Strategies for Superior Value Creation

Improving the Odds: Strategies for Superior Value Creation is the fourteenth annual report in the Value Creators series published by The Boston Consulting Group. Each year, we offer commentary on trends in the global economy and world capital markets, share BCG’s latest research and thinking on value creation, describe the experiences of our clients who have materially improved their value-creation performance, and publish detailed empirical rankings of the performance of the world’s top value creators.

This year’s report offers four different perspectives on successful value creation. We begin by exploring how companies can chart a course toward superior value creation in today’s low-growth economic environment. Next, we introduce some new BCG research on the theme of value patterns, distinctive company starting positions that cut across industry boundaries and shape the range and types of strategic moves most likely to create value. We follow with a detailed case study of how one BCG client, the consumer-packaged-goods company Church & Dwight, has delivered superior shareholder value—with an emphasis on the nuts and bolts of making it happen. Finally, we conclude with our annual rankings of the top ten value creators worldwide and in 21 industries for the five-year period from 2007 through 2011.

Acknowledgments

This report is a product of BCG’s Corporate Development practice. The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following global experts in corporate development: Danny Friedman, a senior partner and managing director in the firm’s Los Angeles offi ce and leader of the Corporate Development practice in the Americas; Jérôme Hervé, a senior partner and managing director in BCG’s Paris office and leader of the Corporate Development practice in Europe; Dinesh Khanna, a partner and managing director in the fi rm’s Singapore office and leader of the Corporate Development practice in the Asia-Pacific region; Jens Kengelbach, a partner and managing director in BCG’s Munich office and global head of marketing for the Corporate Development practice; Alexander Roos, a senior partner and managing director in the firm’s Berlin office and global leader of the Corporate Development practice; and Brett Schiedermayer, managing director of the BCG ValueScience Center in South San Francisco, California, a research center that develops leading-edge valuation tools and techniques for M&A and corporate-strategy applications.