Module Description

Professional competences:

Participants can:

• Explain the impact and contribution of effective strategic management
• Identify and describe the strategy of a firm on a business unit and corporate level
• Understand the strategy process and how a strategy is made within organizations
• Outline how a firm can achieve and sustain competitive advantage
• Understand the process of organizational evolution and the challenges of technological change
• Explain key aspects of corporate strategy such as vertical integration, internationalization, and diversification

Methodological competences:

Participants can:

• Apply relevant methods needed for strategy analysis, development, and implementation
• Develop effective strategic initiatives on business unit and corporate level
• Formulate strategies using both the market-based view (external environment) and resource-based approach (internal perspective)
• Select and apply appropriate tools to manage strategic change and exploit innovation
• Make sound strategic choices regarding the level of vertical integration, internationalization, and diversification

Self-competences:

Participants can:

• Process, summarize and prioritize an extensive body of information
• Recognize individual (knowledge) gaps and close them in a systematic way
• Notice the wide variety of possible strategic approaches for a specific initial situation
• Evaluate different scenarios, draw comprehensible conclusions, and derive appropriate recommendations
• Appreciate the basic idea of strategizing as a useful concept that can be applied on a personal level for formulating and achieving long-term goals
  
  

Social competences:

Participants can:

• Formulate their own point of view objectively and accept dissenting opinions
• Recognize the value and limits of teamwork in developing and implementing strategies
• Develop a concept in teams and present the results to the class

Topic area I: Introduction / The Tools of Strategy Analysis

• The Concept of Strategy
• Goals, Values, and Performance
• Industry and Competitive Analysis
• Analyzing Resources and Capabilities

Topic area II: Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage

• The Sources and Dimensions of Competitive Advantage
• Industry Evolution and Strategic Change
• Technology-Based Industries and the Management of Innovation

Topic area III: Corporate Strategy

• Vertical Integration and the Scope of the Firm
• Global Strategy and the Multinational Corporation
• Diversification Strategy
• Implementing Corporate Strategy

Lecture, discussion, guided self-study, examples and case studies.
The course is primarily designed as a lecture.

Mandatory:

• Slide decks and additional materials on the learning platform
• Textbook: Grant, Robert M. (2025). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Wiley12^th Edition, ISBN: 978-1-394-25159-9

Optional:

• Supplementary articles, examples, and materials on the learning platform