Research Roundtable Discussion: The Diversification Discount



BELEN VILLALONGA
Harvard Business School


Abstract:
Discussants: PHILIP G. BERGER , University of Chicago - Graduate School of Business;
ROBERT F. BRUNER , University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business; DAVID
J. DENIS , Purdue University - Krannert School of Management; STEPHEN R. FOERSTER ,
University of Western Ontario - Richard Ivey School of Business; ROBERT H. GERTNER ,
University of Chicago - Graduate School of Business; STUART C. GILSON , Harvard Business
School; JOHN R. GRAHAM , Duke University - Fuqua School of Business; LAURIE SIMON
HODRICK , Columbia Business School; STEVEN N. KAPLAN , University of Chicago -
Graduate School of Business; LARRY H.P. LANG , Chinese University of Hong Kong;
VOJISLAV MAKSIMOVIC , University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business;
JOHN D. MARTIN , Baylor University - Hankamer School of Business; JOHN G.
MATSUSAKA , University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business; RANDALL
MORCK , University of Alberta School of Business; GORDON M. PHILLIPS , University of
Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business; HENRI SERVAES , London Business School

Organized by: PETER TUFANO , Harvard Business School

As teachers, we often face the challenge of helping MBA students understand important
managerial issues where research is unsettled. This is one of a series of pieces written as a quick
introduction to a controversial area which many of us have to touch upon in our courses: the
diversification discount.

Belén Villalonga has written an overview of some of the issues surrounding the diversification
discount and assembled a selected bibliography on the topic. We then invited a small number of
leading researchers and teachers in the field to comment on how they treat this topic in the
classroom.

JEL Classifications: G34

Case and Teaching Paper Series

Research Roundtable Discussion: The Diversification Discount


By: Belén Villalonga
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
Phone: (617) 495-5061
e-mail: bvillalonga@hbs.edu


Discussants:

PHILIP G. BERGER , University of Chicago - Graduate School of Business
ROBERT F. BRUNER , University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business
DAVID J. DENIS , Purdue University - Krannert School of Management
STEPHEN R. FOERSTER , University of Western Ontario - Richard Ivey School of Business
ROBERT H. GERTNER , University of Chicago - Graduate School of Business
STUART C. GILSON , Harvard Business School
JOHN R. GRAHAM , Duke University - Fuqua School of Business
LAURIE SIMON HODRICK , Columbia Business School
STEVEN N. KAPLAN , University of Chicago - Graduate School of Business
LARRY H.P. LANG , Chinese University of Hong Kong
VOJISLAV MAKSIMOVIC , University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business
JOHN D. MARTIN , Baylor University - Hankamer School of Business
JOHN G. MATSUSAKA , University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business
RANDALL MORCK , University of Alberta School of Business
GORDON M. PHILLIPS , University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business
HENRI SERVAES , London Business School


Organized by: Peter Tufano, Harvard Business School

Document available at: SSRN electronic paper collection http://ssrn.com/abstract=402220

Date: April 24, 2003

Contents:

1. Introduction ………………………………………………………….. 1
2. References …………………………………………………………… 6
3. Comments by discussants …………………………………………… 9