Vivendi (A): Revitalizing a French Conglomerate

Examines corporate strategy for a diversified firm in the French business context. Issues include corporate governance, vision, and the management of unrelated diversification. After the company's first loss ever, the Vivendi board elected a new chairman who completed a financial restructuring and articulated a new corporate strategy. His actions were in part determined by the French business environment, which does not easily permit staff reductions, and by the increasing importance of foreign investors in France.