Course content
PROGRAM IN DETAILS AND SESSIONS
1. Introduction to the course and to Diversification
Introduction to the course contents, methodology. Introduction to Diversification Strategies
Objectives: Motives of corporate diversification. How to plan a successful diversification strategy. Diversification and Performance.
2. Growth and strategic models
Models of growth and their fit with models of industry and technology dynamics.
Exit options and shake-outs.
Objectives: Identify growth and entry opportunities at different stages of industry technology cycles.
3. The five fundamental entry strategies
How IP impacts strategic choices. Entry strategies 1 and the non-entry option.
Objectives: Fitting firm and IP strategies to growth and entry options.
4. Entry strategies II, Judo strategy -- entering the product market and growing the new firm
Product markets vs markets for ideas.
How to deter attacks from incumbents using strategic alliances and mutual forbearance.
Objectives: Balancing own expansion while avoiding attacks.
Action choices for the new firm.
5. Strategic decision making by boundedly rational agents in organizations 1: The individual level
How are strategic decisions defined and what are their particularities/challenges? What are the theoretical foundations of individual level strategic decision making? Rational choice vs. Behavioral limitations. How do individual level biases map to the strategic decision making process? What are heuristics and biases? Which techniques help to overcome behavioral limitations in strategic decision making? Decision tree
6. Strategic decision making by boundedly rational agents in organizations 2: The organizational level
How do organizations (defined as social entities) affect individuals’ behavioral limitations? What is the difference of strategic decision making by individuals vs. organizations? Which tools can be used to improve strategic decision making in organizations. Frameworks in general. Choice architecture
7. Managing corporate growth: The growth corridor
Why is growth essential for the survival of organizations? What are the (upper and lower) limits of growth? How to determine a growth corridor, which helps to determinate growth boundaries of an for-profit organization
8. Competitive dynamics in digital markets
What are digital markets? What types of digital markets we have? How do they differ from traditional markets”? How to think about market boundaries and competition in digital markets? What are the competitive strategies in digital markets and how do they differ from competitive strategies in traditional markets?
Objectives: Difference of digital markets and traditional markets. How to assess competition in digital markets. How to design competitive strategies in digital markets
9. Platform-based disruption of traditional sectors
What is platform disruption? Platform disruption vs. Disruptive innovation. Types of platform disruption. Pre-conditions and predictors of platform disruption
Objectives: When are incumbent firms most likely to be disrupted by platforms. What is platform disruption and how it unravels. Predictors of platform disruption.
10. Ecosystem design and strategy
Ecosystems: what they are and why they matter. Ecosystems vs. platforms. Ecosystem emergence and strategy. Strategies for leveraging ecosystems
Objectives: Ecosystems: understanding the firm’s broader environmental context. How to design a successful ecosystem strategy: building your own ecosystem vs. playing in others’ ecosystems
11. Corporate Entrepreneurship + Course Wrap-up
Innovation in large incumbents. Corporate Venture Capital
Objectives: Understand the innovation challenges in large organizations. Introduction to collaborations between large firms and startups via equity investments.
TUTORIALS
1. IP Strategy
IP strategies for my project -- patent and trademark searches.
Objectives: Being able to quickly find information about what others do in your product category. Understanding if you have the right to practice
2. Platforms
Platform design (how to design a platform business model) Ecosystem design (how to design an ecosystem structure)
Objectives: Actionable tools to design platform business model and ecosystem strategy
3. Decision-Making
Experiments on bounded rationality in organizations Experiments on decision-making biases
Objectives: Understanding decision-making biases
See course description in course catalogue