Academic Year: 2023 – 2024
University of Antwerp
EXTENSIVE DOCUMENT
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
prof. P. Verhezen
,Preface
The authors both got a grade of 17/20 for this course by using this document. This preface has been
made to inform students acquiring this summary and helping them in their work to pass their exam
successfully.
We can inform users of this summary that this course should not be underestimated. Every possible
facet of the course content should be studied with full attention. That is, the exam will consist of
three questions. The questions will be one of the following things:
- A case that concerns the strategy of a certain firm. Since there are a plenty of them and the
professor mentions their importance, you should expect him to ask at least one. Having a
proficient understanding of them, will increase your chance of passing substantially.
- A statement of a CEO and ask you whether it’s a good or bad strategy.
- Explanation of differences between certain topics discussed throughout the course.
- Links between certain topics discussed throughout the course.
- The lifecycle of a certain industry (e.g., the PC industry).
- Explanation of a ‘term’ discussed throughout the course (and possibly giving an example in
addition).
The professor will also challenge you and usually when answering all three questions correctly, you’ll
have a 13/20 or 14/20 depending on how good you answered the questions. The challenge will be in
the following order: high distinction – higher distinction – highest distinction. The document also
provides all mentioned additional questions by the professor, regular exam questions and challenging
(see order) exam questions. The challenging questions could be once again one of the previous bullet
points, images/graphs (the latter for highest distinction)
When studying the course material, look back to this page and it will help you having a reference of
what is important and how to study it.
Our personal experience with getting a grade of 17/20, you should be able to write down enough on
your piece of paper and explain more than what is desired. In that way, you’ll be able to avoid
additional questions and guarantee portraying an understanding of what has been asked. Hint: when
he interrupts you, while you’re halfway of answering the question and he goes to the next question it
means you answered the question correctly and has the impression that you understand the course
material.
What can you expect from this document?
We took all the PowerPoint slides and made sure almost (literally!) everything important what the
professor has said, is written down in the notes. You’ll note that the notes are sometimes somewhat
informal and less academic, since that is the way how the professor often talks. You should not
answer too formally on the exam, but by taking an informal position you can show him you
understand the course material. The summary will contain complete course notes added with
answers on exam questions that the professor formulated along with self-made and formulated exam
questions. If the course material didn’t give a full and proficient understanding of a certain topic, we
used the Internet, our own examples and/or ChatGPT 4 Plus to make the course material complete.
How long does it take to learn this document?
To have a well and in depth understanding of the course material, take one week for this course by
obviously considering what has been said in the preface.
,Table of Contents
Theme 1: What is strategy? ................................................................................................................4
Theme 2: Purpose, leadership, and industry .................................................................................... 27
Theme 3: Internal Analysis ............................................................................................................... 60
Theme 4: Positioning strategies........................................................................................................ 79
Theme 5: Blue Ocean Strategy ....................................................................................................... 116
Theme 6 Game Changing Innovation .............................................................................................. 135
Theme 7: Global strategy for competing in international markets ................................................. 174
Theme 8: The corporate strategy in a diversified multi-business organization ............................... 187
Theme 9: ESG ................................................................................................................................. 212
Theme 10: Strategy in turbulent times ........................................................................................... 245
, Theme 1: What is strategy?
EXAM QUESTION: Explain the strategy of Netflix (one of the following chapters also talks about
Netflix’ strategy, so this is a partial answer that you could give).
One day before Mr. Hastings (and Marc Randolph) became the founder of Netflix he rented a movie
from blockbuster like anyone else in America, however he forgot to bring it back. This resulted in a big
fine, a bad experience to say the least. He thought to himself: “I want to solve the problem of paying a
fine if you forget to bring your rented movie back”. He took on this challenge/problem and created a
flexible video rental based on a subscription model where you order a movie on their online website
which will be sent to you by mail. When a customer is done watching the movie, they could return it in
a prepaid envelope. This meant that the subscription model could allowed customers to rent an
unlimited amount of DVDs each month for a flat fee, with no late fees. In other words, it was a logistics
company!
Through technological advancements new opportunities arose on the internet. Consequently, Netflix
shifted their strategy to an online streaming platform. They introduced the "Watch Instantly" feature,
allowing subscribers to stream movies and TV shows directly to their computers. They further improved
their strategy by utilizing the customer data, which reflect their preferences. This data was then used
to produce Netflix’s own movies and series that match the preferences of their users. It gave them an
advantage over film producers themselves, because they knew what people liked to watch! In other
words, Netflix shifted from a logistics company to an entertainment company!!!
In comparison with their early competitor Blockbuster, Netflix remained flexible (ambidexterity) and
adjusted their strategy throughout the lifetime of the company in order to retain that competitive
advantage and outmaneuver competitors. Blockbuster on the other hand did not adapt and
bankrupted due to the rising competition with on-demand entertainment services like Netflix.
Important Questions: (EXAM)
- What changed throughout Netflix’s history?
The company changed from a logistics company to an entertainment company!
- Why did the stock price go down?
o Competition: The streaming industry has become highly competitive, with the entry of
new players like Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and others. Increased competition can
impact subscriber growth and profitability, affecting investor sentiment.
▪ When a business does well, it will attract followers and bring down your market
share and profitability.
o Content Costs: Netflix invests heavily in creating original content. The cost of producing
and licensing content can impact the company's profitability. If content costs rise faster
than revenue, it can lead to concerns among investors.
- What is the strategy of Netflix?
Netflix is trying to be the most immersive and personalized online streaming platform. It tries to
make its own movies and series based on people’s preferences. As the streaming platform gains
international market share it adopted a strategy of content localization. This included producing
content in multiple languages and adding subtitles or dubbing to make it accessible to a global
audience.
