Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
Hanover, New Hampshire
COMPETITIVE AND GLOBAL STRATEGY
Winter 2004
Professor Helfat
302 Chase Hall
646-3423
helfat@dartmouth.edu
Assistant to Professor Helfat:
Tammy Stebbins
308 Chase Hall
646-0796
tammy.m.stebbins@dartmouth.edu
COMPETITIVE AND GLOBAL STRATEGY
Winter 2004
Course Overview and Objectives
This course is concerned with the formulation and analysis of business strategy. Business
strategy is the set of objectives and policies that collectively determine how a business
positions itself to increase its returns and create economic value for its owners and
stakeholders. Strategy is concerned with answering two central questions: “What
businesses should we participate in?” and “How should we compete?” In this course,
you will learn analytical techniques for diagnosing the competitive position of a business,
evaluating business strategies, and identifying and analyzing specific business options.
These concepts and frameworks will help you to learn to put structure on complex and
unstructured problems in business strategy, in order to provide a solid foundation for
managerial decision making.
Student Responsibilities
For the class to work well, and for you to benefit from it to the greatest possible extent,
preparation for each class meeting is essential. All students are expected to arrive at class
prepared to discuss the readings and case assigned for that day. Discussions of the
readings and cases will rely heavily on cold calls.
Course Materials
All of the materials for the course are contained in the course packet. If you wish to
purchase an additional textbook on your own, the syllabus contains readings from the
following three textbooks:
Besanko, David, David Dranove, Mark Shanley, and Scott Schaefer. 2003. Economics of
Strategy, 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons: New York.
Ghemawat, Pankaj with David J. Collis, Gary P. Pisano, and Jan W. Rivkin. 2001. Strategy
and the Business Landscape: Core Concepts. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Grant, Robert M. 2002. Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Concepts, Techniques,
Applications, 4th ed. Blackwell Publishers: Malden, MA.
Grading
The graded components of the course are as follows:
Individual Final Exam
Group Project
Class Participation
40%
30%
30%
Final Exam:
This will be a timed take-home exam during the scheduled final exam period. The exam
will cover the entire course and require you to demonstrate your mastery of the analytical
tools and frameworks covered in this course.
Group Project:
The group project is designed to help you learn to apply the tools and concepts covered in
this course to a strategic situation that interests you. The project may analyze an
industry, a firm or set of firms, a particular strategic initiative undertaken by a firm (such
as a merger or alliance) or a particular strategic situation faced by a firm or industry (such
as that created by a change in market demand or technology). The project consists of a
term paper plus an in-class presentation. A detailed handout explaining the projects will
be discussed during the first class session. For the project, the following assignments are
due:
Thursday January 29
Wednesday Feb. 26 and Thursday Feb. 27
Monday March 1
Project proposal due (1 page, single spaced)
Presentations in class
Project paper due
Class Participation:
Informed and engaged participation is an essential part of this class and is expected of
everyone. Learning opportunities are maximized when you are actively engaged in the
class discussion. Active engagement means that you are listening carefully to the
comments of your peers and seeking opportunities to make comments that move the class
discussion forward. Comments that reflect professionalism and respect for others are
important elements of class participation. Some of the key characteristics of valuable
class participation are as follows:
Relevance: Are your comments clearly related to the case and to the comments of
others? Does your comment stick to a subject or does it wander?
Advancement: Does your comment move the class discussion forward? Does it
take the discussion farther and deeper than the previous comments or does it
reiterate past comments?
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Fact-based: Have you used specific facts from the case and the readings to support
your analysis? Do the facts clearly support your analysis or do they leave open
other interpretations?
Logical: Is your reasoning consistent and logical or are there gaps in your logic?
Do you use concepts from the readings and lectures correctly?
Lack of preparation will result in a zero grade for class participation that day. If for some
reason you are not prepared for a particular class session, let me know before class. If you
“wing it” during class without adequate preparation, this will result in a substantial penalty
to your class participation grade.
