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2021/2022  KAN-CCMVV2425U  The Strategy and Secret of Sustained Growth

English Title
The Strategy and Secret of Sustained Growth

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course First Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Jing Chen - Department of Strategy and Innovation (SI)
Main academic disciplines
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Marketing
  • Strategy
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 15-02-2021

Relevant links
Learning objectives
Through this course, students are expected to achieve the following learning outcomes:
  • Understand the fundamental concepts, economic principles and analytical frameworks in strategy
  • Develop the ability to identify strategic challenges faced by firms in various situations
  • Develop the ability to identify the strategic essence of the growth problem and learn how to use the tools to guide, test, and inspire intuition
  • Develop the techniques to correctly apply the tools and frameworks towards the analysis of business situations and articulate sensible solutions
Examination
The Strategy and Secret of Sustained Growth:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 15 pages
Assignment type Essay
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Autumn
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course draws on a wide range of strategic theories and perspectives to explore the roots of sustained growth in unusually successful firms. We take the classic strategic frameworks as our starting point and teach students the ways in which long-term competitive advantage is built. We then introduce students to the dynamic perspective of sustainable strategy based on game theory, and further develop a student’s ability to make superior decisions in settings defined by complex strategic interactions. Lastly, we bring in the most popular views of contemporary strategy to uncover more secrets of sustained growth in the era of internet and digitalization.

 

The modules included in this course belong to three main topics: (1) Creating and sustaining competitive advantage; (2) Making strategic decisions in competitive dynamics; and (3) In search of excellence in the era of internet and digitalization.
Description of the teaching methods
This course combines interactive lectures, case analyses, lively discussions and presentations. While the lectures provide a synthesized theoretical framework as the guidance for logical thinking, the case analyses, discussions and presentations offer an opportunity for students to integrate and apply the theoretical framework in a practical manner.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback is provided in the following ways:
1. During in-class discussions. During lively in-class discussions based on strategical theories and cases, immediate feedback is given to students' participation regarding how well they understand the key concepts, whether or not they make the right of the analytical model, and whether or not the analysis is performed correctly.

2. During the breaks. The break time is utilized to give students some quick clarifications on the learning points that remain unclear after class discussion.

3. Office hours. Students are encouraged to come to office hours. They can use this time to have more in-depth conversations with the professor about questions regarding strategic analysis. They can receive supervision on the preparation of presentation and final essay. They can also receive feedback on the performance of presentation and final essay, based on the evaluation criteria.
Student workload
Preparation 30 hours
Teaching 90 hours
Examination 86 hours
Expected literature

In addition to cases, the expected literature includes:

 

Porter, M. 1996. “What Is Strategy?”, Harvard Business Review

Mintzberg, H. 1987. “Crafting strategy”, Harvard Business Review

Porter, M.2007 “Understanding Industry Structure”, Harvard Business Publishing

Prahalad, C.K. and G. Hamel. 1990. “Core Competence of the Corporation”, Harvard Business Review

Ghemawat, P. and J. Rivkin. 2006. “Creating Competitive Advantage”, Harvard Business Publishing

Brandenburger, A. 2019. “Are Your Company’s Strengths Really Weakness”, Harvard Business Review

Brandenburger, A. 2019. “Strategy Needs Creativity”, Harvard Business Review

Brandenburger, A. and B. Nalebuff. 2021. “The Rules of Co-opetition”, Harvard Business Review

Yoffie, D. B. and M.A. Cusumano. 1998. "Judo Strategy: The Competitive Dynamics of Internet Time", Harvard Business Review

D. Collis. 1995. “The Scope of the Corporation”, Harvard Business Publishing

Anderson, Chris. 2004. “The Long Tail”, www.wired.com.

Simon, Herman. 2009. “Hidden Champions of the 21st Century”. Springer.

Gladwell, Malcom. 2007. “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference”. Hachette Audio.

Last updated on 15-02-2021