The Two Most Compelling Reasons for a Company to Pursue

The two most compelling reasons for a company to pursue vertical integration (either forward or backward) are to

A) strengthen the company's competitive position and/or boost its profitability.
B) achieve product differentiation and/or lengthen the company's value chain to include more activities performed in-house and thereby gain greater ability to reduce internal operating costs.
C) broaden the firm's product line and/or avoid the need for outsourcing.
D) expand into foreign markets and/or control more of the industry value chain.
E) enable use of offensive strategies and/or gain a first-mover advantage over rivals in revamping the industry value chain.