This study explores the mechanisms underpinning the realization of synergies within multi-business firms. Using unique data from one of the largest retail conglomerates in the GCC, we adopt a configurational approach to investigate how different governance structures - traditional and internal ecosystem - shape the mechanisms of value creation and destruction. Our findings highlight the equifinality of synergy realization, where similar outcomes are achieved through distinct governance alignments with varying costs, corporate center roles, and enabling conditions. We identify novel synergies such as superadditive demand and data network effects, enabled by digital infrastructures and ecosystem interdependencies under the roof of the multi-business firm, expanding traditional notions of economies of scope. By providing micro-level empirical evidence, we offer a comprehensive framework that illuminates the trade-offs of synergies, emphasizing the interplay between scope breadth, governance forms, and performance outcomes.
