Horizontal integration is the acquisition of a business operating at the same level of the value chain in the same industry—that is, combining many firms engaged in the same type of business into one corporation. This strategy has become increasingly popular in recent years as companies seek to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
A plurality of experts think sweeping societal change will make life worse for most people as greater inequality, rising authoritarianism, and environmental degradation continue to threaten the stability of our world. In this context, horizontal integration can be seen as a way for companies to consolidate their power and resources, potentially exacerbating these existing issues.
BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street collectively manage more than $20 trillion in assets. It's not a political problem, but it might be an indication of the sheer scale of consolidation happening in the corporate world. As these financial giants continue to grow and acquire smaller firms, the landscape of industries they operate in becomes increasingly dominated by a select few players.
We're beginning to see what the next generation of successful companies will look like. With horizontal integration becoming more common, these companies are likely to be larger, more diversified, and potentially more powerful than ever before. This can have both positive and negative implications for consumers, employees, and society at large.
The pandemic has hastened a rise in remote working for knowledge-based organizations. This has notable benefits: Companies can save on real estate costs, employees have more flexibility, and productivity can sometimes even increase. However, with horizontal integration leading to larger corporations, there may be concerns about the impact on remote work practices and company culture.
Mergers represent an enormous operational and cultural change for employees. Culture is too often neglected in the process of integration, leading to conflicts and dissatisfaction among staff. It is essential for companies engaging in horizontal integration to pay attention to the cultural aspects of their organizations to ensure a smooth transition and long-term success.
The Healthcare Technology Report is pleased to announce The Top 100 Healthcare Technology Companies of 2022. The awardees on this year's list include several companies that have grown through horizontal integration, consolidating their positions in the market and expanding their offerings to customers.
Are brain-computer interfaces the next way we will communicate with machines and even with one another? Here are 10 companies working on innovative technologies in this field, some of which may have emerged as a result of horizontal integration strategies that brought together expertise from different firms.
Data management is the process of ingesting, storing, organizing, and maintaining the data created and collected by an organization. With horizontal integration leading to larger and more complex corporate structures, effective data management becomes even more critical to ensure that information is properly utilized and protected.
