Competitive Strategy

Introduksjon

Please note that this is a preliminary course description. The final version will be published in June 2026.

The course explores the essences of competitive strategies from a bottom-up, microeconomic perspective. While sound macroeconomic policies and stable legal and political institutions create the potential for industrial competitiveness, wealth is actually created at the microeconomic and firm levels. The sophistication and productivity of firms, the innovation and entrepreneurship capacity, and the vitality of industrial clusters are the ultimate determinants of the productivity and innovation of firms, nations, regions, and industries.

Competitive strategies at both firm and other (e.g., cluster-, region-, and nation-) levels will be discussed. The course is targeting graduate students of business and strategy, but is also relevant for other specializations. Data analytics will be highlighted throughout the course. Students should be able to understand how to collect, match, and code data for essential competition analysis.

Kursets innhold

1. Firms and Industries

• Introduction to Competitiveness
• The Drivers of Competitiveness
• Industrial Contexts
• Five forces
• Entry barrier
• Supply-side bargaining power
• Demand-side bargaining power
• Industry platform
• Globalization and Internationalization of Firms
• Competitive dynamics
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship

2. Industrial Cluster

• The Diamond Model
• The Emerald Model: Assessing cluster strengths
• Clusters and Competitiveness
• Entrepreneurship Scale-up Strategies