman, 2010. "Shock-imprinting: External shocks and ethnic Chinese business groups in Indonesia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 481-502, September.
    33. Ken G. Smith & Curtis M. Grimm, 1987. "Environmental variation, strategic change and firm performance: A study of railroad deregulation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(4), pages 363-376, July.
    34. Constantinos C. Markides, 1995. "Diversification, restructuring and economic performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(2), pages 101-118.
    35. Montek S. Ahluwalia, 2002. "Economic Reforms in India Since 1991: Has Gradualism Worked?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 67-88, Summer.
    36. Kannan Ramaswamy & Mingfang Li & Barbara Petitt, 2012. "Why do business groups continue to matter? A study of market failure and performance among Indian manufacturers," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 643-658, September.
    37. Arun Kumaraswamy & Ram Mudambi & Haritha Saranga & Arindam Tripathy, 2012. "Catch-up strategies in the Indian auto components industry: Domestic firms’ responses to market liberalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(4), pages 368-395, May.
    38. Raymond Fisman, 2001. "Estimating the Value of Political Connections," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1095-1102, September.
    39. Jordan Siegel & Prithwiraj Choudhury, 2012. "A Reexamination of Tunneling and Business Groups: New Data and New Methods," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(6), pages 1763-1798.
    40. Krishna Palepu, 1985. "Diversification strategy, profit performance and the entropy measure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(3), pages 239-255, July.
    41. Aya Chacar & Balagopal Vissa, 2005. "Are emerging economies less efficient? Performance persistence and the impact of business group affiliation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(10), pages 933-946, October.
    42. Christine M. Chan & Takehiko Isobe & Shige Makino, 2008. "Which country matters? Institutional development and foreign affiliate performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(11), pages 1179-1205, November.
    43. C. K. Prahalad & Richard A. Bettis, 1986. "The dominant logic: A new linkage between diversity and performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(6), pages 485-501, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mukherjee, Debmalya & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Deepraj & Goyal, Kirti, 2022. "Mapping five decades of international business and management research on India: A bibliometric analysis and future directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 864-891.
    2. Liu, Yulong & Ndubisi, Nelson Oly & Liu, Yang & Barrane, Fatima Zahra, 2020. "New product development and sustainable performance of Chinese SMMEs: The role of dynamic capability and intra-national environmental forces," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    3. Dau, Luis Alfonso & Purkayastha, Saptarshi & Eddleston, Kimberly A., 2020. "Who does it best? Family and nonfamily owners and leaders navigating institutional development in emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 197-210.
    4. Elango, B. & Dhandapani, Karthik & Giachetti, Claudio, 2019. "Impact of institutional reforms and industry structural factors on market returns of emerging market rivals during acquisitions by foreign firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 1-1.
    5. Askarany, Davood & Spraakman, Gary, 2020. "Regional diversification and financial performance through an excess-capacity theory lens: A new explanation for mixed results," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    6. Patnaik, Swetketu & Munjal, Surender & Varma, Arup & Sinha, Sujay, 2022. "Extending the resource-based view through the lens of the institution-based view: A longitudinal case study of an Indian higher educational institution," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 124-141.
    7. Munjal, Surender & Requejo, Ignacio & Kundu, Sumit K., 2019. "Offshore outsourcing and firm performance: Moderating effects of size, growth and slack resources," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 484-494.
    8. Pan, Xin & Chen, Xuanjin & Li, Xibao, 2019. "To fit in or stand out? How optimal distinctiveness in technological diversification affects firm performance," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 67-77.
    9. Chada, Swechha & Saravanan, Palanisamy & Varadharajan, Gopal, 2024. "Socioemotional wealth and cash flow sensitivity of cash: Evidence from India," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(PA).
    10. Ljubownikow, Grigorij & Ang, Siah Hwee, 2020. "Competition, diversification and performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 81-94.
    11. Popli, Manish & Ladkani, Radha M. & Gaur, Ajai S., 2017. "Business group affiliation and post-acquisition performance: An extended resource-based view," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 21-30.
    12. Sreevas Sahasranamam & Bindu Arya & Mukesh Sud, 2020. "Ownership structure and corporate social responsibility in an emerging market," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 1165-1192, December.
    13. Purkayastha, Saptarshi & Veliyath, Rajaram & George, Rejie, 2019. "The roles of family ownership and family management in the governance of agency conflicts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 50-64.
    14. Xie, Zaiyang & Wang, Jie & Miao, Ling, 2021. "Big data and emerging market firms’ innovation in an open economy: The diversification strategy perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    15. Wen, Jinyan & Qualls, William J. & Zeng, Deming, 2021. "To explore or exploit: The influence of inter-firm R&D network diversity and structural holes on innovation outcomes," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    16. Purkayastha, Saptarshi & Veliyath, Rajaram & George, Rejie, 2022. "Type I and type II agency conflicts in family firms: An empirical investigation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 285-299.
    17. Newaz, Md Tarique & Chandna, Vallari & Dass, Mayukh & Arnett, Dennis, 2023. "Using R-A theory and the optimal distinctiveness perspective to understand the strategic marketing approaches used by platform-based organizations: The cases of Facebook and Twitter in digital ecosyst," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    18. Rupambika Bharati & Biresh K. Sahoo, 2022. "Evaluating the profitability and marketability efficiency of group‐affiliated vis‐à‐vis nonaffiliated firms: A study on Indian manufacturing firms," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(7), pages 2759-2774, October.
