Finally, in line v^dth the predictions of Chandler and his successors,
the M-form spread across Italy and Spain, but it diffused at a different
rate and in a different way in each country. In Italy, the M-form diffused
slowly, albeit constantly. Although Spanish companies encountered
this organizational structure later than U.S. and advanced European
firms, they were more definite about adopting it. Even so, its diffusion
in Spain and Italy was marginal compared with its spread in the United
States and advanced European nations. Between 70 percent and 90 percent
of the largest manufacturing corporations in France, Germany, and
the United Kingdom had adopted this organizational form by 1993, compared
with less than 30 percent of companies in Italy and Spain by 2002.
Adding up the number of functional/holding and holding form companies
reveals that the holding form was the preferred structure for large
businesses in Italy and Spain, followed closely by the functional form.
In 1950, the strategies and structures adopted by large companies
in Italy and Spain were not very different from those of advanced European
nations. However, the influence ofthe U.S.-inspired strategies and
structures affected the European countries differently in the years following.
Yet the choice of Italian and Spanish large corporations to turn
away from diversification and the multidivisional structure at that
time was, in many cases, not irrational or inefficient. In the following
sections, I describe the companies that took the Chandlerian path in
these nations, before dealing with the majority of firms that did not do
so. They will be listed in two broad categories: business groups and focused
companies.