What is meant by a diversified growth strategy. Strategies for integrated growth and diversification. Horizontal diversification strategy

The third group of reference business development strategies are diversified growth strategies. These strategies are implemented in the case when the company cannot further develop in a given market with a given product within a given industry. The main factors determining the choice of a diversified growth strategy are formulated (Glueck, p. 211):

Markets for the business being carried out find themselves in a state of saturation or a reduction in demand for the product due to the fact that the product is at the dying stage;

The current business provides an influx of money that exceeds the needs, which can be profitably invested in other areas of the business;

A new business can cause a synergistic effect, for example, through better use of equipment, components, raw materials, etc.;

Antimonopoly regulation does not allow further expansion of business within this industry;

Tax losses can be reduced;

Access to global markets may be facilitated;

New qualified employees can be attracted or the potential of existing managers can be better used.

The main strategies for diversified growth are the following:

centered diversification strategy is based on the search and use of additional opportunities for the production of new products that are contained in the existing business. That is, existing production remains at the center of the business, and new production arises based on the opportunities that are contained in the developed market, the technology used, or in other strengths of the company’s functioning. Such capabilities may, for example, be the capabilities of the specialized distribution system used;

In business practice

The Hilton hotel chain is widely known in the world for its upscale hotels located in the central areas of large cities. Huge conference and banquet halls, large halls, doormen in liveries, etc. are those features of Hilton hotels that allow them to be classified as luxurious. The management of the Hilton chain has never shown any interest in the construction and operation of inexpensive, middle-class hotels that have the prefix “business hotel” (hotel for businessmen) or “Inn” (inn) to their name.

Management's commitment to maintaining the image of Hilton hotels as expensive and upscale has led to the fact that the growth of hotel space has practically stopped. This was due to the fact that the market for this class of hotel services turned out to be saturated and did not expand. In order to break the current impasse and expand the volume of hotel space (by the end of this millennium it is planned to increase the space by50%), management decided to start construction 100 inexpensive hotels for mid-level businessmen, as well as for families. New hotels should be located in the suburbs of large cities, which is typical for hotels of this class. The cost of a room in a hotel of the new Hilton Garden Inn chain will be within 50 - 80 dollars. At the same time, given the fact that in the market for inexpensive hotels of this type there is both high demand and great competition, Hilton Corporation plans to achieve some competitive advantages due to a relatively high level of customer service. In particular, each room will have a telefax and a printer. In addition, each room will have a kitchen with a microwave.

horizontal diversification strategy involves seeking growth opportunities in an existing market through new products that require new technology different from the one currently in use. With this strategy, the company should focus on the production of technologically unrelated products that would use the company’s existing capabilities, for example, in the field of supply. Since the new product must be focused on the consumer of the main product, its qualities must be complementary to the already produced product. An important condition for the implementation of this strategy is a preliminary assessment by the company of its own competence in the production of a new product;

In business practice

The main supplier of raw materials for the domestic tire industry (35% The entire production of tires is carried out from this raw material), the Neftehimprom FIG bought a controlling stake in the Ukrainian enterprise Dneproshina. This purchase marked the entry of the Neftehimprom FIG into a new business for it. - tire production. Before this, the group included enterprises engaged only in chemical production (processing of primary raw materials and production of chemical materials): Orgsintez, Novokuibyshevsky Petrochemical Plant, Sintez Kauchuk, Khimvolokno, Nipromtex. In addition to oil refining and the creation of synthetic materials, the Neftekhimrpom FIG sold tires produced from its raw materials on its order. through our own sales network. In the future, Neftehimprom intends to expand its tire business by including small, local tire factories in the group.

conglomerate diversification strategy consists in the fact that the company expands through the production of new products that are technologically unrelated to those already produced, which are sold in new markets. This is one of the most difficult development strategies to implement, since its successful implementation depends on many factors, in particular on the competence of existing personnel and especially managers, seasonality in the life of the market, the availability of the necessary amounts of money, etc.

In business practice

In the minds of many, a company that produces a Mercedes car should be an extremely successful company. For a long time, this idea of ​​​​the Daimler-Benz concern was not in doubt. However, the beginning1996 The year was marked by a sensation. The head of the Daimler-Benz concern announced that the concern's losses in 1995 g. amounted to several billion dollars and that serious restructuring was coming within the concern.

Created in 1926 the Daimler-Benz automobile concern in the mid-80s. set a course for dramatic expansion through diversification of its activities. The original idea was to turn Daimler-Benz into a diversified technology concern. Aircraft manufacturing was chosen as the main area of ​​expansion for the concern. IN 1985 Daimler-Benz acquired the Motor und Turbinen Union company, which produces aircraft engines. In the same year, he acquired a controlling stake in the Dornier aircraft manufacturing company, which 1988 he bought it in full. Along with entering the aircraft manufacturing industry, Daimler-Benz also entered electrical engineering production. IN 1985 the concern acquired 25% shares of the electrical engineering company AEG. IN 1986 he increased his share in the share capital of AEG to 56%, and in 1988 G. - before 80%.

Diversification of production activities required a structural transformation of the concern. IN 1989 The Daimler-Benz concern was transformed into a holding company that united four divisions: the automobile division of Mercedes-Benz, the aircraft division of Deutsche Aerospace (abbreviated as Dasa), the electrical division of AEG and the division of Daimler-Benz Interservices".

The Daimler-Benz development program did not end there. The course towards globalization of activities has led to the fact that in1993 The concern's shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In an effort to expand its presence in the aerospace business, Dasa began 1990 d. negotiations with the Dutch aircraft manufacturing company Fokker on the acquisition of its shares. Negotiations began in the year the Fokker company received very high profits. These negotiations ended with the acquisition of Das in 1993 G. 51% Fokker shares. However, the very next year, Fokker suffered huge losses. Dasa, trying to save a catastrophic situation, invested over 600 million dollars But in 1995 Fokker suffered losses again, Daimler-Benz decided that it was no longer possible to provide assistance to Fokker. This meant leaving it and billions in losses. At the same time, Daimler-Benz also decided to part with a controlling stake in Dornier.

