48142 - Business Strategy

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course students are able to: - understand key strategic issues, tools and framework in business strategy; - analyze competitive environments and their evolution; - analyze and assess firms’ resources and competences; - interpret and evaluate firms’ strategic decisions; - develop team-working capabilities.

Course contents

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to how firms build and sustain competitive advantage across different industry contexts. Students will explore core strategic concepts and analytical tools that inform business decisions, including how to assess industry attractiveness, identify competitors, and choose between alternative growth strategies. Topics such as sources of competitive advantage, blue ocean strategy, first-mover advantage, vertical integration, and diversification are examined in depth. Through a combination of lectures, seminars with business professionals, hands-on exercises, and project work, students will develop the ability to think strategically and apply concepts to real business scenarios.

Structure of the course:

1. The concept of strategy
2. The concept of strategy (continued)
3. The industry
4. The industry (continued)
5. Industry attractiveness analysis
6. Industry attractiveness analysis (continued)
7. Competitive advantage
8. Competitive advantage (continued)
9. Tools for competitor identification
10. Tools for competitor identification (continued)
11. Blue ocean strategy
12. Blue ocean strategy (continued)
13. First-mover advantage
14. Vertical integration
15. Vertical integration (continued)
16. Diversification
17. Seminar with a business professional
18. Seminar with a business professional
19. Project work presentations
20. Project work presentations (continued)

Readings/Bibliography

Required Readings:

- Grant R. M. (2019). Contemporary strategy analysis. 10th edition, Wiley. Chapters: 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12.

Chapter 1: The Concept of Strategy

Chapter 3: Industry Analysis: The Fundamentals

Chapter 7: The Sources and Dimensions of Competitive Advantage

Chapter 8: Industry Evolution and Strategic Change

Chapter 10: Vertical Integration and the Scope of the Firm

Chapter 12: Diversification Strategy

- Slides prepared by the instructor, uploaded at the end of each week on the Virtuale online platform.

Supplementary Readings (Optional):

- Additional readings in the form of academic articles, which will be downloadable from the Virtuale online platform.

Teaching methods

The main instructional approaches used in the course are:

- Lectures

- Group Work

- Case Studies

- Seminars

Assessment methods

Class attendance is compulsory (students must attend at least 70% of the classes) and participation in team-work assignments is strongly encouraged.

The course evaluation will be the same for all students, regardless of their participation in the team-work assignment, as detailed below:

Component Maximum points

Final Exam 32

Group Project 4

A total score above 30 corresponds to “30 e lode” (i.e., Excellent).

- Final exam and group project structure:

The written exam includes approximately six multiple-choice questions, each worth two points, and two open questions or exercises, each valued at 10 points. The duration of the test is one hour.

The group projects involve analyzing the attractiveness of an industry and presenting the findings in a PowerPoint presentation. Working in teams of 3-5 members, students are to submit their presentations to the instructor before the end of the course, with deadlines to be communicated in class. While this activity is not mandatory, it is highly recommended and can contribute a maximum of 4 extra points to the final grade. The project work will be presented by each team in front of the class at the conclusion of the course.

The evaluation of the answers of the exam depends on the correctness, completeness and rigor of the answers.

The evaluation of the group projects depends on the completeness of the report and the rightness and completeness of the answers provided during an individual oral examination.

- Exam policy:

There will be a single final written exam. Students must register for the exam through the official university system within the specified deadlines. Grades will be published on the online platform after the exam.

There are three exam sessions per academic year. Students are allowed to retake the exam only once. This means that if a student rejects their grade from a previous exam session, the grade obtained in the next session must be accepted and cannot be rejected again.

For students participating in the team-work, the team-work grade—which will be added to the final exam grade—will remain valid for one academic year.

Grading scale:

< 18: failed

18-23: sufficient

24-27: good

28-30: very good

30 e lode: outstanding

Students with disability or specific learning disabilities (DSA) are required to make their condition known to find the best possible accommodation to their needs.

Teaching tools

Tools, platforms, or resources used during the course:

- Learning platform: Virtuale (virtuale.unibo.it) contains the slides and the team-work assignments

- Presentation software: PowerPoint

- Communication tools: Email; Teams; Forum on Virtuale

Office hours

See the website of Claudio Giachetti