Diversification and Centralization of Firms

This thesis investigates the impact of centralization of the firm (i.e. whether the firm internal structure and decision making process happens in the headquarters or at the business/plant level) on the value of the firm after diversification. In other words, is it better for the firm that wants to diversify its business to be centralized or decentralized. The thesis must include the following sections:
– Introduction (introduction to the topic and it’s importance and relevance to business)
– Literature review (which must cover three areas focusing on the key papers by key authors in each area: diversification, centralization, and measurement of firm’s value using Tobin’s q).
– theoretical development
– research questions and hypothesis
– Data (The section describes the sources of data. The research will be quantitative research using data from world management survey (WMS) on the centralization of firms, which will be merged with data on the diversification and value of firms from databases such as Orbis. You can use the description of the data sources in this paper: Turbulence, Firm Decentralization, and Growth in Bad Times (attached)
– Data Analysis (this section describes how the data will be organized and analyzed)
– Conclusion (this section should include how the research will contribute the literature)