However, the losses associated with the activities of the Das aerospace department were not the only ones for Daimler-Benz. Unprofitable activity in the market for turboprops and jet aircraft was entirely explained by the drop in demand for these products due to the end of the Cold War. But Daimler-Benz also suffered significant losses from the activities of the electrical engineering department of AEG. This forced the concern to terminate the independent existence of this department. In fact, this meant that he suffered huge losses. Daimler-Benz has set a course for exiting those industries in which it was not originally involved and in which it entered, seeking to make an effective investment of the capital created in the core area of ​​​​its activities - automotive industry.

Integrated Growth Strategies

Concentrated Growth Strategies

TOPIC 8. Basic (reference) business development strategies

Let's consider the most common business development strategies, verified by practice and widely covered in the literature. They reflect four different approaches to firm growth and are associated with changes in the state of one or more of the following elements: product; market; industry; the position of the company within the industry; technology. Each of these five elements can be in one of two states: an existing state or a new one. For example, for a product, this could be a decision to either produce the same product or move to produce a new product.

The first group of reference strategies consists of the so-called concentrated growth strategies, those. those that involve changes in product and/or market and do not affect the other three elements. The specific types of strategy of the first group are the following:

- strategy for strengthening market position, in which the company does everything to win the best position with a given product in a given market; even “horizontal integration” is possible, in which a firm tries to establish control over its competitors;

- market development strategy, which consists in searching for new markets for an already produced product;

- product development strategy, involving solving the problem of growth through the production of a new product that will be sold in an already developed market.

The second group of reference strategies includes those business strategies that involve the company expanding by adding new structures. These strategies are called integrated growth strategies, of which there are two main types:

- Reverse vertical integration strategy, which is aimed at the growth of the company through the acquisition or strengthening of control over suppliers, and therefore the dependence on fluctuations in prices for components and requests from suppliers is reduced.

- Forward vertical integration strategy, which is expressed in the growth of the company through the acquisition or strengthening of control over the structures located between the company and the end consumer, namely distribution and sales systems. This type of integration is very beneficial when intermediary services are very expanding or when the firm cannot find intermediaries with a quality level of work.

The third group of reference business development strategies are diversified growth strategies, which are implemented if firms cannot further develop in a given market with a given product within a given industry.

Let us formulate the main factors determining the choice of a diversified growth strategy:

Markets for the business being carried out find themselves in a state of saturation or reduction in demand for the product;

The current business generates income in excess of the needs, which can be profitably invested in other areas of the business;

A new business can cause a synergistic effect, for example through better use of equipment, components, raw materials, etc.; (synergy - “a whole of strong parts”)

Antimonopoly regulation does not allow further expansion of business within this industry;

Tax losses can be reduced;

Access to global markets may be facilitated;

New qualified employees can be brought in, or the potential of existing managers can be better used.

The main types of diversified growth strategies are as follows:

centered diversification strategies, which are based on the search and use of additional opportunities for the production of new products that are contained in the existing business, i.e. existing production remains at the center of the business, and new production arises based on the opportunities contained in the developed market, the technology used, etc.;

- horizontal diversification strategy, which involves seeking growth opportunities in an existing market through new products that require new technology different from the one being used. Because the new product must be focused on the consumer of the main product, then in its qualities it must be accompanying the already produced product;

- conglomerate diversification strategy, which consists in the fact that the company expands through the production of new products that are technologically unrelated to those already produced, which are sold in new markets. This is one of the most difficult development strategies, because... its successful implementation depends on many factors, in particular on the competence of existing personnel and in particular managers; seasonality in the life of the market; availability of necessary funds, etc.

N.V. Linder Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor, Deputy head Department of “Strategic and Crisis Management” Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation
Magazine “Effective crisis management” No. 1 for 2014

The innovative orientation of an industrial enterprise requires new theoretical approaches to the processes of diversification of economic activities. The genesis of methodological approaches in this area shows that the portfolio approach has given way to the resource approach, that is, the priority of searching for a source of competitive advantage has fundamentally changed. If previously the reasons and sources of diversification were sought in the external competitive environment, then in modern conditions the key competencies possessed by an industrial enterprise become a source of competitive advantage.

Business diversification, considered as an independent strategic alternative, helps ensure the market agility of an industrial company, and in this sense, the theory and practice of strategic management consider it as one of the key corporate strategies.

The classical theory of diversification by I. Ansoff is built on the basis of the famous “product-market” matrix. Diversification alternatives are shown in Table. 1. In this classification, products are defined taking into account the type of technology required for their production, and markets are defined taking into account the types of consumers. The construction of diversification strategies is based on a portfolio approach, when the source of competitive advantage is primarily environmental factors.

The strategy of production diversification, the basis of which is a selected and analyzed portfolio of development alternatives, consists of a growth vector, identified competitive advantages obtained from diversification, a synergistic effect from the use of all development alternatives in selected areas of business and the actual specific decisions for the implementation of these alternatives: development of new production with our own using our own resources or purchasing existing ones from other companies, all components are subject to consistent development.

The essence of G. Mintzberg's approach to the analysis of diversification is that the energy of diversified corporations should be aimed at maintaining a dynamic balance. The organization of an enterprise that has many activities requires a model that would include more aggregated groupings than traditional ones and new types of control. The four main elements of G. Mintzberg's theory can be defined as follows:

• an enterprise is considered diversified if it has moved to a completely different type of activity without the participation of new products in other, new types of activity;
• those types of activities to which the enterprise has transferred are under the control of senior management;
• top management mainly institutionalizes systems for controlling activities, correlating them with changes in formal organizational planning;
• In addition to formal planning systems, there must be some means of adaptation, such as some autonomous venture mechanisms for developing or entering a new business.

If the above conditions are met, G. Mintzberg's diversification ensures, in his opinion, the effectiveness of the diversification process.

The theoretical basis for the formation of specific diversification strategies for many modern companies has become the resource approach, based on the search for core competencies as internal sources of competitive advantage.