University of Antwerp
EXTENSIVE DOCUMENT
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
prof. P. Verhezen
,Preface
The authors both got a grade of 17/20 for this course by using this document. This preface has been
made to inform students acquiring this summary and helping them in their work to pass their exam
successfully.
We can inform users of this summary that this course should not be underestimated. Every possible
facet of the course content should be studied with full attention. That is, the exam will consist of
three questions. The questions will be one of the following things:
- A case that concerns the strategy of a certain firm. Since there are a plenty of them and the
professor mentions their importance, you should expect him to ask at least one. Having a
proficient understanding of them, will increase your chance of passing substantially.
- A statement of a CEO and ask you whether it’s a good or bad strategy.
- Explanation of differences between certain topics discussed throughout the course.
- Links between certain topics discussed throughout the course.
- The lifecycle of a certain industry (e.g., the PC industry).
- Explanation of a ‘term’ discussed throughout the course (and possibly giving an example in
addition).
The professor will also challenge you and usually when answering all three questions correctly, you’ll
have a 13/20 or 14/20 depending on how good you answered the questions. The challenge will be in
the following order: high distinction – higher distinction – highest distinction. The document also
provides all mentioned additional questions by the professor, regular exam questions and challenging
(see order) exam questions. The challenging questions could be once again one of the previous bullet
points, images/graphs (the latter for highest distinction)
When studying the course material, look back to this page and it will help you having a reference of
what is important and how to study it.
Our personal experience with getting a grade of 17/20, you should be able to write down enough on
your piece of paper and explain more than what is desired. In that way, you’ll be able to avoid
additional questions and guarantee portraying an understanding of what has been asked. Hint: when
he interrupts you, while you’re halfway of answering the question and he goes to the next question it
means you answered the question correctly and has the impression that you understand the course
material.
What can you expect from this document?
We took all the PowerPoint slides and made sure almost (literally!) everything important what the
professor has said, is written down in the notes. You’ll note that the notes are sometimes somewhat
informal and less academic, since that is the way how the professor often talks. You should not
answer too formally on the exam, but by taking an informal position you can show him you
understand the course material. The summary will contain complete course notes added with
answers on exam questions that the professor formulated along with self-made and formulated exam
questions. If the course material didn’t give a full and proficient understanding of a certain topic, we
used the Internet, our own examples and/or ChatGPT 4 Plus to make the course material complete.
How long does it take to learn this document?
To have a well and in depth understanding of the course material, take one week for this course by
obviously considering what has been said in the preface.
,Table of Contents
Theme 1: What is strategy? ................................................................................................................4
Theme 2: Purpose, leadership, and industry .................................................................................... 27
Theme 3: Internal Analysis ............................................................................................................... 60
Theme 4: Positioning strategies........................................................................................................ 79
Theme 5: Blue Ocean Strategy ....................................................................................................... 116
Theme 6 Game Changing Innovation .............................................................................................. 135
Theme 7: Global strategy for competing in international markets ................................................. 174
Theme 8: The corporate strategy in a diversified multi-business organization ............................... 187
Theme 9: ESG ................................................................................................................................. 212
Theme 10: Strategy in turbulent times ........................................................................................... 245
, Theme 1: What is strategy?
EXAM QUESTION: Explain the strategy of Netflix (one of the following chapters also talks about
Netflix’ strategy, so this is a partial answer that you could give).
One day before Mr. Hastings (and Marc Randolph) became the founder of Netflix he rented a movie
from blockbuster like anyone else in America, however he forgot to bring it back. This resulted in a big
fine, a bad experience to say the least. He thought to himself: “I want to solve the problem of paying a
fine if you forget to bring your rented movie back”. He took on this challenge/problem and created a
flexible video rental based on a subscription model where you order a movie on their online website
which will be sent to you by mail. When a customer is done watching the movie, they could return it in
a prepaid envelope. This meant that the subscription model could allowed customers to rent an
unlimited amount of DVDs each month for a flat fee, with no late fees. In other words, it was a logistics
company!
Through technological advancements new opportunities arose on the internet. Consequently, Netflix
shifted their strategy to an online streaming platform. They introduced the "Watch Instantly" feature,
allowing subscribers to stream movies and TV shows directly to their computers. They further improved
their strategy by utilizing the customer data, which reflect their preferences. This data was then used
to produce Netflix’s own movies and series that match the preferences of their users. It gave them an
advantage over film producers themselves, because they knew what people liked to watch! In other
words, Netflix shifted from a logistics company to an entertainment company!!!
In comparison with their early competitor Blockbuster, Netflix remained flexible (ambidexterity) and
adjusted their strategy throughout the lifetime of the company in order to retain that competitive
advantage and outmaneuver competitors. Blockbuster on the other hand did not adapt and
bankrupted due to the rising competition with on-demand entertainment services like Netflix.
Important Questions: (EXAM)
- What changed throughout Netflix’s history?
The company changed from a logistics company to an entertainment company!
- Why did the stock price go down?
o Competition: The streaming industry has become highly competitive, with the entry of
new players like Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and others. Increased competition can
impact subscriber growth and profitability, affecting investor sentiment.
▪ When a business does well, it will attract followers and bring down your market
share and profitability.
o Content Costs: Netflix invests heavily in creating original content. The cost of producing
and licensing content can impact the company's profitability. If content costs rise faster
than revenue, it can lead to concerns among investors.
- What is the strategy of Netflix?
Netflix is trying to be the most immersive and personalized online streaming platform. It tries to
make its own movies and series based on people’s preferences. As the streaming platform gains
international market share it adopted a strategy of content localization. This included producing
content in multiple languages and adding subtitles or dubbing to make it accessible to a global
audience.
