Corporate strategies in the post-transition economy: The case of Slovenian companies

Abstract

This paper argues that unrelated diversification strategies outperform related diversification strategies. The author identifies three phases of the internationalisation process. More detailed analyses of the internationalisation process shows that companies are trying to develop more complex forms of international business activities. The author also identifies four groups of competencies that are the cornerstones of corporate strategies. This study reveals that 40.6% of companies diversified through external means, 36.2% diversified through internal means, while 23.2% diversified through both internal and external methods. There appears to be no statistically significant performance differences among companies regarding external and internal growth strategies. Internal growth and joint ventures are the most important forms of diversification. These companies also tend to develop various forms of long-term strategic cooperation. This process can be crucial for developing competitive advantages. By comparing the performance of companies regarding ownership structure, the author found that companies with international ownership structure performed better. In other words, foreign ownership had a positive influence on company performance.