• The thoroughness of the understanding of the relevant strategy theory.
• The ability to choose and apply relevant theories to solve the case problem(s), establish link to the relevant academic literature, integrate case data and information with analysis frameworks and theory.
• The quality of the case analysis in terms of relevance of aspects and issues discussed.
• The consistency as well as stringency in reasoning.
• The ability to reflect critically on own conclusions and recommendations.

The decision to enter new markets is among the most consequential choices that managers can make. Some firms achieve dramatic growth rates by reaching new customers while others are crushed by global competitors. Firms can maximize their odds for success by developing a comprehensive understanding about the strategic assets underpinning their competitiveness and whether they can be transferred to other markets. The competences for performing such a strategy analysis before a firm decides to enter new markets are at the heart of this course.

Students will acquire knowledge about state of the art concepts and frameworks from corporate strategy. They will be able to perform strategic analyses of their own firm and evaluate the competitiveness of competitors. Further, students will acquire competences in considering the wider consequences of firm strategy for technological progress and addressing grand challenges. By concluding the course, students should be able to assess strategic potentials comprehensively and communicate strategic choices convincingly to relevant stakeholders.

This course is part of the minor 'International Marketing and Management (IMM)'. Students following this minor will develop the analytical skills to assess the strategic position of their firm which complements the customer-centric perspective of the rest of the minor, e.g., designing an international marketing strategy. Students who do not want to follow the minor are equally welcome to choose this elective course. Strategy analysis skills are per se important in professions such as strategy consulting or business development.

The course is designed to provide students with all capabilities expressed in the Nordic Nine Framework (NN) with two aspects sticking out. First, students will learn to rely on theoretical frameworks and apply them to concrete cases in small teams. That provides them with learning opportunities for reducing ambiguity in business problems and decomposing complexity in these problems as a basis for a productive, collaborative analysis in which opinions might diverge initially (NN 2/6). Second, the course exposes students to research that considers the wider consequences for technological change and/or addressing societal grand challenges (NN 3/7).

The course is based on a combination of a textbook, scientific articles and case studies. The textbook, which will be available in the bookshop “SL books”, is the latest edition of: Robert M. Grant.  Contemporary Strategy Analysis. The additional readings for the ten sessions are listed in the course outline on Canvas. All additional readings can be accessed via the CBS library homepage.

Some of the case studies used in this course need to be bought separately. You can access the Harvard Business School Publishing website to purchase these additional cases. Please note that the case providers charge a fee for the use of each case. All students are individually responsible for purchasing the cases. Violations of copyright laws are not appropriate.

Please note that there might be some changes in the final readings before the respective session. These changes will be announced in class or via Canvas which will also be used to communicate other course-related information such as illness of teachers.