Economics of Strategy [Hardcover]

David Besanko (Author), David Dranove (Author), Mark Shanley (Author), Scott Schaefer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047121213X | ISBN-13: 978-0471212133 | Publication Date: July 22, 2003 | Edition: 3

Covering the broad sweep of modern economics and strategy research, this comprehensive book broke new ground in its original edition by applying modern economic principles to study the firm's strategic position. Completely updated and revised, this new edition integrates recent insights from the theory of the firm, industrial organization, and strategy research, while building upon a strong theoretical and empirical foundation familiar to academics working in economics and strategy.
New co-author Scott Schaefer adds his expertise on organizational economics
New chapters on performance evaluation and strategic fit
Hundreds of examples ground theory in the everyday activities of the firm and show how the economic principles of strategy actually work
A unique, modern treatment of topics

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…the book seeks to supply an economic lens for viewing the broad sweep of the strategic activities of the firm.” (Times Higher Education Supplement, Thursday 28th February 2008) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From the Publisher

Designed to engage and challenge students, this comprehensive book applies modern economic principles to study a firm's strategic position. The first section focuses on a company's boundaries, economics, transactions costs, economies of scale and scope and diversification. The second part deals with industrial organization economics such as market structure and dynamic price competition and concludes with four detailed industry analyses. The third segment covers strategic positioning and dynamics. The final section offers topics associated with internal organization. Contains hundreds of examples to illustrate how the economic principles of strategy apply to the actual business world. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 656 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 3 edition (July 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047121213X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471212133
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good update but not 100% correct, September 11, 2006

By 

L. Skoufa (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Economics of Strategy (Hardcover)

I teach strategic management to undergraduates at an Australian university and have used the 2nd and 3rd editions of this book in the past three years to supplement the theory from our prescribed texts. It is heavy going in some places for the students but I like the book's rigour. The only criticism I have is that the 4th edition I just received has some minor errors. For example, pages 20-21 in the "Economic Profit versus Acccounting Profit" section has errors in the figures quoted for economic profit for McDonalds and Starbucks. I think this has occured because the 3rd edition figures have been carried over to the 4th edition without a proper proof-reading. Another minor mistake is that Table 10.2 (page 329) should read "Five-Forces Analysis of the Commercial Aciation Industry" and not "Five-Forces Analysis of the Chicago Hospital Market". Sorry to be pedantic but I guess these things can detract from the perceived quality of an otherwise top-quality text. Please note I will be buying your next edition in a couple of years. Cheers from "DownUnder Australia!"

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Coverage but..., March 19, 2002

By A Customer

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This review is from: Economics of Strategy, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

Filled with the most current information and packed full of the latest theories, this book delivers on it's promise to deliver an analytical base for economic strategy.

But some sections contain high fog counts and complicated discussions to describe relatively simple concepts.

Some of the examples offered as proof of theory seem forced. Instead of proving the theory, they show that other (undiscussed) strategic influences are at work. While expanded awareness is definitely a good thing, such examples tend to undermine the theories they purport to prove.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clearing the fog in tackling corporate strategy, August 27, 2003

By 

Govindan Nair (Vienna, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Economics of Strategy (Hardcover)

For those who have become disenchanted with the faddish rhetoric of corporate strategy, and seek more rigorous analytical grounding than offered in most "inspirational" business books, this text by three faculty members of Northwestern University and of Purdue University is refreshing.

The text recapitulates the key tools of micreconomic theory in a masterful introductory chapter which covers cost theory and game theory. The rest of the book is structured around the four classes of issues which the authors see as the essence of strategic analysis: firm boundaries, market and competitive analysis, position and dynamics, and internal organization.

The text is full of excellent examples and mini case studies from a wide range of industries.

I have not found it easy to find many other texts which achieve this balance of analytical rigor and practical business-oriented empirical focus.