A competitive strategy at the business level must create and maintain a company's competitive advantage. Corporate diversification also meets these requirements, in three different ways:

• diversification itself is a core competency that provides a competitive advantage; however, it does not relate to the possibility of diversification itself, but to the ability to apply it, that is, this competence is associated with determining the management potential of the company, especially at the level of top management;
• competitive advantage can be achieved through identified strategic fit in related industries, in this case strategic fit acts as a key competency;

Third, diversification helps create new core competencies. In accordance with the ideas of G. Chesborough and D. Thies, only a large company has the ability to implement systemic innovations to obtain core competencies at the “junctions of industries.”

There are several classifications of corporate diversification strategies.

For example, G. Greenlee’s classification is based on the company’s development cycle. In the scientific literature, there are usually three stages of development of a company (enterprise): growth, stabilization, survival.

In conditions of growth, the main strategic alternative is to expand the activities of the enterprise with a new product in new industries or with a new product in already developed industries. When stabilizing activities, the main strategic alternatives are the formation of a holding structure and making a profit. In conditions of survival, G. Greenlee offers three radical strategic alternatives that allow you to quickly cover losses and increase the liquidity of the enterprise:

• the shift strategy involves transferring funds to current operations in order to obtain current profits even at the expense of competitive positions;
• the divestment strategy involves selling part of the shares or participation interest;
• The liquidation of unprofitable production involves the sale of assets of one or more strategic business units.

The last two strategic alternatives are aimed primarily at obtaining free funds to overcome the threat of bankruptcy.

Another approach is R. Grant's classification, it is based on the diversification of products, markets and industries. Corporate strategies of large companies are usually associated with such areas as vertical integration (vertical diversification), globalization of activities (diversification into new markets) and diversification (horizontal and conglomerative) of business.

Business diversification strategy, including horizontal and conglomerate diversification strategies, has been well studied by A. A. Thompson and D. J. Strickland. They view horizontal diversification as diversification into related industries, and conglomerative diversification into unrelated industries.

Four main strategic alternatives for diversification according to A. A. Thompson and D. J. Strickland are shown in Fig. 1.

Based on a generalization of theoretical approaches to classification and description of the most popular basic models of company diversification, a diversification matrix was compiled, where strategic alternatives can be proposed for each type of diversification and the corresponding stage of the company’s development cycle (Table 2).

According to the above strategic alternatives, the diversification strategy will depend on its type and stage of the company's life cycle. However, it should be noted that business practice is so diverse that one model (in the form of a matrix) of diversification cannot be considered the only correct and sufficient one. It is possible to use other strategic alternatives and fundamentally new approaches.

It is obvious that reference to matrices, although very often encountered in practice, is a simplification of reality, and quite a serious one, since the number of factors and their combination become quite limited. However, the matrix approach has one enormous advantage: it allows for a clearer understanding of phenomena and their differences, as well as the establishment of relationships between them. An analysis of theories and the most well-known diversification strategies shows that the portfolio approach is gradually giving way to the resource approach to business diversification. Essentially, this means revising methodological positions on the causes, sources and methods of diversification. If in the classical theory of I. Ansoff diversification was considered as the need to give the company a certain stability of operation, and the choice of business areas was determined more by external conditions (the strength of competition in a given industry, the size of the entry barrier, etc.), then in the resource concept of D. Thies the paramount importance is given to internal sources, which act as core (key) competencies. Therefore, we can talk about the presence of passive and active business diversification. Passive business diversification is a response to changes in the external environment and the company's adaptation to these changes. The criterion for this process is not so much the growth of profits as its sustainable receipt over a long period of time. In turn, active diversification comes from the transfer of competitive advantages, determined by specific key competencies, to other areas of business, that is, the conquest of new markets. So, diversification strategies can be divided into offensive and defensive.

Offensive diversification strategies are typical for innovation-oriented companies. It is obvious that for them the process of forming a corporate diversification strategy will have its own characteristics. The main methodological postulate is that the resource approach is taken as the basic one, that is, an active (offensive) strategy is formed. As a strategic analysis as a stage in strategy formation, it is proposed to use a strategic analysis of all possible risks: country, industry, regional, financial, legal risks, etc. It is advisable to carry out strategic risk analysis in the form of an assessment of the opportunities and threats that long-distance or near-term external influences create for an industrial enterprise. environment.

The very formation of diversification strategies is based on core competencies that arise in an industrial enterprise. For example, these will be product innovations that can be implemented as a product line that can satisfy demand in several industries or sectors of the national (world) economy. The set of core competencies itself is not constant, much less obtained from the outside, but a constantly changing system. Therefore, innovation-based strategies cannot be classified as deliberate strategies. The latter correspond to “developing” strategies in the terminology of G. Mintzberg; they are initiated from the bottom up and cannot be formed based on the directives of top management, although it is obvious that the top management of the enterprise controls this process, predicts the effectiveness and the possibility of developing a specific innovation for this or that a different period and, accordingly, stimulates the structural link where this innovation is being developed.

Important features of the formation of a corporate diversification strategy for an innovation-oriented enterprise are the multivariate and multidirectional nature of this process. Different innovations can lead to different business diversification opportunities, so in reality, a corporate diversification strategy involves diversification into related and unrelated industries, vertical integration, and the development of global penetration strategies (entrenchment) in international markets.

Based on the conducted research, we can propose the following methodological principles for forming a diversification strategy for innovation-oriented industrial enterprises:

Building a vertically integrated system using the uneven development of regions. Cooperation should be planned already at the stage of development of the final product, when the place of manufacture of individual components is determined and an order for their production is formed for leading domestic and foreign companies. Independent dealers should be involved in selling products. 10–12% of the authorized capital should belong to the parent company. In accordance with the requirements of the model of the five forces of competition (according to M. Porter), neither suppliers nor consumers should account for more than 20% of the total supply of raw materials and components, as well as sales of finished products, in order to exclude their dictates in the field of pricing and range of manufactured products.

The use of dual technologies (horizontal diversification into related industries), which allows to significantly reduce the costs of R&D and technological preparation of production. This strategy is aimed at producing competitive products in strategic industries: civil aircraft manufacturing, nuclear energy, space technology, information and nanotechnology. For example, more than 30 basic dual technologies have been introduced into the agro-industrial complex, the construction industry, the medical industry, the light and food industries, and urban services: superplastic deformation, diffusion welding of titanium and aluminum alloys, electrophysical processing to strengthen and increase tool life.

