COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA 217-2
Cross-listed with MBA
COURSE TITLE: Competitive and Corporate Strategy in Network Industries
UNITS OF CREDIT: 3 Units
INSTRUCTOR:Michael L. Katz
E-MAIL ADDRESS: katz@haas.berkeley.edu
CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION (HTTP URL): Under construction, this is a new course
MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Monday, 6:00 p.m to 9:30 p.m.
PREREQUISITE(S): Solid grounding in microeconomics
CLASS FORMAT: The class will comprise lecturers and extensive case discussion.
REQUIRED READINGS: There will be a textbook for background and a reader containing a few articles covering specific topics as well as numerous cases.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:
There will be a practice, case-based midterm. The final grade will be determined by performance in class discussion,
on a term project, and a case-based final examination. The terms project is to form a four-person team to write a case
of your own. One or two of these cases will be used in class.
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
At the most fundamental level, the aim of the course is to prepare you to operate successfully in an environment requiring the ability to
understand market rivalry. The skills developed in this course should be useful to you whether you become an entrepreneur, a management
consultant, or a manager in a large enterprise with marketing, finance, or strategic planning responsibilities.
Because the course has no strategy prerequisites, it will cover the fundamentals of competitive and corporate strategy. However, the focus of the course will be on network industries.
Many firms operate in networks. In some cases, the network is a characteristic of the product or service sold to consumers, such as a telecommunications network, an airline network, or a payments network (e.g., Visa credit cards). In other cases, the network is harder to see, but no less real. In this broader sense of a network, a given firm's success depends not only on its own performance, but also on the performance of a variety of firms providing complementary products. Sony, for example, would not be successful in the video game market if not for the popular games developed by other firms for Sony's PlayStation game console. Similarly, the demand for Intel processors is greatly affected by Microsoft's actions. The interrelated nature of services in these industries raises a variety of issues concerning the coordination of network activities, both within and across firms. For example, the course will address the unique difficulties of launching a network and will examine innovation strategies in situations where extensive-cross firm coordination is needed. The role of vertical integration, joint ventures, and strategic alliances as means of promoting cooperation will also be explored.
Topics covered include:
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Michael L. Katz is the Sarin Professor of Strategy and Leadership at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business. He also
holds an appointment as professor in the Department of Economics. He is a four-time finalist for the Earl F. Cheit award for outstanding teaching
and has won it twice.
Dr. Katz served in the Bush Administration as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economic Analysis in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from September 2001 through January 2003. He directed a staff of approximately fifty-five economists and oversaw the analysis of economic issues arising in both merger and non-merger enforcement.
Dr. Katz served in the Clinton Administration as Chief Economist of the Federal Communications Commission from January 1994 through January 1996. He participated in the formulation and analysis of policies toward all industries under Commission jurisdiction, including broadcasting, cable, telephone, and wireless communications.
Dr. Katz has published a microeconomics textbook as well as numerous articles on the economics of networks industries, intellectual property, telecommunications policy, and antitrust enforcement. He is recognized as one of the pioneers in extending the theory of network effects to competitive settings. He is a member of the editorial boards of The California Management Review and The Journal of Economics & Management Strategy.
Dr. Katz has consulted for numerous private and public clients in telecommunications and payment systems industries on issues of strategy, regulation, and competition policy. Dr. Katz serves on the Committee on Wireless Technology Prospects and Policy Options established by the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of The National Academies.
Dr. Katz holds an A.B. summa cum laude from Harvard University and a D.Phil. from Oxford University. Both degrees are in economics.