Competition, diversification and performance

In this paper, we argue that the competitive intensity that a firm faces is related to the diversification strategy it adopts. Specifically, higher competitive intensity is associated with less related diversification and more unrelated diversification, and performance from adopting these diversification strategies improve as competitive intensity rises. We find support for our hypotheses using a sample of manufacturing firms operating in the United Kingdom. The findings provide a deeper explanation of the relationships between the competition that a firm faces and its diversification strategies.