Participation in the creation of autonomous ventures (according to G. Mintzberg’s terminology). Autonomously controlled special units act in this capacity. In addition to small autonomous risk firms, internal ventures created by large corporations are becoming widespread. We are talking about an autonomous group of specialists (or team) implementing an innovative project within the company. Such a group, in addition to the author of the project (usually the group leader), includes specialists from research, production and other functional departments. It is provided with legal and financial (within established limits) independence and the right to select personnel. Project participants receive incentive payments individually, based on the results of both technical and commercial implementation of the innovation. If the internal venture is successful, the group will be transformed into a new, also independent production division of the company. It was in this way that the IBM company in the early 80s created its production department for the production of personal computers, which just a year later became the world's largest manufacturer.

Currently, at least 25% of large US corporations use an internal venture system. At the same time, they take advantage of the fact that in many cases the main motive for creating an innovation is the desire of inventors, people with rich creative ideas, to independently implement their research plans.

After the transition to market relations, the boundaries of companies as economic units coincided with the formal boundaries of industrial enterprises, but this did not ensure efficiency. Restructuring processes aimed at disaggregating existing enterprises have sharply increased transaction costs and created the preconditions for further integration and redefinition of organizational boundaries. Most Soviet enterprises had an ineffective organizational structure and did not have strategic stability in the conditions of the emergence of market relations. To ensure sustainability, many privatized enterprises needed to reduce transaction costs, spin off ineffective structural divisions, and introduce new production facilities. In the first half of the 1990s, the processes of dividing enterprises, separating structural divisions into subsidiaries, and selling assets were quite intensive, and in the second half of the decade, processes of the second type became widespread - the merger of companies, the creation of business groups.

The growth of a firm is inextricably linked to the issue of defining its efficient boundaries. The problem of the efficiency of firm boundaries was first considered by R. Coase. The decision to produce (or purchase) products depends on the magnitude of the corresponding transaction costs: organizing production within the company is preferable to the market mechanism if the costs of using the market mechanism (transaction costs) are higher compared to the costs of administration within the enterprise. Thus, the firm will expand its activities as long as the costs of conducting transactions within the firm are lower than the costs of carrying out corresponding transactions through the market. If firms, or hierarchical structures, are more efficient in conducting economic transactions than the market, then these transactions, according to Coase, become internalized within the firm. Such internalization of transactions allows companies to use economies of scale (the effect of lower production costs as production volume increases) and the network effect (when the joint production of, for example, two products is cheaper than their separate production). In this case, the boundaries of the company can be determined taking into account the boundaries of economies of scale.

Using transaction cost theory to analyze the efficient frontier of a firm, the following conclusions can be drawn: while the horizontal frontier of a firm is determined mainly by economies of scale or network effects, the vertical frontier depends on the balance between the motivation to stimulate investment in specific assets and the motivation to improve efficiency.

To analyze the effective boundaries of industrial enterprises, the following are important:

• the number of production factors acquired by an industrial enterprise over a certain period;
• the number of production factors used for a certain period;
• the quantity of products produced over a certain period;
• the amount of money spent over a certain period;
• the existence of a specific organization;
• use of a certain place, etc.

The nature of the external environment has a significant impact on the size of the enterprise. In the intrasystem complex of an enterprise, relevant parts can be identified that provide communication with the external environment or provide a response to changes in the external environment. Depending on the nature of the external environment, its influence on the structure and size of the enterprise varies. If a static environment is characterized by a bureaucratic structure, then a complex dynamic environment is characterized by a decentralized system. In the first case, the optimal size may be smaller than in the second. The more complex and uncertain the external environment, the more complex and less centralized the internal structure. Accordingly, the size of the enterprise may not be strictly limited, the range of further growth is limited due to the uncertainty of the situation. In a simple static environment, a business can have a large range of growth. The main limiting factor to optimization at each stage of growth can be the internal bureaucratic structure, which, in conditions of growth, reduces the efficiency of production management.

The exposure of connections between the elements of the organizational system is determined by the ratio of production and distribution in accordance with the reproduction approach. Distribution relations lead to the fact that organizational units in the structure are mutually ordered. The distribution of expected results between organizational participants affects the process and technological organization of production and, accordingly, the size of the enterprise as a whole. Organizational exposition must realize the relations of production and distribution as a whole.

The development of an enterprise based on one and/or several groups of elements leads to the fact that the qualitative and quantitative choice of optimal sizes determines the possibility of increasing productivity and achieving high results. At the same time, the problem of quantitative selection of sizes and establishing the number of elements of the base system controlled by the intermediate system naturally arises. Determining managerial potential affects not only the size of an individual unit, but also the organizational structure as a whole, since the number of planes of the system, the exposure of the horizontal direction and the vertical division of the total system depend on it.

The size of the working group is also important; it should be optimal for communication. The nature of communication between group members can be different, taking into account the characteristics of the interaction structure: vector or network. As a rule, communication processes in network structures require more time than in other structural forms; intermediate systems of this kind have a larger optimal size than intermediate systems of other forms.

Considering in detail the dependence of the forms of an organization on its size, it should be noted that the network structure requires a larger size associated with the development of communications and ensuring the relevance of information; the vector form allows for smaller sizes, since it provides relatively faster communication between peripheral elements and the highest management authority. The decision-making field is narrowing, and the main information and functional exchanges occur between the center and the periphery of the system. In contrast, network structure is based on group interaction, and the main interaction occurs between elements (for example, quality circles in Japan). In this regard, the system becomes more flexible and adaptive to external changes.

In general, speaking about intermediate systems and their impact on the size of the organization, it should be noted that we are talking about the degree of controllability of the basic systems. Intermediate systems can coordinate more than the core systems, and this factor will determine the optimal size of the organization. The costs of developing intermediate systems are not always justified by the benefits that are generated in the process of enterprise growth due to greater integration of basic systems. In other words, we are talking about the controllability of the entire organization, the optimal interaction of all levels of management, starting from the basic level and ending with secondary intermediate systems. With an increase in the number of basic systems, the degree of their integration increases, and accordingly, the hierarchy of intermediate systems increases.

