Divisionalization in Vertical Structures

Abstract: We study the incentives to create divisions by a firm once it is taken into account the vertical structure of an industry. Downstream firms, that must buy an essential input to upstream firms, may create divisions. Divisionalization reduces their bargaining power against upstream firms. This effect must be weighted against the usual incentive to divisionalize, namely the increase in the share of the final market that a firm obtains through it. We show that incentives to divisionalize are severely reduced when compared with the standard results, and that even sometimes firms choose not to divisionalize at all. The paper also shows the implications of the former analysis on the internal organization of firms and on the incentives to vertically integrate