Corporate strategy is the strategy a firm uses to compete across multiple businesses. Many small firms want to grow by entering new businesses. Many large firms already are in multiple businesses, e.g. a photo camera producer selling also sunglasses. We developed this course to help you make good corporate strategy decisions. Of the many decisions a firm has to make, corporate strategy decisions are among the most consequential.
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We will look at these key corporate strategy decisions:
- Diversification: How and which businesses should your firm enter?
- Divestiture: How and from which businesses should your firm exit?
- Corporate HQ: How should we organize corporate headquarters to create value across the different businesses?
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Corporate Advantage
Welcome to week 1! This week, we introduce corporate strategy and its main goal: corporate advantage. To deepen our understanding of corporate strategy, we compare it with business strategy. We also cover sum-of-the-parts analysis, an often used technique to value multi-business firms, and we discuss how it relates to corporate advantage.
WEEK 2
Diversification
Welcome to week 2! A key decision in corporate strategy is determining which businesses a firm should be active in. This week we look at the diversification decision: entering a new business. If you get stuck on the quiz or assignment, you should post on the Discussions to ask for help. (And if you finish early, I hope you'll go there to help your fellow classmates as well.)
WEEK 3
Divestiture
Welcome to week 3! A key decision in corporate strategy is determining which businesses a firm should be active in. This week we look at the divestiture decision: exiting from a business. If you get stuck on the quiz or assignment, you should post on the Discussions to ask for help. (And if you finish early, I hope you'll go there to help your fellow classmates as well.)
WEEK 4
Corporate Headquarters
Welcome to week 4! A key decision in corporate strategy is determining how to organize to create value across businesses. This week we look at corporate headquarters and how they can influence the different businesses. If you get stuck on the quiz or assignment, you should post on the Discussions to ask for help. (And if you finish early, I hope you'll go there to help your fellow classmates as well.)
