This study is done in the form of a case study analysis and focuses on the most important business opportunities that have been seized by the leading Russian steel-maker Severstal Corporation. It is organized as a consecutive review of seven business opportunities.
The cases were selected with purpose to demonstrate key pillars of the Company’s strategy: vertical integration, specializing on high value added and niche products, diversification and building synergies. These cases have been picked up based on their importance to the company’s financial performance, which is judged by their contribution to total revenue. It attempts to verify whether this company’s real-life business experience is consistent with relevant theoretical predictions in the fields of vertical boundaries, competitiveness of firms and diversification, and to provide empirical evidence that is specific for steel-making industry.
Generally speaking, the findings of this study are consistent with the relevant theories and do provide an abundant and industry-specific evidence for such areas of theoretical research as firm’s vertical boundaries, competitiveness of Firms and diversification.

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