“Why do some companies outperform others?” That question is particularly important to ask in industries which are fiercely competitive like the tech sector. Companies competing in these industries find it difficult to achieve competitive advantage and sustain it over the longer run. In this course, you will learn about 21st century competition, the forces driving it, and the challenges it poses for companies. Using that as the backdrop, you will learn how to analyze a company's external and internal environments and develop powerful strategies that allow companies to gain a sustainable competitive advantage even in fast-cycle markets. The course will describe companies that have successfully outperformed their competitors even in the fiercely competitive markets of the 21st century.


您将学到什么
Analysis of a company's opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses.
Different types of competitive strategies and how to choose them.
How do today's companies achieve long term success and profitability.
您将获得的技能
要了解的详细信息

添加到您的领英档案
13 项作业
了解顶级公司的员工如何掌握热门技能

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- 向行业专家学习新概念
- 获得对主题或工具的基础理解
- 通过实践项目培养工作相关技能
- 获得可共享的职业证书

该课程共有4个模块
Welcome to Competitive Strategy. In this course, we will cover the topics of: What is Competitive Strategy?, Competitive Advantage, and Choosing a Competitive Strategy. The 21st century competitive landscape is characterized by rapid technological change, increasing globalization, and intense competition. To succeed in such a challenging environment, companies need to have an effective competitive strategy to be successful over the long run. We will begin the process of developing such a strategy in this module by analyzing external factors that impact a company's performance. We will learn how to identify opportunities and threats in the macro-environment and to analyze forces that affect an industry's profitability. After completing this module, you will have a clear understanding of what competitive strategy is and how to analyze the external environment.
涵盖的内容
7个视频5篇阅读材料4个作业1个讨论话题
In this module, you will learn what competitive advantage is and how companies can generate it with a good competitive strategy. Competitive advantage is the firm’s ability to generate greater Economic Value Created (EVC), which is the difference between the maximum price customers are willing to pay for the company’s products or services (WTP) and the firm’s cost of producing and selling the product (COST), than the competitor’s EVC. The company’s internal resources help create competitive advantage when deployed with an effective strategy to exploit opportunities in the external environment. You will learn that certain resources which are valuable, rare, inimitable, and for which the company is well organized to exploit, can lead to sustainable or longer-term competitive advantage – which in turn drives long-term profitability. Finally, you will learn how to analyze the value chain activities and understand how they help generate competitive advantage. At the end of the module, you will learn how to analyze internal resources, how companies generate sustainable competitive advantage, and understand the role of the value chain.
涵盖的内容
4个视频4篇阅读材料4个作业
This module describes the different competitive strategies like differentiation, cost leadership, and best-cost strategy. You will understand how companies use these approaches to create a superior EVC and enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage. Differentiation strategies generally focus on increasing the WTP while Cost Leadership strategies stress reducing COST. Best-cost strategy aims to increase WTP and reduce COST simultaneously. You will also learn how to do the SWOT analysis by comparing external opportunities and threats with internal strengths and weaknesses. You will learn how a company can develop an optimal competitive strategy by matching internal strengths with external opportunities. Using a fictitious mini case, you will learn how the external analysis in Module 1 and internal analysis in Module 2 all come together to help companies identify an optimal competitive strategy. At the end of Module 3, you will learn the various competitive strategy alternatives available to companies, how they lead to competitive advantage, and how a company could identify the optimal competitive strategy for a given situation.
涵盖的内容
4个视频5篇阅读材料4个作业
This module contains the summative course assessment that has been designed to evaluate your understanding of the course material and assess your ability to apply the knowledge you have acquired throughout the course. Be sure to review the course material thoroughly before taking the assessment.
涵盖的内容
1个作业
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课程 是 Illinois Tech提供的以下学位课程的一部分。如果您被录取并注册,您已完成的课程可计入您的学位学习,您的学习进度也可随之转移。
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学生评论
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已于 Oct 6, 2023审阅
A really good pathway to let you understand the strategy that all companies always consider all the time.
已于 Jan 11, 2025审阅
Learned a lot of things: Dr. Erramilli explains Competitive Strategy in a clear and concise manner that can be used everyday.
已于 Jun 20, 2025审阅
It was fun and insightful learning this course. The content was rich enough and straight to the point avoiding all unnecessary information. Thank you, Prof.
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When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
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