IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/comaot/v27y2021i1d10.1007_s10588-020-09316-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How firm boundaries and relatedness jointly affect diversification value: trade-offs between governance and flexibility

Author

Listed:
  • Hyoung-Goo Kang

    (Hanyang University Business School)

  • Richard M. Burton

    (Duke University)

  • Will Mitchell

    (University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management)

Abstract

Diversification involves ongoing decisions about firm boundaries and relatedness. We develop a theoretical model that uses a real-option framework combined with optimal mechanism design to analyze how choices of boundaries and relatedness affect firm performance in the face of tradeoffs between governance and flexibility. We find that: (1) optimal boundaries and relatedness are substitutes in determining firm performance; (2) the association between relatedness, the most commonly studied aspect of diversification, and firm performance is indeterminate; (3) the substitution between relatedness and boundaries declines as noise in internal communication increases; (4) variation in relatedness has greater impact than boundary size when headquarters can pick multiple winners; and (5) as the internal market for information becomes more efficient, the lower the value of relatedness in combination with small boundaries. The general conceptual implication of these points is that corporate governance interacts with firm relatedness and boundaries in generating diversification performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Hyoung-Goo Kang & Richard M. Burton & Will Mitchell, 2021. "How firm boundaries and relatedness jointly affect diversification value: trade-offs between governance and flexibility," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 1-34, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:comaot:v:27:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10588-020-09316-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10588-020-09316-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10588-020-09316-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10588-020-09316-7?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. Rotemberg, Julio J & Saloner, Garth, 1994. "Benefits of Narrow Business Strategies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1330-1349, December.
    2. Stein, Jeremy C, 1997. "Internal Capital Markets and the Competition for Corporate Resources," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 111-133, March.
    3. Arkadiy V. Sakhartov & Timothy B. Folta, 2014. "Resource relatedness, redeployability, and firm value," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(12), pages 1781-1797, December.
    4. Rebecca N. Hann & Maria Ogneva & Oguzhan Ozbas, 2013. "Corporate Diversification and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(5), pages 1961-1999, October.
    5. Gary S. Becker & Kevin M. Murphy, 1994. "The Division of Labor, Coordination Costs, and Knowledge," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, Third Edition, pages 299-322, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Susan I. Cohen & Martin Loeb, 1984. "The Groves Scheme, Profit Sharing and Moral Hazard," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(1), pages 20-24, January.
    7. Hoechle, Daniel & Schmid, Markus & Walter, Ingo & Yermack, David, 2012. "How much of the diversification discount can be explained by poor corporate governance?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 41-60.
    8. Geoffrey Tate & Liu Yang, 2015. "The Bright Side of Corporate Diversification: Evidence from Internal Labor Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(8), pages 2203-2249.
    9. Drew Fudenberg & Eric Maskin, 2008. "The Folk Theorem In Repeated Games With Discounting Or With Incomplete Information," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Drew Fudenberg & David K Levine (ed.), A Long-Run Collaboration On Long-Run Games, chapter 11, pages 209-230, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Juan Santalo & Manuel Becerra, 2008. "Competition from Specialized Firms and the Diversification–Performance Linkage," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(2), pages 851-883, April.
    11. Jacques Crémer & Luis Garicano & Andrea Prat, 2007. "Language and the Theory of the Firm," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(1), pages 373-407.
    12. Laurence Capron & Will Mitchell & Anand Swaminathan, 2001. "Asset divestiture following horizontal acquisitions: a dynamic view," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(9), pages 817-844, September.
    13. Constance E. Helfat & Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, 2004. "Inter‐temporal economies of scope, organizational modularity, and the dynamics of diversification," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(13), pages 1217-1232, December.
    14. John R. Graham & Michael L. Lemmon & Jack G. Wolf, 2002. "Does Corporate Diversification Destroy Value?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(2), pages 695-720, April.
    15. Edward Clarke, 1971. "Multipart pricing of public goods," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 17-33, September.
    16. Venkat Kuppuswamy & Belén Villalonga, 2016. "Does Diversification Create Value in the Presence of External Financing Constraints? Evidence from the 2007–2009 Financial Crisis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(4), pages 905-923, April.
    17. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1504-1511, December.
    18. Ron Adner & Francisco Ruiz-Aliseda & Peter Zemsky, 2016. "Specialist versus Generalist Positioning: Demand Heterogeneity, Technology Scalability and Endogenous Market Segmentation," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(3), pages 184-206, September.
    19. Hyoung-Goo Kang & Wonseok Woo & Richard M. Burton & Will Mitchell, 2018. "Constructing M&A valuation: how do merger evaluation methods differ as uncertainty and controversy vary?," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 7(1), pages 1-46, December.
