Corporate Conglomerates: Advantages, Disadvantages, Successes and Failures, Including Case Studies of General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway

Abstract

This article discusses the rise and fall of corporate structures commonly referred to as “conglomerates.” They represent a collection of different companies, either in distinct industries or concentrated in one industry, under a corporate umbrella. Corporate conglomerates entail both positive and negative features. Highlighted in this discussion are two famous conglomerates, General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway, which have had distinctly different outcomes.