It succeeded only by re-focusing during the 1990s on its core business: chemicals, the construction of chemical plants, and chemical-based products such as plastics and fertilizers" (emphasis added) (1236). External Environment

Notwithstanding the potential positive outcomes that could be realized through the company's full range of business segments, it is clear that its chemicals segment will continue to drive the company's success in the future -- if the company's leadership can continue to focus on what the company does best and improve the company's image in Europe and North America. The economic potential of the chemicals industry in the near future is bright, as can be discerned from increasing trade figures between the European Union and the United States in recent years (Dando 33). As this authority emphasizes, "Clearly, the chemical industry is crucial to the well-being of modern industrial societies. Moreover, the worldwide demand for chemicals grew from a level of $1,500 billion in 1996 to $2,400 billion in 2010" (Dando 33). Moreover, innovations in biotechnology are expected to provide more cost effective methods of manufacturing chemicals in the near future as well as the use of combinatorial chemistry and computer modeling to produce new types of chemicals that can eliminate the disadvantages and improve the respective strengths of different chemicals (Dando 33). In this regard, Dando suggests that the pharmaceutical sector will likely experience phenomenal growth in the developed world as populations continue to age and the need for pharmacological...

In sum, this analyst concludes that, "Obviously, the opportunities provided by the biotechnology revolution are producing a massive restructuring in this industry as it inclines more towards the life sciences and away from traditional chemistry" (33). Therefore, to the extent that BASF identifies these trends and focuses its research and development efforts on "the next big thing" will likely be the extent to which the company continues to model the way for others.
Works Cited

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'BASF -- the Chemical.' (2011). Indeed. [online] available: http://www.indeed.com/cmp/Basf

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Dando, Malcolm R Preventing Biological Warfare: The Failure of American Leadership. New York: Palgrave, 2002.

Higgins, Richard B. The Search for Corporate Strategic Credibility: Concepts and Cases in Global Strategy Communications. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1996.

Markowitz, Gerald and David Rosner. Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial

Pollution. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2002.

Simonian, Haig. (2008, September 15). "BASF follows trend of integration." Financial Times.

[online] available: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/daeeb746-8349-11dd-907e-000077b07658.html#axzz1JIcF7FBA.

Strikwerda, Carl. (2006). "German Industry and Global Enterprise, BASF: The History of a Company." Journal of Social History 39(4): 1235-1237.