A master thesis from Aalborg University
Exploring the directions and methods of business development: A comparative multiple-case study on Ikea and Vodafone
Author(s)
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2008
Submitted on
2008-10-19
Pages
97 pages
Abstract
This study looks at business development as one of the many strategic management areas and aims to provide an overview about the available business development directions and methods, together with elements which play a significant role in deciding which of those directions and methods should be exploited. To provide a better insight on these decisions, a multiple-case study is also exploited at the end of this project. Therefore, this research exploits the deductive approach and starts by theoretical discussions which are then tested and explored also in practise, and for the analysis of the two cases, secondary data are exploited. The systems methodological approach used for the study means that the options related to business development are not only studied in relation to various influencing elements, but also these elements are studied in relation to each other. In the theoretical part of this paper, various business development directions such as consolidation, market penetration, product development, market development, integration, and diversification are explored, and so are the various business development methods such as internal, external, or joint development. Based on these discussions, the study presents a system of options and influencing elements which all need to be taken into consideration when deciding the most optimal business development path. At the end of the study, the multiple-case study analysis on Ikea and Vodafone brings further exploration of the studied area and highlights the fact, that the development of various companies could have similar patterns, as well as contrasts, based on the differences of the variables of the system.
Keywords
Documents
Colophon: This page is part of the AAU Student Projects portal, which is run by Aalborg University. Here, you can find and download publicly available bachelor's theses and master's projects from across the university dating from 2008 onwards. Student projects from before 2008 are available in printed form at Aalborg University Library.
If you have any questions about AAU Student Projects or the research registration, dissemination and analysis at Aalborg University, please feel free to contact the VBN team. You can also find more information in the AAU Student Projects FAQs.