Economies of scope

Economies of scope are "efficiencies formed by variety, not volume" (the latter concept is "economies of scale").[1] In the field of economics, "economies" is synonymous with cost savings and "scope" is synonymous with broadening production/services through diversified products. Economies of scope is an economic theory stating that average total cost (ATC) of production decrease as a result of increasing the number of different goods produced.[2] For example, a gas station primarily sells gasoline, but can sell soda, milk, baked goods, etc. and thus achieve economies of scope since with the same facility, each new product attracts new dollars a customer would have spent elsewhere.[2] The business historian Alfred Chandler argued that economies of scope contributed to the rise of American business corporations during the 20th century.[3]

  1. ^ Joel D. Goldhar; Mariann Jelinek (November 1983). "Plan for Economies of Scope". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Economies of scale and scope". The Economist. 20 October 2008.
  3. ^ Chandler, Alfred Dupont (2004). Scale and scope: the dynamics of industrial capitalism (7. print ed.). Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0674789951.