Competitive Strategy is concerned with managing the development and competitive position of the business enterprise in order to ensure its survival and long-term success. Every firm must create and sustain a competitive advantage if it is to survive and prosper. This course provides frameworks, tools and concepts to help students analyze and understand the creation and sustainability of competitive advantage. Political, economic, demographic and social environments differ and evolve across industries. Industries differ in the extent to which they provide opportunities for sustained profitability. Industries also evolve over time, providing firms with continuously changing opportunities and threats. While industry analysis provides firms insights into what they must do to succeed, it does not shed much light on what they can do. Resource and capability analysis provides an insight into firms’ strengths and weaknesses (as they relate to the external environment). An understanding of internal strengths enables firms to fully exploit and build their capabilities to compete successfully, while an understanding of internal weaknesses suggests recommendations for improvement. Every firm seeks to obtain a unique and sustainable competitive position through an appropriate configuration of its assets and products in relation to the external environment in order to generate superior value for its customers. The course examines distinct business strategies with particular emphasis around competitive positioning, low-cost and differentiation, and vertical integration.

Dates

Duration: 2 - 12 July 2018
Place: S13, Faculty of Business and Economics, Peter Merian-Weg 6

Monday 02.07.2018: 09.00-11.30
Tuesday 03.07.2018: 09.00-11.30
Wednesday 04.07.2018: 09.00-11.30
Thursday 05.07.2018: 09.00-11.30

Monday 09.07.2018: 09.00-11.30
Tuesday 10.07.2018: 09.00-11.30
Wednesday 11.07.2018: 09.00-11.30
Thursday 12.07.2018: 09.00-11.30

Exam

Grading will be based on your performance in class participation, two case write-up submissions, and a final exam.

The grading weights are as follows:
Class Participation 30%
Case Write-ups (2) 30%
Final Exam 40%:

Final Exam: 13 July 2018, 12:15 - 13:45 (S15)

Recommended Prerequisites

Solid understanding of business and economics on the BA level

Game Theory and Theory of the Firm (40106)
Product Management (Produktmanagement, 10653)
Advanced International Trade and Business (10625)

Course Information

• Course directory
• Syllabus (tbp)
• Reading Material: tbp

For further information please contact the <link de studium summer-school internal link in current>Summer School office.