By the end of this chapter students should:

• Understand the difference between competitive and corporate strategy
• Be able to analyse the factors that influence corporate centres’ decisions on the businesses in their portfolios
• Be aware of the links between strategy and organizational structure and the way organizational structures have changed over time
• Understand the difference between scale and scope and the implications that these concepts have for adding value in multi-business firms
• Be able to analyse and critically evaluate the different ways in which the corporate centre can add value in multi-business firms
• Be familiar with the findings of empirical work which has examined the links between strategy, structure and performance in multi-business corporations.