The course aims to present and discuss theoretical frameworks and models that may be used to formulate and implement corporate-level strategies. In particular, students will develop the competence to understand, analyze and formulate strategic decisions on: - Industry, resources and competitive advantage; - Scope of the firm and growth strategy; - Managing multi-business and international companies.

Knowledge and understanding. The course will present theories and frameworks to analyze corporate strategy. Students should be able to understand the corporate strategy theories and frameworks presented during the course. Applying knowledge and understanding. Being exposed to different active learning teaching methods (e.g., incidents, cases, project works, videos), students will learn how: (i) to analyze the corporate strategy of specific companies; (ii) to assess if and how the corporate strategy may promote value creation; (iii) to advance proposals aimed at improving the corporate strategy of specific companies. Making judgements. The use of active teaching methods will encourage students to collect and analyze data on the corporate strategy, so to assess its consequences on value creation. Students will be also asked to present and explain their position on corporate strategy decisions of specific companies. Communications Skills. Thanks to lectures in class and reading the textbook at home, students will learn key concepts, theoretical frameworks and topics related to corporate strategy. Moreover, during highly interactive sessions (e.g., incident, cases, videos, project work) they will present their position and defend it in front of the class. Learning skills. The several teaching methods employed will allow students to develop a customized (i.e., “one size does not fit all”) approach in the analysis of the corporate strategy decisions. Thanks to high interactions in class, students will mature a critical assessment of their understanding of key concepts, theoretical frameworks and practices related to corporate strategy.

Corporate Strategy. Industry, resources and competitive advantage. Vertical integration and the scope of the firm. Global strategy and the multinational corporation. Diversification. Implementing corporate strategy. External growth strategy. Organization structure and management systems. Corporate social responsibility. Corporate governance. Current trends in strategic management.

The textbook of the course is a collection of readings (chapters) from: Robert Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Wiley, 2019 (or more recent editions). Students can buy the selected chapters directly from the Wiley website or can buy the entire book online or in a bookstore. The cases and professor’s presentations will be available on the course website. To download the teaching material, students should register on the course website using the password CORPSTRAT2023A.

The course is based on a rich set of teaching methods, including lectures, case and incident discussions, and a project work. Lectures are used to introduce participants to corporate strategy theories and frameworks. Videos are used to present real life cases of companies’ business models. Case and incidents are used to refine the ability of participants to analyze real company situations. The project work is used to help students to improve their ability to collect, analyze, assess and present their view on the corporate strategy of a company. Change management simulation is used to expose students to the critical nature of context when attempting to lead change, and the need to make assumptions but adjust when experience does not support those assumptions. Readings are a useful support to the learning experience in class.

Attending students The grade will be the result of: a) a written exam (30%); b) a group project (40%) – see later; c) a group simulation on change management (20%); d) individual contribution to case discussion (10%, depending on the number and the value of individual contributions). Not attending students Students that cannot attend classes should do an individual project exploring the corporate strategy of a firm. They may contact professors for further information. In addition, the written exam will also cover: Porter M., Competitive advantage – Creating and sustaining superior performance, Simon & Schuster, New York. For not attending students, the final grade will be the result of the written exam (50%) and the individual project (50%). All students who reject the assessment during the course work (i.e., simulation, individual class contribution and project work) becomes automatically not attending students.

pass the exam

Yes