ECONOMICS OF STRATEGY

Academic Year 2024/2025 - Teacher: Antonio D'AGATA

Expected Learning Outcomes

The course provides a sound understanding of the economic principles underlying business strategy aimed at creating and sustaining a competitive advantage. The course includes analysis of real business cases and formulation of business strategies.

Course Structure

Face-to-face lectures on business strategy theory. Practical applications of the theory will be considered as well.

Required Prerequisites

Elementary microeconomics

Attendance of Lessons

Attendance is not mandatory

Detailed Course Content

Business strategy

Competitive advantage

Organization design

Industry analysis

The spectrum of competition and niche markets

Competition in concentrated markets

Entry and the advantage of incumbency

Creating and capturing value in the value chain

Strategic management in a changing environment

Strategy in markets with demand-side increasing returns

Textbook Information

1. G. Saloner, A. Shepard and J. Podolny, Strategic Management, J. Wiley & S., New York, 2001, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

2. W.C. Kim and R. Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Strategy. How to Create Uncontested Markets Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Harvard Business Review Press, Cambridge, 2015, Chapters 1,2.

3. R. Hamermesh, K.D. Gordon, J.P.Reed Crown and Cork and Seal Company, Inc., Harvard Business School, Case Study, rev 1987 (Product number 378024-PDF-ENG, disponibile all'indirizzo: http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu).

4. P. Ghemawat, H.J. Stander, Nucor at a Croassroads; Harvard Business School, Case Study, Rev. 1992 (product number 793039, disponibile all'indirizzo: http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu).

Course Planning

	Subjects	Text References
1	Introduction: Strategic Management	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 1
2	Business Strategy	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 2
3	Competitive Advantage	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 3
4	Internal Context: Organization Design	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 4
5	External Context: Industry Analysis	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 6
6	The Spectrum of Competition and Niche Markets	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 7
7	Competition in Concentrated Markets	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 8
8	Entry and the Advantage of Incumbency	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 9
9	Creating and Capturing Value in the Value Chain	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 10
10	Strategic Management in a Changing Environment	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 11
11	Strategy in Markets with Demand-Side Increasing Returns	Saloner-Shepard-Podolny, Ch 12

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

Written exam. Six open questions

Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises

What is business strategy?, Competitive advantage based on position, Sustainability of competitive advantage, Organization design: the incentive problem, Porter's Five Forces Framework, The hold-up problem, Timing in oligopoly: the advantage of first-mover, Industry life-cycle.

Degree Course in

International Trade Relations