Prerequisites Students are expected to have basic notions of microeconomics, business administration and marketing.

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1 Syllabus of Competitive Analysis (Giuseppe Volpato, Andrea Stocchetti) Purpose of the course The course aims at providing concepts and tools for the analysis of industry characteristics and evolutionary traits, together with theoretical and operational instruments for the competitive analysis at a business level. The learning objectives are: a) acquiring a critic view of strategic and competitive analysis; b) developing the ability to define the current and prospective competitive scenario in a industry; c) identifying an effective and efficient competitive strategy related to the industry structure and the specific firm s situation. Prerequisites Students are expected to have basic notions of microeconomics, business administration and marketing. Teaching method The course is divided into two parts, made of ten lectures each. The first part will focus on industrial structure and competitive analysis, while the second part will be related to techniques of competitive analysis at the business level. First Part Giuseppe Volpato Methodological Introduction The most relevant epistemological problems concerning Economics and Business Economics The dialectic relationship between Economic Environment & Economic Theory The Model: Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) A critical Assessment The concept of Industry Definition of Industry s Boundaries Competitive Advantages: Economies of Scale Economies of Scope Economies of Learning Differentiation Industrial Concentration Vertical Integration and Decentralization Diversification

2 Content and exams: Part 1: Giuseppe Volpato Industrial Structure and Competitive Analysis 1. Different Views in Industrial Economics 1.1 The Harvard School 1.2 The Applied Industrial Economics (J.S. Bain) 1.3 The Chicago School 1.4 The Game Theory School 1.5 Contestable Market Theory 1.6 The Strategic School 2. Pure Market Models 2.1 Perfect Competition (Definition, Equilibrium, Implications). 2.2 Monopoly (Definition, Equilibrium, Implications). 2.3 Oligopoly, (Definition, Equilibrium, Implications). 3. The Structure-Conduct-Performance Model 3.1 Assumptions of the Model 3.2 Functioning of the Model 3.3 Critical Evaluation of the Model 4. From Pure Models to Empirical Models 4.1 The Marshallian lesson: the Industry concept 4.2 Why do we need the Industry concept? 5. The concept of Industry and its use 6.1 Definition of Industry 6.2 Entry Barriers 6.3 Exit Barriers 6.4 Instability of Industry Boundaries 6. Competitive Advantages 6.1 Economies of Scale 6.1 At Plant level 6.2 At Firm level 6.2 Economies of Scope 6.3 Learning Economies 6.4 Other Sources of Advantages 7. Product differentiation 7.1 Definitions of product differentiation 7.2 Vertical and Horizontal differentiation 7.3 Product positioning 8. Industry concentration 8.1 Definitions of concentration 8.2 Measures of concentration

3 9. Vertical Integration and Network Relationships 9.1 Make or Buy Decisions 9.2 The Quasi-Vertical Integration 9.3 Vertical Relationships vs Network Relationships 10. Diversification 10.1 Concept and measures of diversification 10.2 Diversification between opportunities and threats Exams Written exam: paper on an issue to be agreed with the teacher Reading List Reference Books on the course topics are: Volpato G. (2008), Concorrenza Impresa Strategia, il Mulino, Bologna, III ed. Morvan Y. (1991), Fondements d économie industrielle, Economica, Paris, II ed. Scherer F.M. (1980), Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance, Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Papers A list of recommended readings will be suggested at the beginning of the course. Part II Andrea Stocchetti Tools and Techniques for Business Competitive Analysis - Introduction to Business Competitive Analysis - The competitive positioning concept; Ideal Product and Product Positioning Analysis - Product competitiveness analysis - The portfolio analysis approach: insights about BCG Growth-Share Portfolio Analysis, GE Business Screen Matrix, the MCC matrix. - Product Life-Cycle Analysis - SWOT Analysis and the competitive advantage concept - Customer Satisfaction Analysis - Importance Performance Analysis - Value Chain Analysis

4 Reading List Reference Book on the course topics is: - Fleisher C.S, Bensoussan B (2002), Strategic and Competitive Analysis: Methods and Techniques for Analyzing Business Competition, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River A list of article will be provided in electronic version at the beginning of the course; students are required to study these article in order to be able to describe and discuss them both during lectures and in the final exam. Exams and evaluation The final degree will be the weighted average of degrees obtained in four areas: - homework 10% - discussion and participation during lectures 20% - surprise test 30% - final exam 40% The surprise test will take place during one of the scheduled lesson and it will consist in a written exam (series of question and/or problems) to be developed in one hour and related to topics & article previously studied. The final exam will consist in a written report and a discussion.

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