The theory of the corporate life cycle

Abstract

There appears to be a widespread management belief that the corporation is endowed with an inbuilt elixir for survival and growth, despite recent major corporate declines. In this article, the author outlines and illustrates the operation of one of the newest theories on corporate activity—the corporate life cycle—and its use as a planning aid in determining where the company is and where it is going and as a relationary tool in predicting corporate trends for comparison with corporate objectives and the future operating environment.