Attendance Policy
Class discussion only works well if you are in class and actively participating. You are
expected to attend every class, unless you have an excused absence due to illness or an
emergency. It is your responsibility to notify me if either occurs. Missing a class for any
other reason will result in a zero grade for class participation for that day. It is Tuck
School policy that missing a class for an interview is not an excused absence. It is your
responsibility to work with recruiters and career services to minimize these kinds of
disruptions. If you must miss a class session for an interview, it is your responsibility to
notify me by e-mail in advance of class indicating the name of the firm and the reason for
the absence. This includes the Visiting Executive sessions, for which attendance is
mandatory. If the session that you will miss has class preparation questions, you must
submit answers to these questions to me in advance of class (in addition to any
assignments). Failure to send me your answers to the class preparation questions prior to
class time will result in a substantial penalty to your class participation grade.
Office Hours
My office hours are Monday, 3 to 5 pm. You can also make an appointment to meet with
me at another time by contacting me directly via email, phone, or at the end of class. In an
emergency, you may call me at home (603-643-4117).
Tuck Honor Code
The Honor Code applies to this course. The following statements define its role in this
course:
•
You should rely only on material listed in the syllabus in preparing for class.
•
Do not share insights from the case discussion or class handouts with students from
other sections who will attend a later class covering the same material.
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•
In accordance with Tuck policy, laptops may be used during the class period only for
note-taking purposes or under special circumstances that I will indicate during the
class session. Unless I explicitly ask you to do so, you may not use the Tuck Intranet
or the Internet. Consulting your email during class is strictly prohibited.
Miscellaneous
Students with learning disabilities or other special needs should contact me at the beginning
of the course to arrange for any accommodations that may be necessary.
A copy of all PowerPoint slides will be available in the course folder on the Tuck network.
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Course Outline
NB: Class preparation questions for each session will be sent to you a few days
before class by email.
Part I. BUSINESS STRATEGY
Session 1—Wednesday, January 7th
Topics:
Introduction to Strategic Analysis, Industry Structure Analysis
Readings:
1. Besanko, Dranove, Shanley, and Schaefer, “Introduction: Strategy and
Economics,” pp. 1-7.
2. Grant, “The Determinants of Industry Profit: Demand and Competition,”
and “Analyzing Industry Attractiveness,” pp. 67-83.
3. Note on the fencing industry.
Session 2—Thursday, January 8th
Topics:
Intra-industry Competition, Generic Strategies, Value Chain Analysis
Readings:
1. Grant, “Types of Competitive Advantage,” pp. 246-249.
2. Grant, “The Nature of Differentiation and Differentiation Advantage” and
“Analyzing Differentiation: The Demand Side,” pp. 278-282.
3. Grant, “Broad-based versus Focused Differentiation” and Analyzing
Differentiation: The Supply Side,” pp. 286-289.
4. Grant, “Bringing It All Together: The Value Chain in Differentiation
Advantage,” pp. 296-300.
Case:
Ducati (HBS #9-701-132)
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Session 3—Wednesday, January 14th
Topics:
Entry Strategy, Entry Deterrence
Reading:
1. R. Schmalensee, “Entry Deterrence in the Ready-to-Eat Breakfast Cereal
Industry,” Bell Journal of Economics, Autumn 1978, pp. 305-318.
2. Besanko, Dranove, Shanley, and Schaefer, “Entry and Exit Decisions:
Basic Concepts,” pp. 301-306.
Case:
The Ready-to-Eat Breakfast Cereal Industry in 1994 (A) (HBS #9-795-191)
Session 4—Thursday January 15th
Topics:
Rivalry, Game Theory, Game Trees
Readings:
1. Dixit and Nalebuff, Thinking Strategically, “Go Directly to Jail,”
pp. 11-14.
2. Dixit and Nalebuff, Thinking Strategically, “Anticipating Your Rival’s
Response,” pp. 31-44.
