Economics of Strategy

Discover the art of strategic thinking

Revised and updated to reflect the cutting edge of academic thinking about business strategy, the Fourth Edition of Besanko, Dranove, Shanley, and Schaefer's highly acclaimed text offers a solid economic foundation for strategic analysis. By presenting basic concepts of economic theory with ideas in modern strategy literature, the book provides an economic lens for viewing the broad sweep of the strategic activities of the firm.

The book begins by focusing on the boundaries of the firm and examines competitive strategy from the perspective of industrial organization (IO) economics, particularly Porter's Five Forces. It then explores strategic positioning and dynamics as well as topics associated with internal organization, including personnel economics, organization structure, and strategic fit.

Features of the Fourth Edition
* Chapters on human resources management, entry, positioning, dynamics, technological change, and organizational structure are substantially revised.
* An updated chapter on business history covers the recent dot-com bubble.
* Presents economic principles without overemphasizing the math.
* Rigorous treatment of organizational topics such as structure and culture enables you to experience the full scope of strategic thinking.
* The authors use Porter's Five Forces as a tool for organizing industry analysis, building on the coverage of industrial organization and game theory. The text also considers the Value Net, another tool for organizing industry analysis.
* Includes coverage of make or buy decisions (Chapters 2-4) and benefit and cost advantage and sustaining advantage (Chapters 11-13).
* Fascinating examples, including many new to this edition, bring the economic models to life. Many of the examples involve businesses outside of the United States.

Professor David Besanko is the Alvin J. Huss Distinguished Professor of Management and Strategy at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Besanko is a Kellogg graduate, having received his PhD in Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences in 1982. He received his AB in Political Science from Ohio University in 1977. Before joining the Kellogg faculty in 1991, Professor Besanko was a member of the faculty of the School of Business at Indiana University from 1982 to 1991. In addition, in 1985, he held a post-doctorate position on the Economics Staff at Bell Communications Research. Professor Besanko's research covers topics relating to industry dynamics, competitive strategy, industrial organization, the theory of the firm, and economics of regulation. He has received grants from the National Science Foundation and from the Citicorp Behavioral Science Research Council to support this research.