대기업의 디지털 산업 확장 유형의 탐색적 연구

Firms have many ways to expand their businesses including M&A. Big companies in online and offline businesses show different ways of expansion with different objectives to expand their digital businesses quickly. Expansions for technical reasons are to acquire technolies they do not have while those for business reasons are M&A for offline companies to have competence in markets by acquiring online companies. Other ways of expansions include spin-off and group participation after investments for startups. Various ways of expansions are chosen because they are optimal choices depending on situations the companies face, they have different strengths and weaknesses. To analyze the strengths and weaknesses of those options for expansion at this stage where the expansion for digital business is academically valuable, and also practically meaningful in terms of providing insights for companies’ decision making in choosing opitions for expansions. M&A of online companies to make multi-channels by offline companies have risks of failing to internalize online companies and have enough synergy effects. Also, spin-off is a relatively less risky way of expansion while the speed of expansion is slower than establishing external startups with some shares of equity and making them as affiliated companies. External startups are good for speed of expansion while there are risks of legal regulations and negative awareness by the public.