Case:
(continued) The Ready-to-Eat Breakfast Cereal Industry in 1994 (A)
(HBS #9-795-191)
Session 5—Thursday, January 22nd
Topics:
Added Value, Value Appropriation, Cooperative Game Theory
Reading:
Ghemawat, “Added Value,” pp. 58-60.
Case:
De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. (A) (HBS #9-391-076)
Session 6—Friday, January 23rd
Topics:
Participation Constraint, Hold-up
Reading:
Ghemawat, “Threats to the Appropriability of Added Value,” pp. 95-105.
Case:
(continued) De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. (A) (HBS #9-391-076)
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Session 7—Wednesday, January 28th
Topics:
Coopetition, The Value Net, Complementors
Reading:
Brandenburger and Nalebuff, Co-opetition, “Co-opetition,” pp. 11-39.
Case:
Power Play (A): Nintendo in 8-bit Video Games (HBS #9-795-102)
Note that there is a special noontime session today as well. See below.
Session 8—Wednesday, January 28th
Visiting Executive: Chris Shea, T ’77, Senior Vice President, General Mills and
President, General Mills Foundation
****** Note: All sections meet at NOON in Cook Auditorium******
Session 9—Thursday, January 29th
Note: Project proposals due at the start of class.
Topics:
Resource-based Analysis, Isolating Mechanisms, Entrepreneurial Entry
Reading:
R. Rumelt, “Towards a Strategic Theory of the Firm.”
Case:
The Murrayhill Company (A)
Sue Ellis, T’ 89, founder and CEO of the Murrayhill Company, will be speaking in class
today.
Session 10—Wednesday, February 4th
Topics:
Identifying Resources and Capabilities, Resource-based Competition
Readings:
1. Grant, “The Role of Resources and Capabilities in Strategy Formulation”
and “The Resources of the Firm,” pp. 132-144.
2. Articles on Amazon.com. You should also browse the Amazon.com
website.
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Session 11—Thursday February 5th
Topic:
Resource-based Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Readings:
1. Collis and Montgomery, “Competing on Resources.” (HBR Reprint #95403)
2. “How Well Does Wal-Mart Travel?”, Business Week, 2001.
Case:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (HBS #9-794-024)
Part II. CORPORATE STRATEGY
Session 12—Wednesday, February 11th
Topics:
Corporate Strategy, Corporate Advantage
Readings:
1. Grant, “Diversification Strategy,” pp. 456-460.
Case:
Newell Company: Corporate Strategy (HBS #9-799-139)
Session 13—Thursday, February 12th
Visiting Executive: Joe Galli, CEO, Newell-Rubbermaid
****** Note: All sections meet at NOON in Cook Auditorium ******
(Class will not meet at the regular time.)
Session 14—Wednesday, February 18th
Topics:
Diversification Strategies, Acquisition Strategies
Readings:
1. C. Montgomery, “Corporate Diversification,” The Journal of Economic
Perspectives, 1994, pp. 163-178.
2. C. Montgomery and B. Wernerfelt, “Diversification, Ricardian Rents, and
Tobin’s q,” RAND Journal of Economics, 1988, pp. 623-632.
3. L. Capron and N. Pistre, “When Do Acquirers Earn Abnormal Returns?”,
Strategic Management Journal, 2002, pp. 781-794.
4. “The CEO of HipHop,” Business Week, October, 27, 2003, pp. 90-98.
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Thursday, February 19th --- NO CLASS (due to extra class on Jan. 28th)
Session 15—Wednesday, February 25th
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
Session 16—Thursday, February 26th
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
Monday March 1st—Project papers due at noon.
Session 17—Wednesday, March 3rd
Topic:
International Diversification and Learning
Reading:
Ghemawat, Pankaj. “Building Strategy on the Experience Curve.”
(HBR Reprint #85206)
Case:
Honda (A) (HBS #9-384-049)
Session 18—Thursday, March 4th
Topic:
Strategic Change, Course Review
Reading:
“Mondavi at the Crossroads: Napa’s Most Famous Winery Faces an
Uncertain Future,” Wine Spectator, Oct. 15, 2003, pp. 46-65.
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