    20. William Vickrey, 1961. "Counterspeculation, Auctions, And Competitive Sealed Tenders," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 16(1), pages 8-37, March.
    21. Rick Antle & Gary D. Eppen, 1985. "Capital Rationing and Organizational Slack in Capital Budgeting," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(2), pages 163-174, February.
    22. Petra Ahrweiler & Nigel Gilbert & Andreas Pyka, 2011. "Agency and structure: a social simulation of knowledge-intensive industries," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 59-76, March.
    23. Donald Gerwin, 1993. "Manufacturing Flexibility: A Strategic Perspective," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(4), pages 395-410, April.
    24. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and the Sustainability of Competitive Advantage: Reply," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1514-1514, December.
    25. Roger B. Myerson, 1981. "Optimal Auction Design," Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 6(1), pages 58-73, February.
    26. Thomas R. Eisenmann & Joseph L. Bower, 2000. "The Entrepreneurial M-Form: Strategic Integration in Global Media Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(3), pages 348-355, June.
    27. Julia Porter Liebeskind, 2000. "Internal Capital Markets: Benefits, Costs, and Organizational Arrangements," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(1), pages 58-76, February.
    28. David S. Scharfstein & Jeremy C. Stein, 2000. "The Dark Side of Internal Capital Markets: Divisional Rent‐Seeking and Inefficient Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2537-2564, December.
    29. McAfee, R Preston & Reny, Philip J, 1992. "Correlated Information and Mechanism Design," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(2), pages 395-421, March.
    30. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1996. "The Capital Budgeting Process: Incentives and Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(4), pages 1139-1174, September.
    31. Wouter Dessein & Luis Garicano & Robert Gertner, 2010. "Organizing for Synergies," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 77-114, November.
    32. Gabriel Natividad & Evan Rawley, 2016. "Interdependence and Performance: A Natural Experiment in Firm Scope," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(1), pages 12-31, March.
    33. Hund, John & Monk, Donald & Tice, Sheri, 2010. "Uncertainty about average profitability and the diversification discount," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 463-484, June.
    34. Cláudia Custódio, 2014. "Mergers and Acquisitions Accounting and the Diversification Discount," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(1), pages 219-240, February.
    35. Roberto S. Vassolo & Jaideep Anand & Timothy B. Folta, 2004. "Non‐additivity in portfolios of exploration activities: a real options‐based analysis of equity alliances in biotechnology," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(11), pages 1045-1061, November.
    36. Kent Wickstrøm Jensen & Dorthe Døjbak Håkonsson & Richard M. Burton & Børge Obel, 2010. "The effect of virtuality on the functioning of centralized versus decentralized structures—an information processing perspective," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 144-170, June.
    37. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    38. Oliver Hart & Bengt Holmstrom, 2010. "A Theory of Firm Scope," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(2), pages 483-513.
    39. Burch, Timothy R. & Nanda, Vikram, 2003. "Divisional diversity and the conglomerate discount: evidence from spinoffs," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 69-98, October.
    40. Sasanka Sekhar Chanda & Sougata Ray, 2015. "Optimal exploration and exploitation: the managerial intentionality perspective," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 247-273, September.
    41. Hovakimian, Gayané, 2011. "Financial constraints and investment efficiency: Internal capital allocation across the business cycle," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 264-283, April.
    42. Lewellen, Wilbur G, 1971. "A Pure Financial Rationale for the Conglomerate Merger," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 26(2), pages 521-537, May.
    43. Ron Sanchez, 1995. "Strategic flexibility in product competition," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(S1), pages 135-159.
    44. Gordon A. Walter & Jay B. Barney, 1990. "Research notes and communications management objectives in mergers and acquisitions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(1), pages 79-86, January.
    45. Holmstrom, Bengt R. & Tirole, Jean, 1989. "The theory of the firm," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 2, pages 61-133, Elsevier.
    46. Andrew W. Bausch, 2014. "Evolving intergroup cooperation," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 369-393, December.
    47. Martin, John D. & Sayrak, Akin, 2003. "Corporate diversification and shareholder value: a survey of recent literature," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 37-57, January.
    48. Arkadiy V. Sakhartov & Timothy B. Folta, 2015. "Getting beyond relatedness as a driver of corporate value," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(13), pages 1939-1959, December.
    49. McAfee, R Preston & McMillan, John & Reny, Philip J, 1989. "Extracting the Surplus in the Common-Value Auction," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(6), pages 1451-1459, November.
    50. Jay B. Barney, 1986. "Strategic Factor Markets: Expectations, Luck, and Business Strategy," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(10), pages 1231-1241, October.
    51. Matsusaka, John G. & Nanda, Vikram, 2002. "Internal Capital Markets and Corporate Refocusing," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 176-211, April.
    52. Yan, An & Yang, Zaihui & Jiao, Jie, 2010. "Conglomerate investment under various capital market conditions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 103-115, January.
    53. Robert Gertner & Eric Powers & David Scharfstein, 2002. "Learning about Internal Capital Markets from Corporate Spin‐offs," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2479-2506, December.
