Microsoft Corp. is breaking up its fiefdoms as it seeks to create better products, faster.

The company said Thursday that it would dissolve its eight existing product divisions in favor of four new ones arranged around broader themes, a change it believes will encourage greater collaboration. Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s longtime chief executive, will shuffle the responsibilities of nearly every senior member of his executive bench as a result.

The shake-up is an effort by Microsoft to reduce the rivalries that have built up over time among its previous divisions, which sometimes resulted in needless duplication.

First Published July 12, 2013, 4:00 a.m.