Customer Reviews

Economics of Strategy

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!"

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.

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.

Many business books provide models of competition, innovation, etc. without adequately reasoning how the models were reached. Whereas they provide solutions to a problem - they do not provide the understanding of how the solution is reached.
However, this book provides a sound reasoning for every model on the basis of microeconomics. Even apparently abstract concepts like organization structure are explained on the basis of economics. I personally feel that the concepts covered in this book have been ingrained in my mind.

This is the definitive review of strategic analysis concepts: their basis in economic theory and application in the real world of business.

Economics of Strategy is thee core textbook for strategy courses at the University of Chicago, but, ironically, it was written by members of the Northwestern University faculty. A great marriage of left and right brained strategic thinkers!

Well worth the time to understand and digest its many lessons on competitive strategy.

Well beyond the touchy-feely strategy approach, this book explores the details behind the economic reasoning of strategic decisions of the firm. Many examples, and theory that really forms the backbone of strategy. Excelent chapters on dinamics of pricing rivalry, isolating mechanisms of competitive advantage, vertical and horizontal integration, strategic positioning and more. Cover the basics and the advaced strategy knowledge in a well written manner. Very good MBA textbook.

This is the best overview of the economics behind firm strategy you can find. The coverage of the book is impressive. All economic principles are discussed in an accessible way, although you should have some understanding of basic microeconomics. Compared to a standard textbook in industrial organization the advantage of this text is a focus on real world issues and a vast amount of case studies. If you're in strategy and you like the views of Porter, Ghemawat and Nalebuff, this is the book for you.

Quite a good book: a clear and well organized view on the basic economic concepts behind strategy decision that, too often, are not taken into consideration. I used it to re-build the foundations to understanding strategic options.

This book treats strategy from a strong grounding in micro economics. Forces strategic thinking to be grounding in fundamentals unlike a lot of hand waving you see in other books. Highly recommended

This book offers a very modern approach on strategy, including economics foundations and numeric solving of the different strategic concepts analyzed. The book is not for everyone, you need to have basic knowledge on business management, economics and math. As an MBA manager and academic, the book gave me new vision and a strong base on the strategy concepts. I recommend this book for every MBA student and manager.