The traditional view represents an organization's configuration as an even number of hierarchies or levels of management. However, in reality, consideration of the organization cannot be limited only to hierarchical connections; there are also other organizational mechanisms of coordination and integration, including horizontal and diffuse.

Integration and coordination make it possible to bridge the gap between present and future situations in terms of the development of external relations, which affects the size of the enterprise. In the structure of integration relations, an enterprise assumes optimization of the size of its growth, based on other criteria than in a free market. The uncertainty of the future situation makes the structure more complex and thereby increases the size of the enterprise operating in these conditions. An enterprise that is not covered by cooperative ties does not always have the opportunity to quickly change its size, despite favorable conditions. The constant factor of uncertainty narrows the range of growth, which in this situation is always associated with further complication of the structure. In the integration system, the structure of the enterprise is simplified, which makes the process of further growth relatively simple and strictly defined, the range of changes in the optimal size increases.

The integration interaction of an enterprise with other single-profile and multi-profile enterprises influences the optimization of its size within the framework of this interaction. At the same time, integration does not act as an exclusively external optimization factor; it implies a change in the internal structure of the enterprise, universalization of output or, on the contrary, strengthening of one or another specialization. In conditions of vertical diversified growth or combination, the optimal size of the enterprise is determined by the criterion of specialization within the entire integrated system. Accordingly, integration changes the parameters for changing the optimal size and makes it possible to increase it based on a new functional orientation. In this case, the optimal size should ensure the ratio of the volume of external purchases and added value. Following the classical approach, in determining the optimal size of an enterprise for each integrated system, there is a single criterion for optimizing the size of each element, each individual enterprise. All enterprises should have approximately equal profitability and an equal ratio of external purchases and added value. Here we are talking specifically about system standardization and, accordingly, about the criteria for optimizing the size of the main production units.

With regard to horizontal diversified growth, the merger of enterprises producing similar products, the main thing is to increase market share. Accordingly, the optimal scale will be considered to be the one that provides the maximum output volume. If we consider the method of horizontal integration of a merger or acquisition, then the optimal size of the partner's enterprise for a merger is a different size, and for an acquisition a smaller enterprise size is preferable.

The optimal size of an enterprise included in a business structure should be assessed from the perspective of investment growth, based on investment potential. On the one hand, the financial capabilities of the business structure are taken into account, and on the other hand, the expected return from a particular enterprise in the process of its growth to the optimal size. It is necessary to take into account the mix of medium and large-sized enterprises included in the business structure. At each stage of the formation of a business structure, different requirements will be imposed on the optimal size of enterprises entering it, based on the strategy for its further development and on the main sizes of enterprises that have already become part of the business structure.

As the practice of establishing domestic and foreign business structures shows, if at the first stage there is a merger of large manufacturers and large banks, then at the next stage the resulting core attracts medium and small enterprises (Fig. 2).

The optimal size of an enterprise included in an integrated structure depends not only on the stage of formation, but also on the structure of the business group. The network structure involves the unification of enterprises of similar sizes, which is explained by the specifics of network interaction. In the vector structure, the size of the merged production facilities is determined by organizational compatibility with the parent company according to the principle of complementarity. The development of informatization complicates the determination of the optimal size of an enterprise, since it blurs the boundary between the seller and the consumer, as well as between the main producers and suppliers in the integration system. With the development of subcontracting relationships between small and large industries, the optimal size can be considered as primary and secondary. The main size presupposes the boundaries of the main production, the additional size – the boundaries of subcontractual interaction with small and medium-sized industries. An increase in primary production leads to an increase in the optimal additional size, which corresponds to internal and external growth of the optimal enterprise size. Large and small production create optimization criteria for each other. Dimensions are optimized in the context of a specific subcontract interaction.

Thus, the optimal size model for an integrated structure during diversified growth depends on the aggregation model. Network and vector models of diversified growth of an integrated complex have their own optimal sizes and ranges of change. A relatively rigidly fixed optimal size and a narrower range of its variation are characteristic of a form where the exchange of information, direct and reverse signals are directed from the periphery of the system to the center (radial form of interaction). As a result of the diversified growth of this type of organization, the bureaucratic management apparatus grows, and the zone of free decision-making and response to external changes narrows. In a network model of diversified growth, coordination signals flow between peripheral elements, and the growth of such integrated structures is not strictly limited by the optimization framework. The optimal size of the integrated structure in the process of diversified growth is determined by the interaction of the basic systems and the primary and secondary intermediate systems. An increase in basic systems leads to an increase in intermediate systems, based on the principle of controllability. When using a vertical diversified growth strategy, the optimal size of the integrated structure is determined by the criterion of specialization within the entire integrated system. Integration determines new parameters for changing the optimal size and makes it possible to increase it based on a new functional orientation. On the one hand, optimizing the size of an individual enterprise within the framework of integration presupposes that the volume of output at one stage of production corresponds to the volume of processing at another stage, and on the other hand, optimizing the size and structure of the enterprise dictates the equalization of profitability levels of production included in the integrated structure. From the perspective of the relationship between the values ​​of external purchases and added value at each stage of processing, optimization of the size and structure of enterprises is associated with achieving an equal specific ratio of these values. When determining the optimal size at each stage of enterprise growth, it is necessary to take into account the rate of internal and external growth. In modern conditions, these two types of growth are interconnected: changes in forms of production and technology require large investments in infrastructure and external interaction.

An example would be the diversified growth of industrial enterprises after the 2000s. The policy of diversified growth of large businesses was influenced by the factor of the internal logic of development. A significant increase in income and the transition to long-term business planning in the context of political stabilization in the country made it possible to significantly increase the volume of investments, in several areas:

• development of the resource base;
• creation of a vertically integrated structure “raw materials – semi-finished products – final products”, which increases stability in markets with imperfect competition, which includes the Russian one;
• expansion of sales markets;
• investing export earnings in the most dynamic and profitable sectors of the economy to diversify business.

All these areas are uniquely connected with specific regions where there are new deposits of raw materials, related and processing industries, concentration of dynamically growing industries (new types of communications, food industry, agribusiness, etc.). As a result, the logic of development and the increase in financial resources led to a sharp expansion of the territorial expansion of large businesses.

