Analysing the relationship between diversification strategy and firm performance: the role of the economic cycle

The relationship between corporate strategies and firm performance has been one of the key debates in the discipline of Strategic Management. There are studies that analyse the moderating role that certain variables may play in that relationship. These variables tend to refer to aspects within the f...

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Main Authors: Esteban López Zapata, Fernando Enrique García Muiña, Susana María García Moreno
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU) 2019-06-01
Series:Management Letters/Cuadernos de Gestión
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ehu.eus/cuadernosdegestion/revista/en/published-issues/articulo?year=2019&vol=19&num=2&o=1
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author Esteban López Zapata
Fernando Enrique García Muiña
Susana María García Moreno
author_facet Esteban López Zapata
Fernando Enrique García Muiña
Susana María García Moreno
author_sort Esteban López Zapata
collection DOAJ
description The relationship between corporate strategies and firm performance has been one of the key debates in the discipline of Strategic Management. There are studies that analyse the moderating role that certain variables may play in that relationship. These variables tend to refer to aspects within the firm or, at the very least, within the competitive environment in which a firm operates. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence on the part the general environment plays from an economic perspective is much less common, and focuses on large corporations and on periods of economic growth. Accordingly, using a panel of 1,828 Spanish manufacturing firms of different sizes, an analysis is conducted of the differences in Return On Assets (ROA), Growth in Sales (GS) and Labor Productivity (LP) between specialised firms, those with related diversification, and those with unrelated diversification, between 2002 and 2011, in which there was a period of growth alternated with another one of economic recession. Although some superiority is noted of related diversification and specialisation over unrelated diversification, the differences between strategies are less significant in periods of economic recession, and vary according to the dimension of performance considered. These results reveal the need to consider the economic cycle as a contingent factor that affects the impact corporate strategies have on firm performance.
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spelling doaj.art-d8a07c96cadc4916ac79f4228c2ea6f92022-12-21T17:57:44ZengUniversidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU)Management Letters/Cuadernos de Gestión1131-68371988-21572019-06-01192153210.5295/cdg.170738elAnalysing the relationship between diversification strategy and firm performance: the role of the economic cycleEsteban López Zapata0Fernando Enrique García Muiña1Susana María García Moreno2Departamento de Ciencias Administrativas, Calle 70 No. 52 – 21 Oficina 13-403 C.P.050010, Medellín (Colombia). esteban.lopez@udea.edu.coÁrea de Organización de Empresas, Pº de los Artilleros, s/n, C.P. 28032, Madrid, (España). fernando.muina@ urjc.esÁrea de Organización de Empresas, Pº de los Artilleros, s/n, C.P. 28032, Madrid, (España). susanamaria.garcia@urjc.esThe relationship between corporate strategies and firm performance has been one of the key debates in the discipline of Strategic Management. There are studies that analyse the moderating role that certain variables may play in that relationship. These variables tend to refer to aspects within the firm or, at the very least, within the competitive environment in which a firm operates. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence on the part the general environment plays from an economic perspective is much less common, and focuses on large corporations and on periods of economic growth. Accordingly, using a panel of 1,828 Spanish manufacturing firms of different sizes, an analysis is conducted of the differences in Return On Assets (ROA), Growth in Sales (GS) and Labor Productivity (LP) between specialised firms, those with related diversification, and those with unrelated diversification, between 2002 and 2011, in which there was a period of growth alternated with another one of economic recession. Although some superiority is noted of related diversification and specialisation over unrelated diversification, the differences between strategies are less significant in periods of economic recession, and vary according to the dimension of performance considered. These results reveal the need to consider the economic cycle as a contingent factor that affects the impact corporate strategies have on firm performance.http://www.ehu.eus/cuadernosdegestion/revista/en/published-issues/articulo?year=2019&vol=19&num=2&o=1Corporate strategydiversificationeconomic cycleperformanceEstrategia corporativadiversificaciónciclo económicodesempeño
spellingShingle Esteban López Zapata
Fernando Enrique García Muiña
Susana María García Moreno
Analysing the relationship between diversification strategy and firm performance: the role of the economic cycle
Management Letters/Cuadernos de Gestión
Corporate strategy
diversification
economic cycle
performance
Estrategia corporativa
diversificación
ciclo económico
desempeño
title Analysing the relationship between diversification strategy and firm performance: the role of the economic cycle
title_full Analysing the relationship between diversification strategy and firm performance: the role of the economic cycle
title_fullStr Analysing the relationship between diversification strategy and firm performance: the role of the economic cycle
title_full_unstemmed Analysing the relationship between diversification strategy and firm performance: the role of the economic cycle
title_short Analysing the relationship between diversification strategy and firm performance: the role of the economic cycle
title_sort analysing the relationship between diversification strategy and firm performance the role of the economic cycle
topic Corporate strategy
diversification
economic cycle
performance
Estrategia corporativa
diversificación
ciclo económico
desempeño
url http://www.ehu.eus/cuadernosdegestion/revista/en/published-issues/articulo?year=2019&vol=19&num=2&o=1
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