• 15.900
• 15.949
• 15.991

This course introduces some basic concepts, frameworks and methodologies useful to managers formulating and implementing both business-unit and corporate-level strategy.

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This course provides an opportunity for students to present their work and received honest, yet constructive feedback on how to improve their research papers. (Second year students present a draft of their Part II paper; Third year students present dissertation proposals; Fourth year students present early versions of job talks; Fifth year students present an essay from their dissertation).

The seminar is required for SIM students beyond the first year (though all first year students are welcome); most MTIE students take the seminar; OS and IWER students are obviously welcome to attend, comment, and present.

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This class builds upon the concepts of industry analysis and capabilities analysis, extends the frameworks, and applies them to non-market settings. We will learn and utilize frameworks and analytical tools, apply these tools to cases, and generate an interactive class discussion of these tools.

Competitive advantage is generally derived from two sources: 1) the internal capabilities and resources of the firm, and 2) the positioning of the firm in the external market environment. However, competitive advantage can also be obtained through the molding of, and response to, the non-market business environment-- the rules, regulations, and institutions under which capabilities are formed and competition takes place. Barriers to entry, new product introduction, global competition, and firm strategies can all be enhanced or constrained by the formal and informal "rules of the game." The government, the media, non-governmental institutions, legal rules, and international treaties and norms all impact how firms compete and what capabilities are valuable. This is true for many industries, from telecommunications to biotechnology to automobiles. The challenge for managers is determine how to lead the company to maximize profitability in the marketplace, while guiding the company through the non-market environment. Unfortunately, the tools and frameworks of strategic management do not lend themselves to an understanding of the non-market environment or integrated strategy. The problems managers face in the non-market environment are different in nature from market strategies. They involve interests that may cooperate in one instance, and then compete in another. They involve competitive institutions that behave quite differently from the market. Finally, the political and regulatory environment moves and shifts quickly; there are vast amounts of uncertainty about the nature and evolving direction of "rules of the game," giving rise to new issues that were not foreseen. This indeterminacy is enhanced in high technology industries. This course focuses on the strategic management of the non-market environment from the view of managers and consultants. By examining the non-market environment from the perspective of issues, interests, and institutions, 15.991 focuses on developing frameworks that allow managers to analyze the non-market environment and practicing the deployment of those frameworks in the development of effective non-market strategies.

[more info] - MBA restricted