Strategy and Organizations

Why are some organizations more competitive than others? This is the defining questions of the interdisciplinary research field known as 'strategic management.' In this PhD seminar, we will survey the field of strategic management as seen from the perspective of 'macro' organizational behavior. The course takes a broad view of the field of strategic management, reflecting the diversity of perspectives that is seen in this field worldwide. Across this diversity, however, it is possible to identify four distinct theoretical approaches by noting the mechanisms that researchers think are generating outcomes. The course is structured around these four theoretical approaches, and one of the main objectives of the course is to help you identify, critique, and improve these theoretical approaches. Most work in strategic management pays less attention to particular theoretical perspectives, and is organized more by the topic - the phenomenon being studied - such as market exit, growth, performance, mergers and acquisitions, innovation, and the like. I have catalogued the research in strategic management both according to theoretical perspective and topic, and the skeleton of that structure can be seen in this syllabus. I encourage you to use a similar structure as you try to make sense out of the strategy field.