Foundations of Strategic Management

COURSE OBJECTIVE
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
• Critically reflect on foundational texts and central approaches and theories in strategic management as well as recognize, understand, construct, and critically assess positions in (classical)  scientific debates in strategic management.
• Design and conduct a systematic literature review of strategic management literature.
• Design and conduct an empirical study of strategic management professionals.
• Articulate a well-substantiated positioning in relation to the strategic management field and reflect on individual learning progress and development.

COURSE CONTENT
The course aims to familiarize students with a number of classical and influential debates in the strategic management literature. This includes examining some of the “founding fathers” of strategy, such as Clausewitz and Sun Tzu, as well as the work of more contemporary management thinkers such as Michael Porter, Henry Mintzberg, Peter Drucker, and Alfred Chandler. Students will read both original texts as well as recent studies applying these perspectives, in order to gain a better understanding how classical debates inform current strategic management research and practice. In addition to acquiring general knowledge about the scientific field of strategic management, the focus is on critically reviewing the literature. Particular attention will be given to identifying and assessing different and potentially diverging positions in these central debates in the field. Students are thus invited and challenged to develop their own opinion and a genuinely scholarly attitude towards the literature. This approach will build on the dialectical approach, which has for instance been adopted in (international) strategy. This not only contributes to a deeper understanding of central debates in strategic management, but also provides an important basis for a students’ further development in this field.

TEACHING METHODS:
Lectures and Tutorials

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT
Research Paper – Individual assessment Essays based on readings – Individual assessment Literature review and presentation – Team assessment