Strategy – Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage
With the accelerating pace of competition and innovation, cutting-edge companies are defined by innovative strategies. This executive education program yields insight into how real-life companies have turned strategy into success and provides executives with the opportunity to formulate their own corporate action plans for sustainable competitive advantage.
What You Can Expect
Created as a resource for leadership teams charged with company business strategy, this leadership development program gives participants the opportunity to work with faculty and peers to develop and evaluate competitive strategies, lay the groundwork for change, and put action plans to work.
Your Course of Study
Conducted with strict confidentiality, the program offers actionable frameworks for competitive strategy development supported by state-of-the-art strategic concepts, current research findings, and best practice examples. An optional team project incorporates pre- and post-session study.
Who Is Right for the Program
Designed for teams of four or more senior-level executives responsible for competitive strategy, Strategy – Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage is for leaders in industries such as consumer products, financial services, high tech, manufacturing, raw materials/energy, professional services, and telecommunications.
| Fee: | $12,000 |
View other strategic management programs
The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.
Programs, dates, fees, and faculty are subject to change.
In accordance with Harvard University policy, Harvard Business School does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, sex or sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, veteran status, or disability in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs and activities.
What You Can Expect
Strategy – Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage prepares senior executives to anticipate and quickly respond to the accelerating pace of global competition and technological innovation. Leveraging new research and case studies on companies that have turned cutting-edge strategy into extraordinary success, you learn how to formulate and evaluate new competitive strategies. You leave the program ready to apply this knowledge to your own organization, developing strategies to address competitive challenges, and laying the groundwork for change through action-oriented implementation plans.
While individual executives also are encouraged to attend, companies sending teams of four to eight executives will gain the most from this intensive program.
How Will My Organization Benefit?
Executive Education programs at Harvard Business School are a significant investment for both you and your organization. Going far beyond the basic transmission of skills and theories, each leadership development program provides applicable lessons in the classroom that can be implemented successfully within your organization. You will acquire a fresh perspective on global business from our groundbreaking curriculum, world-renowned faculty, and an accomplished group of elite peers from around the world.
"The faculty was outstanding. Not only were they demonstrably expert in their respective fields, but they also were extremely good at imparting their knowledge to the participants. The excellent teaching methodologies and classroom approach, combined with their level of expertise in the subject matter, resulted in an extremely high-quality week."
Peter S. Harvey [Senior Assurance Partner], PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLP, England
Your Course of Study
By providing frameworks for competitive strategy development, this program yields an in-depth understanding of both strategy and the strategy development process.
The program curriculum is organized around eight topical areas:
Environmental Scanning
- Competitive forces that drive industry structure
- Forecasting scenarios of industry evolution
Competitive Positioning
- Identifying sources of competitive advantage
- Choosing the competitive scope of industry participation
Economics of Competitive Advantage
- Strategic cost analysis
- Buyer motivation, incentives, and value analysis
Competitor Analyses
- Analyzing competitor goals, assumptions, capabilities, and strategies
- Predicting future behavior of competitors
Sustainable Competitive Advantage
- Irreversible strategic commitment
- Threats to sustaining competitive advantage
Global Industry Presence
- Understanding the dynamics of globalization
- Gaining competitive advantage
Corporate Strategy
- Creating value in the multibusiness enterprise
- Aligning resources, activities, and organizational goals
Value-Adding Team Project
For companies sending teams, the program culminates in a Strategy Development Project—a highly personalized effort that brings the team's classroom learning back home to their companies. In a process that starts even before the participants arrive on campus and continues for months afterwards, faculty advisers spearhead the development of a valuable, new competitive strategy for each team's business.
Before arriving at HBS, the teams prepare an introduction about their businesses, industries, and competitors to share with their faculty advisers. While on campus, they meet with their faculty advisers to begin analysis of and reach agreement on the scope and direction of their respective projects.
During the several months following the program, teams conduct their own strategic analyses and solicit guidance on strategic issues from their faculty advisers. At the midpoint of the project, team progress is reviewed by their faculty advisers, usually via a telephone conference call. Teams then either return to Boston or meet via video conference for their final presentation and critique. Each team's analysis and strategy are subjected to a half-day review by their faculty advisers.
