The product portfolios of the west European and US economies are aging as their firms have not been able to develop new business in growth areas fast enough. This has lowered the growth rate of the Western economies. This is a study of major Swedish companies that have renewed their product portfolios by internal development. Some of the ventures have been developed into successful business areas, which have guaranteed the survival of the company, others have failed.
The book include case studies of 13 new ventures such as Assi's venture into producing liquid packaging board, Ericsson's into information and communication systems for offices, Holmen's into fiberweb, Saab Aircraft's into civilian commuter aircraft and unmanned underwater craft, SKF's into mini steel works, and Sydkraft's into gas distribution.
The book analyses and tries to communicate the experience of senior management. It shows how the process of diversification was initiated and the factors influencing the direction it took, how the entrants went about building up competence in the new area, analyses the cases in the light of previous research on diversification and entry, and analyses the course of events - why some succeeded while other fails.
Contents: Introduction; Business development as investment; Business development as the development of competence; Business development as diversification; Experiences and financial results; Conclusions and summary; Appendices