    54. Valentin Dimitrov & Sheri Tice, 2006. "Corporate Diversification and Credit Constraints: Real Effects across the Business Cycle," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(4), pages 1465-1498.
    55. Edoardo Mollona & Andrea Marcozzi, 2009. "FirmNet: the scope of firms and the allocation of task in a knowledge-based economy," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 109-126, June.
    56. Zhiang (John) Lin & Haibin Yang & Irem Demirkan, 2007. "The Performance Consequences of Ambidexterity in Strategic Alliance Formations: Empirical Investigation and Computational Theorizing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(10), pages 1645-1658, October.
    57. Cremer, Jacques & McLean, Richard P, 1985. "Optimal Selling Strategies under Uncertainty for a Discriminating Monopolist When Demands Are Interdependent," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 53(2), pages 345-361, March.
    58. Gönül Çolak & Toni M. Whited, 2007. "Spin-offs, Divestitures, and Conglomerate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(3), pages 557-595.
    59. Triantis, Alexander J & Hodder, James E, 1990. "Valuing Flexibility as a Complex Option," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 549-565, June.
    60. Bruce Kogut & Nalin Kulatilaka, 1994. "Operating Flexibility, Global Manufacturing, and the Option Value of a Multinational Network," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(1), pages 123-139, January.
    61. Cremer, Jacques & McLean, Richard P, 1988. "Full Extraction of the Surplus in Bayesian and Dominant Strategy Auctions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(6), pages 1247-1257, November.
    62. Groves, Theodore, 1973. "Incentives in Teams," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 41(4), pages 617-631, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Stefan Erdorf & Thomas Hartmann-Wendels & Nicolas Heinrichs & Michael Matz, 2013. "Corporate diversification and firm value: a survey of recent literature," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 27(2), pages 187-215, June.
    2. Patrick Bielstein & Mario Fischer & Christoph Kaserer, 2018. "The cost of capital effect of M&A transactions: Disentangling coinsurance from the diversification discount," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 24(4), pages 650-679, September.
    3. Siraj, Ibrahim & Hassan, M. Kabir & Maroney, Neal, 2020. "Product demand sensitivity and the corporate diversification discount," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    4. Wang, Yolanda Yulong, 2023. "Corporate diversification, investment efficiency and the business cycle11This work is supported by Shenzhen Humanities & Social Sciences Key Research Bases," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Yolanda Yulong Wang, 2023. "Corporate diversification, investment efficiency and the business cycle," Post-Print hal-04005692, HAL.
    6. Venkat Kuppuswamy & Belén Villalonga, 2016. "Does Diversification Create Value in the Presence of External Financing Constraints? Evidence from the 2007–2009 Financial Crisis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(4), pages 905-923, April.
    7. Xiao, Zhijie & Xu, Lan, 2019. "What do mean impacts miss? Distributional effects of corporate diversification," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 213(1), pages 92-120.
    8. Gatzer, Sebastian & Hoang, Daniel & Ruckes, Martin, 2015. "Internal Capital Markets and Diversified Firms: Theory and Practice," EconStor Preprints 169432, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    9. Kim, Sehoon, 2020. "Disappearing Discounts: Hedge Fund Activism in Conglomerates," MPRA Paper 100876, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Stefan Erdorf & Thomas Hartmann-Wendels & Nicolas Heinrichs & Michael Matz, 2012. "Corporate Diversification and Firm Value: A Survey of Recent Literature," Cologne Graduate School Working Paper Series 03-01, Cologne Graduate School in Management, Economics and Social Sciences.
    11. Iskenderoglu, Cansu, 2023. "Product market competition and the value of diversification," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PA).
    12. Hoang, Daniel & Gatzer, Sebastian & Ruckes, Martin E., 2018. "The economics of capital allocation in firms: Evidence from internal capital markets," Working Paper Series in Economics 115, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Department of Economics and Management.
    13. Teresa A. Dickler & Timothy B. Folta, 2020. "Identifying internal markets for resource redeployment," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(13), pages 2341-2371, December.
    14. Viswanathan Nagarajan & Pitabas Mohanty & Apalak Khatua, 2023. "Financing effects of corporate diversification: A review," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(7), pages 2555-2585, October.
    15. Teresa A. Dickler & Timothy B. Folta & Marco S. Giarratana & Juan Santaló, 2022. "The value of flexibility in multi‐business firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(12), pages 2602-2628, December.
    16. Aivazian, Varouj A. & Qiu, Jiaping & Rahaman, Mohammad M., 2015. "Bank loan contracting and corporate diversification: Does organizational structure matter to lenders?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 252-282.
    17. Volkov, Nikanor I. & Smith, Garrett C., 2015. "Corporate diversification and firm value during economic downturns," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 160-175.
    18. USHIJIMA Tatsuo, 2021. "The Liability of Aging in Internal Capital Markets," Discussion papers 21065, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    19. Song, Yangwei, 2018. "Efficient Implementation with Interdependent Valuations and Maxmin Agents," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 92, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    20. Gerard Hoberg & Gordon Phillips, 2018. "Conglomerate Industry Choice and Product Language," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(8), pages 3735-3755, August.

    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:spr:comaot:v:27:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10588-020-09316-7. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.