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Why Companies Are Using M&A to Transform Themselves, Not Just to Grow

Harvard Business Review

An internet technology company picks up a mobile phone manufacturer. The current cohort of acquisitions goes well beyond the typical defensive, synergy-driven, horizontal integration that marked previous M&A spurts. Joe Beck/Unsplash/HBR Staff. A brick-and-mortar retailer buys an e-commerce platform. Capability upgrades.

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A Board Director's Perspective on What IT Has to Get Right

Harvard Business Review

I''m often struck by how many articles exclusively focus on new or emerging technology and their productivity or efficiency effects. Every discussion on the role of IT and CIOs should start with the question: "What are the potential uses of this technology that will guarantee we stay in business?" Improving Operational Efficiency.

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Design as a New Vertical Forcing Function

Harvard Business Review

From Microsoft’s latest radical reorganization and subsequent purchase of Nokia’s devices unit to Google’s acquisition of Motorola , it’s clear that after decades of horizontal integration, high tech is in an age of increased verticalization. What is driving this change?

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Today's Best Companies are Horizontally Integrated

Harvard Business Review

With every degree of verticalization now made possible by information and communications technologies, the right scope of operations for any given firm is an open question. Today, your management team should be giving more thought to horizontal integration.