Economics of Strategy, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

by David Besanko (Author), David Dranove (Author), Mark Shanley (Author)

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 the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
This comprehensive book applies modern economic principles to study a firm's strategic position. The book integrates 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. The broad sweep of modern economics and strategy research is organized and presented in an appealing format. Many topics dovetail with important current research agendas. In this edition, the authors have completely reworked their discussions of a number of difficult topics, such as "make or buy fallacies", competitor identification, commitment, and strategic positioning. They also introduce a "make or buy issue tree" and an "industry analysis checklist" that readers should find very useful when assessing make or buy decisions and performing five forces analyses.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 656 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (July 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471254541
• ISBN-13: 978-0471254546
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #540,523 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 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)

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!"

11 of 13 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.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, March 15, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Evanston,IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Economics of Strategy (Hardcover)

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.