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Economies of scale
Economies of scale are factors that cause the average cost of producing something to fall
as the volume of its output increases. Hence it might cost $3,000 to produce 100 copies
of a magazine but only $4,000 to produce 1,000 copies. The average cost in this case
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has fallen from $30 to $4 a copy because the main elements of cost in producing a
Tropical ecology: Big fish keep tropical
magazine (editorial and design) are unrelated to the number of magazines produced.
forests healthy
Science and technology | Dec 12th, 16:45
Economies of scale were the main drivers of corporate gigantism in the 20th century. The Economist explains: Why forests are
They were fundamental to Henry Ford's revolutionary assembly line, and they continue to spreading in the rich world
The Economist explains | Dec 12th, 07:21
be the spur to many mergers and acquisitions today.
There are two types of economies of scale: Preparing to strike down: The Supreme
Court takes up a second...
• Internal. These are cost savings that accrue to a firm Related items Democracy in America | Dec 11th, 20:28
regardless of the industry, market or environment in which it
Economics focus: Bold
operates. strokes Excess baggage: Why the Trump
administration has enraged flyers across...
• External. These are economies that benefit a firm because Oct 16th 2008 Gulliver | Dec 11th, 20:04
of the way in which its industry is organised. Idea: Hierarchy of needs
Oct 13th 2008 Islam, marriage and the law: How best to
Internal economies of scale arise in a number of areas. For help women caught between...
Idea: Theories X and Y
example, it is easier for large firms to carry the overheads of Erasmus | Dec 11th, 17:41
sophisticated research and development (R&D). In the Oct 6th 2008
First cousins to economies of scale are economies of scope, factors that make it cheaper Test your EQ
to produce a range of products together than to produce each one of them on its own. Take our weekly news quiz to stay on top of the
Such economies can come from businesses sharing centralised functions, such as headlines
finance or marketing. Or they can come from interrelationships elsewhere in the business
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process, such as crossselling one product alongside another, or using the outputs of one
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Just as the theory of economies of scale has been the underpinning for all sorts of
corporate behaviour, from mass production to mergers and acquisitions, so the idea of
economies of scope has been the underpinning for other sorts of corporate behaviour,
particularly diversification.
The desire to garner economies of scope was the driving force behind the vast
international conglomerates built up in the 1970s and 1980s, including BTR and Hanson
in the UK and ITT in the United States. The logic behind these amalgamations lay mostly
in the scope for the companies to leverage their financial skills across a diversified range
of industries.
A number of conglomerates put together in the 1990s relied on crossselling, thus reaping
economies of scope by using the same people and systems to market many different
products. The combination of Travelers Group and Citicorp in 1998, for instance, was
based on the logic of selling the financial products of the one by using the sales teams of
the other.
Further reading
Sloan, A.P., “My Years with General Motors”, Doubleday, 1964; revised, 1990
Smith, A., “The Wealth of Nations”, 1776
More management ideas
This article is adapted from “The Economist Guide to Management Ideas
and Gurus”, by Tim Hindle (Profile Books; 322 pages; £20). The guide has
the lowdown on over 100 of the most influential businessmanagement
ideas and more than 50 of the world's most influential management
thinkers. To buy this book, please visit our online shop.
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