Business diversification was aimed at building its optimal structure. The general vector of development has changed, and the process of unifying the country’s fragmented economic space has begun. Under the influence of the globalization factor, many companies have moved to a more rational structure of their industrial assets, improving the corporate structure, strengthening property rights, purchasing additional smaller assets and optimizing the vertical and horizontal integration of interrelated industries. All these processes have a territorial projection, reflecting the growth or decline of business presence in the regions.

Currently, the diversified growth of large businesses continues in the following areas:

• Intra-industry diversification. Norilsk Nickel acquired large assets in gold mining (OJSC Polyus), adding to them deposits in the company's base Krasnoyarsk Territory and gold mining assets in the Magadan, Irkutsk regions and Yakutia; the Renova company began developing a platinum deposit in the Koryak Autonomous Okrug; OJSC Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC) acquired enterprises producing polymetals.
• Creation or purchase of new types of business. For example, UMMC created the Transmashholding group (railway engineering).
• "Linked" diversification strategy. Many large companies continue to complete the construction of vertically integrated connections and export logistics in the regions; if acquisitions were made earlier, companies strengthen control over property by increasing shareholdings (in 2004, TNK-BP bought another 38% of Orenburgneft shares, LUKOIL consolidates oil assets in the Perm Territory and the Komi Republic).
• Acquisition of new assets to complete the business. In 2004, the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant bought out the Stoilensky Mining and Processing Plant for a stable supply of iron ore raw materials. EvrazHolding bought the Kachkanarsky mining and processing plant from UMMC and separated its ore division Evrazruda (ore mining in the Kemerovo region, Khakassia and Krasnoyarsk Territory) into a separate structure. In addition, several mines producing coking coal in the South Yakutsk coal basin were purchased, and the transport division (Evraztrans) increased its stake in the seaport of Nakhodka. SUEK (the coal division of the MDM group) began construction of a terminal in the port of Vanino. To gain a foothold in the regions, closer alliances are being built with regional authorities. Thus, in the Irkutsk region, TNK-BP, together with the regional administration, established the East Siberian Gas Company to gasify the region.
• Expansion of large companies into the electric power industry to strengthen energy security in connection with the reform of RAO UES of Russia. Influence on the energy monopoly is necessary for large exporters to maintain cheap energy resources, and for fuel suppliers to have stable sales markets. Large blocks of shares in RAO UES of Russia were bought up in 2003–2005 by all leading business groups and companies, among which Gazprom (up to 10% of shares), the MDM group and Interros/Norilsk Nickel stand out. Siberian Aluminum has blocking stakes in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and Khakassia, EvrazHolding - in the Kemerovo Region, Norilsk Nickel acquired close to blocking stakes in the Murmansk Region (Kolenergo) and the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the MDM Group is in the top ten regions of Siberia and the Far East, including the Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories, Chita and Amur regions. In many cases, it is more profitable for large resource companies to buy a power plant that directly serves their enterprises than to participate in the privatization of regional energy suppliers.
• Acquisition of smaller but attractive industrial assets in new or already developed regions. Alfa Group, which pursues an investment strategy, constantly adheres to this policy. Thus, it tried to take over the small Kulebaki metallurgical plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region, which produces special steels, heat-resistant and titanium alloys, but it was ahead of Severstal, for which this is a core business. “Basic Element,” with the help of the authorities of the Nizhny Novgorod region, is trying to acquire ownership of the Volga pulp and paper mill, and in the Arkhangelsk region, its forestry division “Continental Management” does not stop fighting for the Arkhangelsk pulp and paper mill.
• Accelerated expansion of medium/large businesses into the regions. Although companies and business groups of the second and third ranks are much inferior to the largest ones in terms of financial resources, they are leaders in their sub-sectors or in the production of certain types of products, which allows them to absorb specialized enterprises in other regions. Companies from other regions are more actively expanding their territorial zones of influence in the real sector of the economy. The Irkut aircraft manufacturing group, which previously bought out the Taganrog aircraft plant, added to it the head design bureau - the Experimental Design Bureau named after. A. S. Yakovleva. The Samara SOK group went beyond the region, buying up Izhavto (Udmurtia) and machine-building enterprises in the Ulyanovsk region that produce automotive components. The Eurocement company with Ural roots acquired large factories in the Center, the North-West, the Volga region and the North Caucasus, consolidating about 40% of the country's entire cement industry. The Chelyabinsk company Makfa (a large manufacturer of pasta products) entered the markets of Central Russia.

Since the late 1990s, Moscow industry businesses (large and medium-sized) have been purchasing processing enterprises in the regions of European Russia. The expansion of the capital's food holdings (meat and dairy), including into the agricultural sector, is especially strong. Also, Moscow business (the Industrial Investors group) together with Sibmashholding (Krasnoyarsk Combine Harvester Plant) created Agromashholding, which united enterprises in Siberia and Kazakhstan producing combine harvesters and components. The Moscow-Chuvash group of entrepreneurs formed the Tractor Plants concern. The zone of influence of the Russian Textile company has expanded (Ivanovo, Tver, Saratov regions). Industry business at a lower level and with a time shift repeats the stage of regional expansion that the largest companies have already gone through.

Increased expansion into the regions of companies in the tertiary sector of the economy, both domestic and foreign. Cellular companies were the first to penetrate, and in 2003–2005, leading retail chains also expanded beyond federal cities. Almost all cities with a population of one million and some of the smaller capitals of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, where residents have higher incomes, have become the focus of the expansion of not only domestic, but also international retail chains (IKEA, METRO, etc.), which indicates the further diffusion of globalization processes inside the country. The geography of this expansion is reflected as a pattern of innovation spreading from the largest urban centers to smaller ones.

In general, the diversified growth strategy of integrated business groups became “connected”; the zones of influence of most large companies generally remained stable or expanded while simultaneously strengthening positions and diversifying ownership in already developed regions. Smaller industry large and medium-sized companies have intensified their expansion in the regions, and there is an expansion of domestic business structures into the tertiary sector of the economy, i.e., into large cities. These business diversification trends are complemented by the transnationalization (globalization) of the largest Russian companies.

