Details

This course presents the fundamentals of business strategy to a legal audience. The first part of the course introduces the basic framework for the analysis of strategy (economic and game-theoretic approaches to strategy, and competitive advantage). The second part encompasses organizational and contractual designs (pay-for-performance contracts, corporate control, the design of partnerships and other business associations, the horizontal and vertical scope of the firm, and the advantages of hybrid organizational forms such as franchising and joint ventures). The third part discusses special topics in competitive strategy (product differentiation, tacit collusion, facilitating practices, network externalities, market foreclosure, and innovation). The teaching method involves lectures and case discussion. The cases are selected for both their business strategy content and their legal interest. Although previous exposure to business strategy or economics is not required, the lectures focus on abstract frameworks and theoretic approaches. This course is well-suited for students interested in economic analysis of the law with a strong business focus. Because of the significant overlap with the MBA curriculum, this class is not appropriate for students in the JD-MBA program. Requirements include a final exam and several short written assignments.