[solved] The two best reasons for investing company resources in vertical integration (either forward or backward) are to
improve the effectiveness of defensive actions to protect the company's market position and/or enable the company to be a leader in product innovation.
achieve a higher degree of product differentiation and/or shorten the time it takes to get new and improved products into the marketplace.
strengthen the company's competitive position and/or boost its profitability.
gain internal control over a bigger portion of the industry value chain and/or facilitate a company's efforts to expand into foreign geographic markets.
reduce operating costs and/or gain a first mover advantage over rivals in introducing next-generation products.
