Value Creation

The primary purpose of this book is to contribute to the discussion of the new paths, taking the issue of value creation as its guiding theme. As shareholder value is increasingly viewed as the key measure of corporate performance, the authors examine ways for chemical companies to attract and reward investor confidence. The book summarizes insights that the global chemical practice of McKinsey & Company has gained in recent years in over a hundred engagements annually, working with virtually all of the leading chemical producers worldwide as well as private equity investors and other industry players. It aims to help managers identify areas where their companies could improve still further by describing the best practices currently applied in this changing environment.

The book is organized in two parts. In the first section,authors describe the relevance of shareholder value thinking and its implications for strategy creation in the chemical industry. Some particularly important recent trends such as e-commerce,biotechnology, and leveraged buyouts are analyzed in detail. To adapt freely from Thomas Alva Edison, however, only 10 percent of economic success is based on inspiration, and 90 percent on execution. The second part therefore deals at some length with the actions needed to make the strategies work and improve performance in general.