Games Businesses Play: Cases and Models [Hardcover]

Pankaj Ghemawat (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0262071827 | ISBN-13: 978-0262071826

Game theory has come to dominate industrial organization economics, but business strategists continue to debate its usefulness. So far, empirical work on the application of game theory to business strategy has been too limited to force a consensus. As a (partial) remedy, Games Businesses Play uses detailed case studies of competitive interaction to explore the uses and limits of game theory as a tool for business strategists.Because they are analytical rather than descriptive, the case studies are not typical teaching cases. The cases are paired with customized game-theoretic models that cover a wide range of commitment decisions, from short-run commitments such as price to longer-run commitments such as capacity expansion and reduction, product and process innovation, and battles for market share. A variety of quantitative and qualitative techniques are used to test the models' predictions on case data. In addition the book sheds light on a number of other issues important to strategic management, including the resource-based view of the firm and the emergent theory of dynamic capabilities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is the best kind of advertisement for game theory. Lively,provocative and challenging, it offers a fresh approach to a fascinatingarray of problems in business strategy." John Sutton , London School of Economics

About the Author

Pankaj Ghemawat is the Jaime and Josefina Chu Tiampo Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and the Chairman of Harvard University's Ph.D. Program in Business Economics.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 255 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (August 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262071827
• ISBN-13: 978-0262071826
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,554,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Applied game theory for managers and economists, November 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Games Businesses Play: Cases and Models (Hardcover)

The author applies his breadth of practical and academic experience (ex-McKinsey consultant and Harvard Business School Professor) to create a range of practical case studies in applied game theory. There's a good balance here - the economists will like the theoretical rigor but it's still accessible to the general reader. Useful either as an introduction to game theory for managers, or a source of case examples for the more advanced student.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Games Busineses Play : Cases and Models, December 27, 1999

By 

Millard M Klein - See all my reviews

This review is from: Games Businesses Play: Cases and Models (Hardcover)

Pankaj Ghemawat applies the Harvard Business School concept of case studies to game theory. Ghemawat's intent is to demonstrate that game theory is applicable to business strategy. Overall Gemawat makes a strong case for the practical aplication of game theory to business strategies. The book is useful for teaching graduates and undegraduate students a practical use of game theory. The writing style is somewhat clunky but rereading each case 3 or 4 times is worth the effort. The calculus and statistics is somewhat complex for a non-specialist , however the basic ideas are presented clearly. Overall this is a challenging book that presents game theory in a more sophisticated manner than found in the customary introductory books that rely on the cook book recipe presentation.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not user friendly, August 2, 2001

By 

"jankensgard" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Games Businesses Play: Cases and Models (Hardcover)

Writing in a intuitive and straightforward way is not one of mr Ghemawats talents, at least judging from this book. His intention when writing this book seems to have been to encourage fellow academics to use the case study method to explore the usefulness of game theory and bring it closer to practitioners.

My backgound is that I have roughly 50 academic credits in economics (mostly financial) and I have read some introductory level game theory texts, and I was at a loss when looking at the game theoretic models that Ghemawat uses. I understood most of the analytics though and there is some pretty interesting material covered in this book. But I don't think the general reader of strategy literature will get that much out of it.

If you have a strong background in micro economic theory/game theory and like seeing it applied on business, you'll probably get a huge kick out of reading this book. Ghemawhat is very careful to report how the models are set up and adapted to the situation. Great stuff if you happen to like that sort of thing.

Before reading it, I had a huge over-belief in what game theory could accomplish, but after reading this book I have a much more realistic view of its limitations (in applied business strategy at least).