The Transformation of Boral: From Dependent, Specialist Bitumen Refiner to Major Building Products Manufacturer

Diane Hutchinson

Business History, 2000, vol. 42, issue 3, 109-132

Abstract: This essay explores the route by which Boral transformed itself from being a small firm operating in a niche within the petroleum industry to its current position as one of the largest manufacturers of building products in Australia. Boral's exit from the oil industry was largely influenced by the declining attractiveness of that market as a result of a more competitive environment. The direction of its subsequent voyage across industry and market boundaries was set by the exploitation of firm specific knowledge and competencies. Boral's bold leaps into apparently unrelated new industries represented the transfer of a core set of capabilities into new markets. Boral acquired new skills which augmented its competencies and it was able to use them to gain a competitive advantage in a wide range of related markets.

Date: 2000
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DOI: 10.1080/00076790000000269

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