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Diversification - expansion of the range of products and reorientation of sales markets. Diversification is associated with the development of new types of goods/services with the simultaneous development of new segments of the goods/services market. This is the expansion of economic activity into new areas. A simple explanation of this term can be the well-known proverb “Don't put all your eggs in one basket.” When diversifying, the majority of a company's profit is usually provided by one or two core activities. A diversification strategy is implemented through the acquisition of an existing company, or the creation of a new company, joint venture or strategic partnership.

Diversification should not become a strategic priority until the core growth opportunities have been exhausted. the company's field of activity, since concentration on one type of business has organizational, managerial and strategic advantages. However, as a company's growth slows, diversification becomes an attractive means of improving the company's prospects. Diversification is also possible if the company has technological developments, key competencies or the resource base for successful competition in other areas.

Goal of diversification – increasing the value of the company’s shares due to the fact that a group of diverse companies within the corporation works more efficiently than each of them would work independently; thus, the effect 1+1=3 is achieved.
A company decides to diversify when: 1) the market is close to saturation; 2) there is an opportunity to achieve a synergy effect; 3) there is an opportunity to ensure the sustainability of the company; 4) with increased competition; 5) opportunities for developing the current business are narrowing; 6) diversification opens up new opportunities to increase the consumer value of the company’s products or strengthen its competitive position; 7) it is possible to transfer existing competencies and capabilities to other industries; 8) diversification into new industries reduces production costs; 9) the company has financial and organizational resources that are currently more profitable to invest in highly attractive industries than in the current one activity. Criteria for the feasibility of diversification: 1) Criterion for the attractiveness of the industry (provides an acceptable return on invested capital, the presence of favorable competitors and a market environment that create the basis for long-term profitability). 2) Criterion for the costs of entering the industry (the costs of entering the industry should not exceed the potential profit from working in it) .3) Criterion of additional benefits (allows you to reduce costs, exchange technologies and experience, create valuable competencies and opportunities, effectively use available resources, for example, brand reputation). Diversified growth strategies: (implemented if firms cannot develop for a longer time in a given market with a given product within a given industry): 1) Centered Diversification Strategy . Based on the search and use of additional opportunities contained in an existing business for the production of new products. At the same time, existing production remains at the center of the business. The company will release a new product only if the production technology of the new product is closely related to the production technology of the old one and to the competencies of the company. 2) Horizontal diversification strategy . Involves seeking growth opportunities in an existing market through new products that require new technology different from the current one. With this strategy, the company should focus on the production of such technologically unrelated products that would use the existing capabilities of the company. Since the new product must be focused on the consumer of the main product, its qualities must be complementary to the already produced product. An important condition for the implementation of this strategy is the company’s assessment of its own competence in the production of a new product. Briefly: a related, non-core product that will strengthen the position of the existing product + competitive advantages.3) Conglomerate diversification strategy(completely new product and new business). The company is expanding through the production of technologically unrelated products that are sold in new markets. This is one of the most difficult development strategies to implement, since its successful implementation depends on many factors, in particular on the competence of existing personnel, and especially managers, seasonality in the life of the market and the availability of necessary funds. There are 2 approaches to diversification - in related And unrelated industry. Related there is diversification strategic approach: It enables the use of strategic value chain alignments to create competitive advantage and achieve the 1+1=3 effect. Strategic fit between enterprises or industries is said if: - their value chains, when combined, provide economies of scale or cost reduction through the exchange of technologies, sharing of production facilities, distribution systems or names, brands; - there is the possibility of inter-firm transfer of technologies, skills, know-how -how and other resources; - company names or their brands can be shared; - there are opportunities for competitively relevant cross-industry cooperation. Strategy unrelated Diversification is usually chosen if the chosen company or industry has good financial prospects or if there is an opportunity to profitably acquire a new stable enterprise. Unrelated diversification is financial approach . Advantages:

Distribution of financial risks across different industries; - the possibility of quickly increasing profits; - mismatch of cyclical fluctuations in different industries. Disadvantages of the diversification strategy - the strategy is costly, risky and difficult to manage.

20) Conditions for choosing an integrated growth strategy. Contents of strategic alternatives for integrated growth. Integrated growth strategies involve expanding the company by adding new structures. Typically, a company may resort to such strategies if it is in a strong business, cannot pursue concentrated growth strategies, and at the same time, integrated growth does not conflict with its long-term goals. The company can pursue integrated growth, both through acquisitions and expansion from within. In both cases, the company's position within the industry changes.

Vertical integration is the process of expanding the scope of a company’s activities within an already developed industry. Companies can expand their activities "back" - towards suppliers (when the quality of the supplied raw materials is important, when the market is stable, when transportation costs can be reduced) and/or "forward"- to the end user of the product (when it is important to quickly deliver to the consumer, market control is important). A vertical integration strategy can be aimed at full (participation in all links of the industry value chain) or partial integration(occupying positions in key links in the industry value chain).

2 ways: the company creates its own divisions that cover other links in the industry value chain or absorbs companies operating in these links. A vertical integration strategy only makes sense if it strengthens the company's competitive position.

Vertical integration makes sense , If: 1 . suppliers and sellers have a high profitability rate; 2 . the supplied components make up the bulk of the cost of the final product; 3 . the necessary technological skills are most easily acquired or obtained by acquiring the supplier who possesses them; 4. independent execution of operations by an organization contributes to a radical improvement in the quality of goods, level of service, etc. 5 . allows the company to create new key competencies, improve core operations, and give the product characteristics that increase its value in the perception of the buyer; 6. reduces the company's dependence on large suppliers and sellers; 7 . The company's management is able to effectively manage as the number of links in the value chain increases.
Strategic disadvantages of vertical integration: The main disadvantage of the vertical integration strategy is that it draws the company deeper into the system of industrial relations of the industry; 1) increases capital investment in the industry where the company operates, thereby increasing risk. 2) forces the company to focus only on its own capabilities and sources of supply. 3) makes it difficult to balance capacity in each link of the value chain. 4) different skills and capabilities are required. 5) Vertical integration with component manufacturers can reduce a company's manufacturing flexibility and increase the time it takes to develop and bring new models to market. 6) There is no incentive for development in the captured departments. 7) Strategic decision-making is inhibited.

