Between 1950 and 1980, when the IPOs finally took off, we had national economies, followed by international business overlapping with the PC wave and globalized business in line with the networked computing wave.

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In many fields of business, companies are focused on overlapping user segments and fighting fiercely over the same customers.

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Legal experts say the issue is rarely pursued partly because it is difficult to prove how overlapping directors impinge on business decisions.

BBC: Apple and Google 'probe launched'

Defense companies and business groups have long complained that the current rules are too broad and overlapping, unnecessarily subjecting some goods to export licenses.

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He gave managers overlapping responsibilities, partly because he thought that confrontation would increase the amount of business information available.

ECONOMIST: Harold Geneen