Corporate Level Strategy
Papers:
Week 1
o Introduction lecture & slides
Week 2
o Boyd, J. L. and Bresser, R. K. 2008. Performance implications of delayed
competitive responses: evidence from the U.S. retail industry. Strategic
Management Journal, 29: 1077-1096
o Nadkarni, S., Chen, T. and Chen, J. 2016. The clock is ticking! Executive temporal
depth, industry velocity, and competitive aggressiveness. Strategic Management
Journal, 37(6): 1132-1153
Week 3
o Sirmon, D.G., Hitt, M.A., Arregle, J.L. and Campbell, J.T., 2010. The dynamic
interplay of capability strengths and weaknesses: investigating the bases of
temporary competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 31(13),
pp.1386-1409
o O Schilke, 2014. On the contingent value of dynamic capabilities for competitive
advantage: The nonlinear moderating effect of environmental dynamism, Strategic
Management Journal 35 (2), 179-203
Week 4
o Flammer C. 2013. Corporate Social Responsibility and Shareholder Reaction: The
Environmental Awareness of Investors, Academy of Management Journal, 56(3):
758-781
o Hawn, O. and Ioannou, I. 2016. Mind the gap: The interplay between external and
internal actions in the case of corporate social responsibility. Strategic Management
Journal, 37: 2569-2588. doi:10.1002/smj.2464
Week 5
o Hatch, N.W. and Dyer, J.H. (2004), Human capital and learning as a source of
sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 25: 1155-1178.
https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.421
o Riley, S. M., Michael, S. C. and Mahoney, J. T. 2017. Human capital matters: Market
valuation of firm investments in training and the role of complementary assets.
Strategic Management Journal, 38: 1895-191
Week 6
o Cassiman and Veugelers 2006. In Search of Complementarity in Innovation
Strategy: Internal R&D and External Knowledge Acquisition. Management Science,
52 (1)
o Klingebiel, R. and Joseph, J. (2016), Entry timing and innovation strategy in feature
phones. Strategic Management Journal, 37: 1002-1020
1
,Week 1: Introduction class
What is corporate strategy?
Corporate vs. business strategy
The corporate growth trap
‘We must expand, we must purse size, we must grow at any costs, because if we are
bigger, we’ll be more profitable’
There is no systematic link between the size and profitability of a multi-business firm
Corporate growth aims at increasing corporate profits and profitability not at increasing
corporate sales ‘per se’
What is corporate strategy about?
1. Where?
2. How?
3. Why?
2
,1. Where?
Business Development (BD)
o More of extant activities
Horizontal expansion (HE)
o Combining extant activities with new activities
o Varying levels of relatedness
Vertical Expansion (VE)
o Internal production of activities formerly
outsourced to specialized firms
Forward VE: Zara: from raw materials to
stores
Backward VE: Total: from oil distribution to oil
exploration
Backward vertical integration/expansion
Moving up the value chain
Forward vertical integration/expansion
Moving down the value chain:
Unrelated horizontal diversification
E.g., from aircraft to pizza
Examples
Criteria to judge, usually 5
1. Technology the same?
2. Suppliers the same?
3. Competitors
4. Buyers
5.
Previous relationship means vertical integration
For vertical integration means that before the transaction you are supposed/could have worked
with a supplier, so you could have a market relationship
2. How?
Build
o Greenfields
o Corporate venturing
o Internal development
o Exports
Blend
o Alliances & JVs
o Equity sharing
o Technology partnerships
Buy
o Mergers & acquisitions
o Technology licensing
3
, o Franchising
The ‘corporate expansion matrix’
3. Why?
Decreased input cost
Refers to economies from procurement, when purchasing in bulk.
Decreased production cost
Refers to scale economies or scope economies. Offsetting fixed cost on greater volumes.
The Grand Challenge
Logics for corporate growth
4