Horizontal integration consists of an acquisition or merger with a competitor or a company operating at a similar stage in the value chain. Conditions of expediency: obtaining a larger market share; economies of scale; obtaining competitive advantages and secrets of acquired companies; the organization may have excess financial and labor resources, which will allow it to manage an expanded company; pooling may be a means of eliminating a product that is a close substitute; the competitor they want to buy may have a significant shortage of financial resources.

21. Definition of the concept of “competitive advantage”. Key benefits and risks of differentiation strategy. Competitive advantage (CP) is a company's position in the market that allows it to overcome the forces of competition and attract customers. The basis of competitive advantages is the company’s unique assets, or special competence in areas of activity that are important for a given business. CPs, as a rule, are implemented at the level of strategic business units and form the basis of the company’s business (competitive) strategy. There are many ways to achieve CP, but the most common are: - cost leadership; - product differentiation; - focusing; - early entry into the market (first mover strategy); - synergy. Strategies differentiation are used in situations where consumer needs and preferences, due to their diversity, cannot be satisfied with standard products or the previous composition of sellers. To successfully differentiate, a company must study the needs, behavior, preferences of customers and their perception of the consumer value of the product. After this, the company adds to its product or service the consumer properties that are most valuable from the point of view of buyers, and at their expense creates a distinct difference from the product or service of competitors. CP will appear when the new properties of the product attract a sufficient number of buyers. The more customers value these differentiating properties, the stronger their commitment to the company's products and, accordingly, the greater its CP. Successful differentiation allows a company to: - charge a higher price for its product or service and / or - increase sales (distinctive consumer properties of the product attract additional buyers) and / or - increase the level of customer commitment to its brand (some buyers highly value additional consumer properties products). A differentiation strategy is optimal when:- there is ample opportunity for differentiation, and most consumers consider additional features to be truly valuable; - customer needs and ways to use the product are varied; - competitors have chosen different directions of differentiation; - the industry is characterized by the rapidity of technological and innovative processes, and competition is based on the rapidly changing properties of the product. Disadvantages of a differentiation strategy:1) Creating a differentiating property that, from the buyer's point of view, does not reduce his costs and does not provide him with new advantages. 2) Differentiation will not give the expected result if competitors can quickly reproduce the distinctive consumer properties of the company's product. 3) Excessive differentiation, when the price is much higher than the price of competitors, and the properties of the product (service) exceed the needs of the consumer. 4) The price is too high for additional consumer properties 5) Refusal to notify consumers about new properties of the product in the hope that the buyer himself will notice them. 6) Misunderstanding or ignorance of what properties of the product the buyer considers valuable.

In an effort to expand and develop your business, you must adhere to a specific plan and sequence of decisions and actions. Otherwise, if you act at random, thoughtlessly and suddenly, you may not only not advance anywhere, but also lose what you have already acquired. And after all, battles are won more likely by good strategists than by the commanders of the most numerous and well-equipped army.

In a modern business system, there are four main (reference) business development strategies: a concentrated growth strategy, an integrated growth strategy, a diversified growth strategy and a reduction strategy. Each of these systems is applicable in its own situation and solves a number of specific issues.

Strategies can be used in their pure form, or they can be combined and combined, for example, using simultaneously the methods of integrated growth and diversification strategies.

Integrated Growth Strategies

A stable enterprise that has mastered its market well and gained a foothold in it can try to apply integrated growth strategies. In a nutshell, this is the expansion of activities through the acquisition of new enterprises and industries or by increasing internal structures.

In turn, integrated growth strategies are divided into the approach of backward vertical integration and forward vertical integration.

Reverse vertical integration strategy

If an enterprise organizes new supply and purchasing departments, acquires companies involved in the supply of raw materials, opens new offices that produce not the main product, but, for example, spare parts or raw materials for it - this is all called the use of a reverse vertical integration strategy.

This approach allows you to reduce purchasing costs and keep your finger on the pulse of the situation with raw materials on the market.

Forward Vertical Integration Strategy

Forward vertical integration implies a reduction in the number of intermediaries between the enterprise itself and the end consumer. Using this strategy, you can buy out intermediary companies, hire new employees who will engage in intermediary activities, or even open your own branded stores, instead of selling products to other structures.

Diversified Growth Strategies

Sooner or later, any large enterprise comes to a point when the industry market has been fully developed, and all the changes that could be thought of have already been made to the product. Nevertheless, I want innovation and development. Then it is time to implement diversified growth strategies.

In turn, this reference business development strategy is divided into three approach options:

• horizontal diversification strategy;
• centered diversification strategy;
• conglomerate (conglomerate) diversification strategy.

Horizontal diversification strategy

Almost any enterprise producing any product can find a new industry in which it can apply its product. For example, a pharmaceutical manufacturer can acquire an existing pharmacy, a grain processing enterprise can acquire a confectionery factory, and so on.

This is the approach (strategy) of horizontal diversification: you continue to work with existing raw materials and personnel, but at the same time expand your horizons.

Centered Diversification Strategy

The centered diversification strategy involves the release of a new product, using a completely new technology, but aimed at the same consumer. On the one hand, this is a complex process that requires management to master a new area of ​​knowledge and, possibly, a new approach to management; not everyone may be ready for this and cope with it. On the other hand, if the plan is successfully implemented, the company will successfully invest funds and consolidate its position in several markets at once.

This strategy is pursued, for example, by the management of the Hilton hotel chain, a brand known for its high class and level of service. Now the management is building a chain of suburban hotels, with much lower prices and smaller spaces, but maintaining the same level of service and maintaining the comfort and modernity of the rooms.

Conglomerate diversification strategy

p>Conglomerate (conglomerate) diversification involves the development of a completely new market and a new product that is in no way related to existing products and industry. The calculation in this case is based on consumer recognition of the brand. Of course, only a large and successful event can afford such a risk, but if successful, there is a chance of getting another profitable business.

For example, the large Ukrainian metallurgical plant Zaporizhstal has been producing high-quality sausage products that are recognizable and loved by consumers for several years.