Course 2009-2010 a.y.

Course Objectives

The course addresses issues related to strategic management in contemporary companies at business unit level, with particular focus on cultural organizations.

To survive and prosper over the long-term, a firm must be able to create and sustain over time a competitive advantage. This course will equip students with the frameworks, analytical tools, and concepts that one needs to analyse and understand the sources of superior performances. The course will lead the students into two main areas that must be analyzed in order to formulate and implement an effective competitive strategy: the external environment of the firm (the industry context), and the internal environment of the firm (its resources and capabilities).

Students are placed in the positions of key decision makers (or their advisors) and are asked to solve problems related to the development or maintenance of the competitive advantage of the firm. Readings and cases by leading researchers and practitioners in the field are used to provide contextual familiarity and teach the tools and skills required for competitive analysis. Therefore, students are required to prepare the material indicated in the syllabus before each lecture/case discussion.

Course Content Summary

Strategy and performance

• Business strategy: concepts and definitions
• Difference between business and corporate strategy
• The determinants of performance

Industry analysis

Culture, values and mission

Resources and capabilities

Positioning and segmentation analysis

The Analysis of competitive advantage

• Cost vs Differentiation
• Focus vs Leadership

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

The course evaluation is as follows:

Exceptional class participation will be rewarded with one additional point. Attendance to class and participation to discussion is essential to the learning process. Details on the final exam, group field work and class participation will be provided on the first day of class.

Textbooks

Attending students: required readings

• R. M. GRANT,Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Sixth Edition, 2008, Blackwell Publishing (selected chapters)
• Competitive strategies in creative industries. Case collection. Code 6290, 2009, EGEA.

Non-attending students: required readings

• R. M. GRANT, Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Sixth Edition, 2008, Blackwell Publishing (selected chapters)
• R. E. CAVES, Creative Industries. Contracts between art and commerce, 2000. Harvard University Press.

Prerequisites

Strategia e performance

• Strategia a livello business: concetti e definizioni
• Differenza tra strategia a livello business e a livello aziendale
• Le determinanti della performance

Analisi ed evoluzione del settore

• Analisi del settore
• Evoluzione e ciclo di vita del settore

Cultura, valori e missione

Risorse e competenze

Posizionamento e segmentazione

Analisi del vantaggio competitivo

• Costo e differenziazione
• Focalizzazione e leadership