Conglomerates revisited
回顾了关于企业集团多元化利弊的争议文献，基于1975-84年样本发现，企业集团管理者通过减少业务数量和提高业务关联度来降低企业复杂性。
Abstract Recent studies of corporate restructuring have arrived at conclusions that are contradictory when applied to conglomerates. Studies, often based only on manufacturing firms, argue for and against the benefits of conglomerate diversification. This paper reviews the more recent developments in this literature. We then construct a comprehensive sample of conglomerates that allows us to examine changes in conglomerate behavior over the period 1975–84 as manifested in acquisition and divestiture decisions. Our results suggest that conglomerate managers are reducing the complexity of the conglomerate enterprise by decreasing the average number of businesses managed, and by increasing the degree of business‐relatedness within the conglomerate enterprise.