    19. Anish Purkayastha & Vishal K. Gupta, 2023. "Business group affiliation and entrepreneurial orientation: Contingent effect of level of internationalization and firm’s performance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 847-876, June.
    20. Roni Budianto & Eko Suyono, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Factors Affecting It: An Empirical Evidence from the Indonesian Capital Market," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 239-253.
    21. Liu, Yulong & Yu, Yang, 2018. "Institutions, firm resources and the foreign establishment mode choices of Chinese firms: The moderating role of home regional institutional development," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 111-121.
    22. Boehe, Dirk & Jiménez, Alfredo, 2018. "Does the sequencing of related and unrelated export diversification matter? Evidence from Colombian exporters," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1141-1149.
    23. T V Arun Kumar & K S Manikandan, 2024. "Business group affiliation and competitive repertoire," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 477-505, June.
    24. Ahmed, Rizwan & Chen, Yawen & Benjasak, Chonlakan & Gregoriou, Andros & Nahar Falah Alrwashdeh, Nusiebeh & Than, Ei Thuzar, 2023. "The performance of bidding companies in merger and acquisition deals: An empirical study of domestic acquisitions in Hong Kong and Mainland China," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 168-180.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carney, Michael & Estrin, Saul & Van Essen, Marc & Shapiro, Daniel, 2017. "Business groups reconsidered: beyond paragons and parasites," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 87340, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Shaleen Gopal & K. S. Manikandan & J. Ramachandran, 2021. "Are There Limits to Diversification in Emerging Economies? Distinguishing between Firm‐Level and Business Group Strategies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(6), pages 1532-1568, September.
    3. Saptarshi Purkayastha & Vikas Kumar & Jane Wenzhen Lu, 2017. "Business group heterogeneity and the internationalization-performance relationship: Evidence from Indian business groups," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 247-279, June.
    4. Holmes, R. Michael & Hoskisson, Robert E. & Kim, Hicheon & Wan, William P. & Holcomb, Tim R., 2018. "International strategy and business groups: A review and future research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 134-150.
    5. K. S. Manikandan & J. Ramachandran, 2015. "Beyond institutional voids: Business groups, incomplete markets, and organizational form," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 598-617, April.
    6. Anish Purkayastha & Vishal K. Gupta, 2023. "Business group affiliation and entrepreneurial orientation: Contingent effect of level of internationalization and firm’s performance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 847-876, June.
    7. Banerjee, Pradip & Dhole, Sandip & Mishra, Sagarika, 2023. "Operating performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: Is there a business group advantage?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Surenderrao Komera & P. J. Jijo Lukose & Subash Sasidharan, 2018. "Does business group affiliation encourage R&D activities? Evidence from India," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 887-917, December.
    9. Raveendra Chittoor & Prashant Kale & Phanish Puranam, 2015. "Business groups in developing capital markets: Towards a complementarity perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9), pages 1277-1296, September.
    10. Anil Nair & Mehdi Sharifi Khobdeh & Aydin Oksoy & Orhun Guldiken & Chris H. Willis, 2023. "A review of strategic management research on India," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 1341-1392, December.
    11. Vikas Kumar & Deeksha Singh & Anish Purkayastha & Manish Popli & Ajai Gaur, 2020. "Springboard internationalization by emerging market firms: Speed of first cross-border acquisition," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(2), pages 172-193, March.
    12. Popli, Manish & Ladkani, Radha M. & Gaur, Ajai S., 2017. "Business group affiliation and post-acquisition performance: An extended resource-based view," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 21-30.
    13. Lakshmi Goyal, 2023. "Investments during institutional transitions: Driven by problems or opportunities?," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 1733-1768, December.
    14. Rupambika Bharati & Biresh K. Sahoo, 2022. "Evaluating the profitability and marketability efficiency of group‐affiliated vis‐à‐vis nonaffiliated firms: A study on Indian manufacturing firms," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(7), pages 2759-2774, October.
    15. Lee, Keonbeom & Peng, Mike W. & Lee, Keun, 2008. "From diversification premium to diversification discount during institutional transitions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 47-65, January.
    16. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Ajai Gaur & Deeksha Singh, 2019. "Pro-market institutions and global strategy: The pendulum of pro-market reforms and reversals," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(4), pages 598-632, June.
    17. Mukherjee, Debmalya & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Deepraj & Goyal, Kirti, 2022. "Mapping five decades of international business and management research on India: A bibliometric analysis and future directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 864-891.
    18. Helen Wei Hu & Lin Cui & Preet S Aulakh, 2019. "State capitalism and performance persistence of business group-affiliated firms: A comparative study of China and India," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(2), pages 193-222, March.
    19. Dorra Ellouze & Khadija Mnasri, 2020. "Business group diversification, financial constraints and firm performance: the case of Tunisian group affiliated firms," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 24(1), pages 273-301, March.
    20. Singh, Deeksha & Pattnaik, Chinmay & Gaur, Ajai S. & Ketencioglu, Elif, 2018. "Corporate expansion during pro-market reforms in emerging markets: The contingent value of group affiliation and diversification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 220-229.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:72:y:2017:i:c:p:1-13. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.