From core expansion

Author: Chris Zook
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: A deeply researched work on strategic expansion in the management field. Prefaced by David Yip, General Manager of Bain & Company (China), a renowned global strategic consulting firm. Expansion, but not diversification, rather expansion within three steps of the core. The farther from the core, the lower the chance of successful expansion. 75% of corporate disasters are caused by entering the wrong expansion field, and 75% of expansion efforts fail to bring any profit to the company. How can businesses avoid the pitfalls of expansion? Aspiring to grow, businesses tirelessly seek the path of expansion. Many choose diversification, not only failing to expand successfully but also losing their core advantages. The expansion described in this book is not the diversification strategy practiced by many businesses, but rather expansion within three steps of the core—this is the optimal path to expansion. Building on the theme of Return to Core, this book addresses the inevitable question managers must ask after choosing the core strategy: "What to do after returning to the core?" Here is a work deeply researched by the management field on strategic expansion, clearly explaining the differences and pros and cons between diversification strategy and core expansion strategy. It provides an in-depth analysis of how businesses can expand into adjacent areas based on their core business, how to evaluate expansion strategies, how to ensure that expansion strategies are profitable, how to build reusable expansion models, what factors must be considered when executing expansion plans, and how to achieve business and corporate transformation through expansion—among the most critical issues in corporate growth strategy. These valuable insights, summarized by Chris Zook and Bain & Company through over a decade of research, offer a sobering dose to the restless and bewildered business world. Every conclusion in these two works is based on over a decade of research and analysis of the operations of tens of thousands of businesses, supported by facts and data. Return to Core and From Core to Expansion complement each other, forming a complete system that provides the perfect answer to corporate growth strategy.