Course description

Title of the Teaching Unit

Economics of Strategy

Code of the Teaching Unit

13UGE10

Academic year

2024 - 2025

Cycle

Number of credits

Number of hours

Quarter

Weighting

Site

Anjou

Teaching language

English

Teacher in charge

KHATIBI Arastou

Objectives and contribution to the program

The course is part of the core curriculum and is at the edge between the theory of the firm, the organizational structure and the firm’s strategies. It goes beyond the course of Microeconomics by integrating the knowledge acquired in other management courses. That’s why it’s in Block 3. Along the course, we explore the strategic interactions that take place within the firm, between firms on markets, and between firms and the society as a whole, in a perspective of social and ecological sustainability. The general objective of the course is to provide students with conceptual tools to critically assess firms' strategies on the basis of ecological, social and economic criteria.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Knowledge of basic concepts in microeconomics as well as of the different functions of the firm (Marketing, Management, Finance, ...) is essential to understand the course and analyze concrete and current cases. A minimum of mathematical baggage is required.

Content

INTRODUCTION - Analyzing the firm’s environment

PART I - Social interactions

PART II – Theories of the firm
PART III – Structural analysis of the industry
PART IV – Analysis of the firm strategy
PART V – Firms’ strategies and the society

Teaching methods

(The teaching methods below might be subject to change depending on the evolution of sanitary conditions in Q2)

The classes are given in English over 13 weeks (Q2).

- The course accounts for 5 ECTS (= 125h of work, including classes, exams, exercises and personal work).
- About 28 hours are given under the form of ex-cathedra classes, pre-recorded narrated slides.
- About 16 hours (a bit more if the students find it useful) are organized as face-to-face classes (depending on the evolution of the sanitary conditions).
- Remaining time besides the narrated slides and face-to-face classes is dedicated to your personal work.

The ultimate goal is to give tools to the students to mobilize theoretical insights and take a critical step back from the theory, in order to assess real cases on the basis of ecological, economic and social criteria.

Assessment method

Depending on the evolution of the sanitary context, the exam might either take pace in class or online.

In both cases, the assessment takes the form of a written exam including multiple choices questions and open reasoning questions (closed book).

References

The course is based on three sources (all available, either at ICHEC’s Library, or online) :

“The Economy” (CORE-ECON, available here : https://core-econ.org/the-economy/index.html)
Lipczynski et al. (2017), Industrial Organisation. Competition, Strategy, Policy , Pearson Education, 5th Ed. (available at ICHEC’s library)
Philippon, T. (2019). The great reversal. Harvard University Press.