Competitive Strategy (42001)
This course applies microeconomics, particularly the economics of industrial organization, to analyze decisions managers face in business environments. We focus on strategic decisions that impact profitability.
In the first half, we take a price-theory approach, assuming rivals’ actions are fixed to isolate key tradeoffs that managers face. The second half uses a game-theory approach, where managers’ actions directly affect their rivals’ payoffs, and vice versa.
Topics include pricing, positioning, industry profitability, entry and exit, boundaries of the firm, commitment, cooperation, deterrence, network effects, and multisided platforms.
[Access syllabus here. Access week 1's readings and reading guide here.]