Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Strategic success is not created by a mission statement, an ambitious goal, or a collection of disconnected initiatives. It emerges from a coherent system of choices concerning where an organization will compete, how it will create value, which capabilities it must develop, and what it will deliberately choose not to pursue.

In Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage, Professor Law introduces an advanced, applied approach to strategic analysis and execution. The course is designed for graduate students, doctoral learners, managers, executives, consultants, entrepreneurs, and professionals who want to think more rigorously about organizational strategy.

Throughout the course, you will examine strategy as an interconnected system rather than a static plan. You will learn how industry structure affects profitability, how organizations establish a defensible competitive position, and how internal resources and capabilities contribute to competitive advantage.

You will apply the VRIO framework to distinguish ordinary organizational resources from capabilities that are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and properly supported. You will also investigate how business models create, deliver, and capture value—and why meaningful strategy requires difficult trade-offs.

The course concludes by connecting strategic thinking with execution. You will explore how leaders translate strategic intent into priorities, ownership, resources, performance measures, and organizational learning. You will also examine why competitive advantages erode and how organizations can renew them as markets, technologies, and customer expectations evolve.

A continuing organizational scenario involving Apex Mobility Systems connects the concepts across the lectures. This allows you to approach strategic challenges as an executive decision-maker rather than simply memorizing terminology.

By the end of the course, you will possess an integrated framework for analyzing competition, evaluating organizational capabilities, designing coherent business models, and converting strategy into sustainable performance.