Competitive Strategy Course

Lesson 1 • What Competitive Strategy Means

Defines strategy versus tactics, operations, and planning. Establishes the vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • The Strategic Logic of Value

Explains how value creation and value capture drive competitive outcomes. Links value logic to firm survival and growth.

Lesson 3 • Strategic Goals and Trade-offs

Covers how firms set strategic objectives and why trade-offs are central to strategy. Connects goal-setting to resource allocation.

Lesson 1 • Strategic Group Mapping

Groups competitors by strategic dimensions to reveal mobility barriers and rivalry clusters. Sharpens competitive benchmarking.

Lesson 2 • Supplier and Buyer Power Dynamics

Analyses conditions that shift negotiating leverage between firms and their trading partners. Informs vertical strategy choices.

Lesson 3 • Entry Barriers and Deterrence

Examines structural and strategic barriers that protect incumbents from new competition. Connects barrier analysis to positioning decisions.

Lesson 4 • Industry Life Cycle Analysis

Maps how competitive forces evolve from emergence through decline. Prepares students to adapt strategy to life-cycle stage.

Lesson 1 • Cost Advantage Sources

Identifies structural and operational drivers of cost leadership. Connects cost position to pricing flexibility and margin.

Lesson 2 • Resource-Based View of the Firm

Introduces resources and capabilities as internal sources of advantage. Links the VRIN framework to sustained outperformance.

Lesson 3 • Isolating Mechanisms and Sustainability

Covers the barriers that prevent rivals from replicating advantage. Explains how firms extend the life of their competitive position.

Lesson 4 • Differentiation Advantage Sources

Examines how firms create uniqueness that buyers value and pay for. Links differentiation drivers to willingness-to-pay elevation.

Lesson 1 • Activity Cost Analysis

Assigns costs to activities to identify where the firm spends relative to value delivered. Supports cost reduction prioritisation.

Lesson 2 • Value Chain Framework

Introduces primary and support activities and their contribution to margin. Provides the analytical lens for internal competitive analysis.

Lesson 3 • Activity System Mapping

Builds interconnected activity maps that show strategic fit and reinforcement. Reveals how systems create advantage rivals cannot copy.

Lesson 4 • Value Chain Reconfiguration

Examines how firms redesign their value chains to shift competitive position. Connects reconfiguration to strategic repositioning.

Lesson 1 • Focus and Niche Strategies

Explains how narrow-scope strategies outperform broad rivals in specific segments. Addresses when focus is viable versus limiting.

Lesson 2 • Stuck in the Middle and Hybrid Positions

Analyses the danger of unclear positioning and conditions where hybrid strategies succeed. Builds strategic clarity and decisiveness.

Lesson 3 • Cost Leadership Strategy

Details the requirements, risks, and execution of a cost leadership position. Connects cost leadership to industry structure conditions.

Lesson 4 • Choosing and Committing to a Position

Guides the decision process for selecting a generic strategy given firm resources and industry context. Reinforces trade-off discipline.

Lesson 1 • Coopetition and Competitive Collaboration

Examines when competing firms benefit from selective cooperation. Identifies conditions where coopetition creates mutual value.

Lesson 2 • Price Competition and Rivalry Management

Analyses conditions that trigger price wars and strategies to avoid destructive rivalry. Connects pricing discipline to industry profitability.

Lesson 3 • Competitive Intelligence Systems

Builds a systematic approach to gathering and analysing competitor information. Supports proactive rather than reactive competitive decisions.

Lesson 4 • Signalling and Commitment

Covers how firms use credible signals to shape rival expectations and deter attacks. Links commitment devices to competitive deterrence.

Lesson 1 • Portfolio Analysis Tools

Applies portfolio matrices to allocate resources across business units. Critiques tool limitations and supplements with cash flow logic.

Lesson 2 • Corporate Parenting and Value Add

Examines how corporate centres add or destroy value in subsidiaries. Identifies the parenting advantage concept and its application.

Lesson 3 • Corporate Strategy vs. Business Strategy

Distinguishes corporate-level choices from business-unit competitive strategy. Establishes the scope and logic of corporate strategy.

Lesson 4 • Mergers, Acquisitions, and Alliances

Covers strategic rationales and execution risks of inorganic growth moves. Links M&A and alliance choices to corporate strategy goals.

Lesson 1 • Managing Strategic Change

Addresses resistance, sequencing, and leadership of major strategic shifts. Connects change management to competitive repositioning success.

Lesson 2 • Aligning Organisation with Strategy

Shows how structure, systems, and culture must reinforce strategic position. Identifies misalignment as a primary execution failure cause.

Lesson 3 • Strategic Planning and Resource Allocation

Covers formal and adaptive planning processes that translate strategy into budgets and priorities. Links planning quality to execution speed.

Lesson 4 • Competitive Renewal and Reinvention

Examines how firms sense environmental shifts and renew their competitive position before decline. Builds strategic agility as a capability.