A business strategy where a company acquires or merges with competitors operating at the same level of the value chain in the same industry. Aims to increase market share, achieve economies of scale, or reduce competition.
'Horizontal' from Greek 'horizon' (boundary, limit) and 'integration' from Latin 'integrare'. Term developed alongside vertical integration in industrial organization theory to describe expansion within the same competitive level.
Horizontal integration often creates monsters that are too big to innovate - when companies buy all their competitors, they eliminate the competitive pressure that drives improvement. It's why some of the most 'successful' mergers create the most boring, stagnant industries.
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