Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage

This course builds a practical toolkit for strategic thinking, drawing on frameworks used by consultants and executives to analyze markets and make high-stakes decisions. You will learn how to assess industry attractiveness with Porter's Five Forces, evaluate internal capabilities with SWOT and the value chain, and identify genuine sources of competitive advantage using cost leadership, differentiation, and the resource-based view (VRIO). The course then moves into execution: translating strategy into measurable action with tools like OKRs and the balanced scorecard, understanding competitive dynamics, and sustaining an advantage over time as markets shift. By the end, you will be able to analyze a real company or industry, articulate where its advantage comes from (or is missing), and recommend a strategic path forward.