MARKETS AND STRATEGIES

The goals of the course are: • To introduce participants to market analysis and strategic management • To show how to apply a set of tools that are useful in strategic analysis • To enhance participants’ creativity and problem solving abilities • To present companies’ best practices across a broad range of industries and settings • To improve familiarity with current challenges and issues in strategy development. The course will have a strongly interactive approach; students will be asked to form groups and discuss papers and case studies.

Knowledge of English, basic knowledge of economics and general and management principles.

• Knowledge and comprehension ability: at the end of the course the student will have acquired the ability to understand the complex relations between a firm’s resources and competencies, the structural and dynamic characteristics of markets and competition, and the firm’s long term performance. • Ability to apply knowledge to specific cases: the student will be asked to apply the theoretical concepts to concrete examples, through the presentation and discussion of case studies for which the instructor will provide questions that require the application of interpretive models and theoretical concepts to the concrete reality of specific firms and markets. • Judgment autonomy: at the end of the course the student will have acquired the ability to analyze problems and to identify information necessary for their solution. More specifically, students will develop competencies in critical thinking, problem solving, self-management, teamwork, communication, which will make disciplinary competencies more applicable to concrete contexts. • Learning abilities: the course is aimed at providing the student with the methodological skills, cognitive tools and abilities that will allow him/her to apply the principles of strategic management to the reality of specific market contexts.

The course will focus on trying to flesh out a set of complicated answers to a very simple question: “what allows certain firms to persistently earn positive economic profits, while others deliver negative returns and ultimately are forced to exit the market?” The answers will involve analyzing the basic competitive structure of different types of markets, and trying to understand the ultimate determinants of a firm's profitability and of persistence of differentials in firms' profits industry-wide. Topics covered will include: • Market structure and competition • Resource based view of the firm • Sources of competitive advantage • Technological change and innovation • Blue Ocean, business model innovation and platform-based innovation • the timing of entry in new markets Cases discussed will include: Netflix, Google, Nvidia, Amazon, Airbnb, Apple, Microsoft, TikTok.

ATTENDING STUDENTS: Slides + notes taken in class for the theory part (slides are taken from the textbook Contemporary Strategy Analysis, R. Grant (2021), John Wiley & Sons Inc., ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11) Case studies discussed in class NON ATTENDING STUDENTS: Contemporary Strategy Analysis, R. Grant (2021),  John Wiley & Sons Inc.), all the book

The course will be very applied, and theory and cases will be mixed in the following way: - some of the sessions will be devoted to covering theoretical arguments by means of frontal lectures, following the topics and book chapters indicated above. Lectures will be interactive and enriched by self-evaluations moments using Mentimeter. - starting from the third week, some classes on campus will be devoted to groupwork to be done at home and in class. For the session, the instructor will provide all groups with a short case study to read, and with some assignments regarding the case. Groups will work on the assignment, which will have to be uploaded by a time specified by the instructor. Some groups will be invited to present their assignment and general discussion will follow. Groups who will be absent will receive a penalty. All reports will be graded and will contribute to final grade.

Evaluation will differ depending on whether or not you decide to participate in group activities and to attend classes. To be qualified as attending student you must be registered as member of a group. Rules for attending students: during the first week groups of AT MOST 6 students each will be formed. Each group will be required to participate in some groupwork activities in class. The instructor will provide all necessary material and input at the beginning of class, and groups will have to work on a report to be uploaded at the end of class. Then, the instructors will select some groups to present the main results of their report and other groups to discuss it. All reports will be evaluated. Attending students will be evaluated in the following way: Groupwork 40% Final exam (written examination): 60% 0.5 points assigned for regular attendance and active participation (on an individual basis) Non attending students will be evaluated in the following way: Final exam: 100% The final exam will consist in a set of multiple choice questions aimed to verify the degree of comprehension of the theory part and the ability to apply it to concrete examples, plus open answer questions that will be drawn from the questions discussed in class. The exam is designed in such a way that the student must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the main topics explained in class, knowing how to apply them to the practical cases analyzed throughout the course. The student will have to be able to independently analyze the relevant managerial and strategic models and theories and correctly use the technical vocabulary, thus demonstrating that he/she has achieved the study method and the learning ability necessary to continue the deepening of the matter. For the purposes of assigning a mark out of thirty, the following evaluation criteria will be taken into account for the evaluation of performance during the final exam and during groupwork activities • knowledge and understanding of the institutions and the principles of the subject and ability to apply them to concrete cases; • ownership of the technical lexicon, ability to consult and evaluate relevant sources and acquisition of the study method;

The criteria for the thesis assignment will be communicated at the beginning of the course