Action-Learning Takeaway
Every participant will receive the Strategy: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage DVD-ROM Series, a new program developed by HBS professors. Strategy: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage is a set of concepts that helps senior executives and teams to have an in-depth understanding of not only strategy itself and the strategy development process, but also what it takes to sustain a unique value proposition over time.
The program consists of seven modules: "Define Strategy," "Scan the Environment," "Position Your Business for Advantage," "Analyze Your Competitors," "Competitive Scope and Resources," "Sustain Your Success," and "Implement Your Strategy." Each module contains video and slide presentations of faculty classroom lectures, animated frameworks and models, multimedia case studies and printed case summaries of company examples, and extensive workbook exercises. Each DVD brings key concepts to life, using best-practice examples from well-known organizations.
Important Note – The entire program is conducted with strict confidentiality. All company material is treated as completely private, and reviews and critiques are considered proprietary to the companies involved.
"The program far exceeded my expectations. I found the cases to be very relevant and informative, illustrating real situations from which we could analyze and formulate different strategic approaches. In addition, we were provided with a clear framework for evaluating our own organization. I feel strongly that we now have a better understanding of what is needed to develop an effective competitive strategy."
Gerald W. McKenna [Vice President, Strategic Marketing], Cable One, Inc., U.S.
Who Is Right for the Program
Strategy – Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage is designed for company teams of at least four senior-level executives who are responsible for developing and implementing competitive strategy. However, individual executives also are invited to attend. Participants typically are employed in industries such as consumer products, financial services, high tech, manufacturing, raw materials/energy, professional services, and telecommunications.
Appropriate titles include, but are not limited to:
- Chief executive officer, chief operating officer, executive director, and division president
- Executive vice president and senior vice president
- Chief financial officer, and chief innovation officer
- Vice president, corporate vice president, and regional vice president
- Managing director, general manager, and director
Visit the admissions section for details about our application process.
Past Participants Represented:
| Industries | Nationalities | ||||
| 6% | Chem/Pharm/Bio | 6% | Africa | ||
| 2% | Communications | 9% | Asia | ||
| 12% | Consumer Products | 7% | Australia/NZ | ||
| 16% | Financial | 27% | Europe | ||
| 9% | High Technology | 5% | Latin America | ||
| 9% | Manufacturing | 1% | Middle East | ||
| 6% | Nonprofit Services | 42% | North America | ||
| 5% | Other | 3% | Other | ||
| 4% | Other Services | ||||
| 7% | Professional Services | ||||
| 8% | Raw Materials/Energy | ||||
| 6% | Real Estate/Construction | ||||
| 4% | Retail Services | ||||
| 6% | Utilities/Telecommunications | ||||
Participating Companies Have Included:
|
BP Plc |
Metlifecare, Ltd. |
"This was the best investment in ourselves and in our company that we have made in the last five years. The residential environment, the facilities, the staff, and the entire experience were first-class. We are already seeing positive results in terms of how our strategy process has evolved. I expect that the long-term benefits will be significant. The experience is not just important—it is critical."
Robert P. Brecht [Senior Executive Vice President], First Merit Corporation, U.S.
Meet the Program Faculty
Harvard Business School Executive Education programs are developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors who are skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Faculty leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking on many levels. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.
Stephen P. Bradley, Baker Foundation Professor and William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus. Member of the Strategy Unit; and faculty chair of "Strategy: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage."
Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit.
David J. Collis, Adjunct Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit; and faculty cochair of "Creating Corporate Advantage: Strategy in the Multibusiness Firm."
Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit; faculty chair of "Business Strategy for Partners in Law Firms"; faculty cochair of the "Senior Executive Program for China" and "Effective Strategies for Media Companies."
Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor. Member of the Strategy Unit; and director of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness.
Jan W. Rivkin, Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit.
Jordan I. Siegel, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit; and faculty chair of "Global Strategic Management."
Julie M. Wulf, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit.
Dennis A. Yao, Lawrence E. Fouraker Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit.