Definition
A “core business” is the business that is the primary focus of a company’s business operations. That primary focus may be the business on which the company was founded, or a business to which the company’s business operations have evolved over time.
Referring to the primary focus of a company’s business operations, the concept of core business necessarily suggests that firms will have other businesses that are less core or central. Thus, the concept of core business is closely associated with several streams of strategic management research on multibusiness or multiproduct firms, including research on the relationship between diversification strategy and performance; research on firm focus, divestment, and the performance of divested units; and research on core competence and capabilities.
Diversification or Expansion Beyond the Core Business
Chandler’s epic Strategy and Structure (1962) describes the way four companies – DuPont, General Motors, Standard Oil and Sears,...
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Duhaime, I.M., Stimpert, J.L. (2018). Core Business. In: Augier, M., Teece, D.J. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_51
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_51
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