Argomenti dell'insegnamento
The objective of the course Advanced Strategic Management is to provide students with an idea of the concept of strategy and its two major elements, i.e. strategy formulation and strategy implementation. It familiarizes students with contemporary theories, approaches, frameworks, and tools needed to develop and execute strategic decisions. It positions strategy and strategic management as the quest for value creation for relevant stakeholders that reaches beyond financial gains and short-term profits. Supplementing related courses such as ‘Corporate Governance’, ‘Corporate Restructuring and M&A’, or ‘Business Analytics’ ASM will primarily focus on the analysis of the competitive environment including technological megatrends, socio-political developments, and industries as well as on the analysis of internal resources, capabilities, and systems of the corporation. The concepts and elements of competitive advantage as well as of corporate strategies are outlined and applied. The course will additionally respond to a call in strategic management of including more micro-foundation by highlighting the role of individual and team decision-making. The use of accompanying cases, presentations of guest speakers, and in-class discussions will support the learning process. The main subject areas covered in the course are: the concept of strategy, the tools of strategy analysis, business strategy and the quest for competitive advantage, basics of corporate strategy, change management. In the academic year 2025/2026 the focus will be on strategic challenges arising from geopolitical tensions and information technology developments.

Modalità di insegnamento
The course will use a combination of lectures, guest lectures and individual as well as group discussions. Class participation and active discussion is both expected and encouraged. Students are further expected to have thoroughly read all the assigned course material / readings in advance of the class to ensure better understanding of the issues involved and to have meaningful class participation. Students should carefully read and be prepared to discuss topical issues. Students should expect to work outside of class time as foreseen in the normal calculation of credit points.

Obiettivi formativi
ILO (Intended Learning Outcomes) ILO 1 – Knowledge and Understanding: ILO 1.1 Knowledge of economic-business models and tools for managing companies, whether family-owned or small-sized or internationally oriented ILO 1.2 Understanding of tools and business processes developed to recognise, understand, and guide change and manage the impact of transitions on the organisation. ILO 1.3 Knowledge of Management topics that characterise the roles of financial analyst, portfolio manager, risk manager, and consultant ILO 2 – Applying Knowledge and Understanding: ILO 2.1 Ability to conduct critical analysis and formulate solutions to complex problems in national and international interdisciplinary contexts within organisations of varying sizes ILO 2.2 Ability to engage and interact with heads of different functional areas of the company, with financial markets, and with professionals in corporate and tax law ILO 3 – Making Judgements: ILO 3.1 Ability to apply acquired knowledge to make managerial and operational decisions and to solve problems related to administration and finance in companies, intermediaries, and financial markets, while jointly considering multiple analytical perspectives, from economic to legal, financial, strategic, and managerial ILO 3.2 Ability to select data and use appropriate information to describe a problem concerning the management of companies, intermediaries, and financial markets ILO 3.3 Ability to relate models and empirical evidence in the study of companies, intermediaries, and financial markets ILO 4 – Communication Skills: ILO 4 Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, the specialised content of individual disciplines, using different registers depending on the audience and the communicative and educational purposes, and to assess the educational impact of such communication ILO 5 – Learning Skills: ILO 5.1 Ability to frame a new problem systematically and to generate appropriate taxonomies ILO 5.2 Ability to develop general models based on the phenomena studied

Obiettivi formativi e risultati di apprendimento (ulteriori info.)
Knowledge and understanding of • the core elements of strategic management; • the relationship of accounting data and business models / value creation / competitive advantage; • theories, concepts, and tools to craft and implement strategies successfully; • the need to involve stakeholders and ‘the nature’. Making judgments regarding for example • successful and failed strategies; • alternative strategies to reach corporate goals. Applying knowledge and understanding regarding • analyzing classic business articles; • analyzing real-world cases re: emerging trends. Learning skills • Integrate other business and management courses into the strategic management context; • Distill knowledge from different sources and account for uncertainty, subjectivity, and soft facts. Communication skills • in relation to the effective analysis, preparation and presentation of individual and group work.

Modalità d'esame
The assessment of the individual performance is based on two exclusive alternatives that must be irrevocably chosen after the fourth lecture or earlier: Alternative A (attending students): Class attendance must be at least 80% and there is no exemption with regard to possible guest lectures and the final lectures dedicated to the presentation of term assignments (planned for mid January 2026). Class participation and individual summary of three mandatory readings (15% of total grade): (ILOs 1. -5.) Group term assignment (20% of total grade): (ILOs 1., 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4., 5.1) Individual term assignment (40% of total grade): (ILOs 1., 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4., 5.1) Written exam with options to choose from – 20 minutes (25% of total grade) (ILOs 1., 2.) NOTE: Term assignments are valid for the academic year 2025/2026 and cannot be carried over beyond that time-frame. Alternative B: Class attendance and assignments not required – final written exam of 80 Minutes (100%) –closed book– based on the script, textbook, and required readings (provided via OLE). (ILOs 1., 2.) NOTE: Video recording of lectures is not provided.

Criteri di valutazione
• Relevant for assignments: Correct application of scholarly concepts on businesses, quality of data used, argumentation, structure of the paper, clarity of language, content, quality of layout and sources; adherence to scientific and ethical standards (re: plagarism, avoidance of AI-generated assigments) • Relevant for written exam: Correct answers based on the knowledge provided in readings, text books, slides, blackboard and verbal explanations given during the lectures. NOTE: successfully passing this course is a major prerequisite to be admitted as an attending student to the corresponding course 'Business Consulting Lab' especially if the maximum number of attending students in BCL is reached.