Degree | Type | Year |
---|---|---|
2501572 Business Administration and Management | OT | 4 |
2501573 Economics | OT | 3 |
2501573 Economics | OT | 4 |
You can view this information at the end of this document.
There are no pre-requisites.
This is a self-contained course, although a variety of basic concepts from the fields of Business Economics, Strategic Management and Microeconomics will be used. The course clearly aims at valuing business financial performance. To this end, the course intends to show how theoretical concepts, which may apparently seem complex in the first instance, can easily be applied to analyze business and industrial activity.
At the end of the course, the student is expected to have achieved a series of objectives, among which is the knowledge of the concepts and instruments commonly used in industrial analysis. The subject also seeks a good understanding of the company's mechanisms for generating value and transforming, partially or totally, this value into business profits. Other objectives are the evaluation of the business competitive strategy, quantification of value creation associated with the strategy, and the understanding of value sharing and appropriation mechanisms.
The subject considers the firm as the basic unit of analysis. Its main objective is to contribute to the understanding of how the firm generates value and which are the causes that explain the difference in the value generated between firms. Accordingly, we use the concept of business models, which is increasingly being used in the field of strategic management. With the notion of business model (and/or strategy), we try to highlight the strong association between the organization and its environment, the importance of being able to correctly identify both internal and external organizational factors, eventually finding out the corresponding interrelationships. The course will not stay in the abstraction domain. It claims that it is possible to apply theoretical concepts, so that they become useful instruments for business strategy and, by extension, to the industries to which they belong to. The subject also develops benchmarking tools based on economic concepts.
1. An example to help us think about productivity, technical change and social costs
2. Recovering and revisiting some theoretical concepts
3. Productivity as a central concept. How can we measure it?
4. Measures of business financial performance: An Introduction.
5. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA).
6. Business benchmarking: Technology of Best Practice.
7. Business benchmarking: Cost.
8. Productivity and the financial performance of the firm.
9. How the firm creates value: (Unit) Value Creation.
10 How the firm creates value: Product differentiation
11. How the firm creates value: Dynamic Value Creation.
12. An introduction to business strategy.
13. Business models and the strategy of the firm.
14 Business models: Representation.
15. Business models: The Cases of Walmart and Kmart.
Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|
Type: Directed | |||
Classroom sessions | 17 | 0.68 | |
Lectures | 32.5 | 1.3 | 3, 4, 5, 7, 14, 22, 18, 11, 19, 26, 25, 9 |
Type: Supervised | |||
Tutorials | 15 | 0.6 | 3, 4, 5, 7, 16, 19, 26, 10, 9 |
Type: Autonomous | |||
Study of theoretical concepts, solving exercises and working out of cases | 83.5 | 3.34 | 3, 4, 5, 7, 16, 19, 26, 10, 9 |
The course aims at analyzing business strategic decisions within an industry context, and within the rigorous framework provided by the economic theory.
This implies that we need to:
1. Discuss basic concepts and theories.
This is going to be developed through classroom sessions and additional readings.
2. Work out problems and practical exercises to reinforce the understanding of previously discussed concepts.
Practice sessions will be carried out in the classroom.
3. Apply concepts to analyze specific real problems.
Case studies and examples obtained from the economic media will be provided.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Activity (create your own exercise). | 15% | 0.3 | 0.01 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 1, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 21, 18, 11, 19, 20, 24, 23, 26, 27, 25, 6, 10, 8, 9 |
Final Exam | 40% | 0.8 | 0.03 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 1, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 21, 18, 11, 19, 20, 24, 23, 26, 27, 25, 6, 10, 8, 9 |
collection problem sets | 45% | 0.9 | 0.04 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 1, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 21, 18, 11, 19, 20, 24, 23, 26, 27, 25, 6, 10, 8, 9 |
The course assessment will consist of:
A final exam (please consult the Faculty's academic calendar). In this exam the student will be assessed on the basis of all the concepts discussed throughout the course. This exam is essentially envisaged as a filtering device to pass the course, with a minimum mark of 3.0 (three point). In case that the mark obtained in the exam is 3.0 (three point) or more, the examination mark will count as much as 40% of the course final mark. The remaining 60% will be based on the student's performance during the course.
If the mark of the final exam is lower than 3.0 (three point), this is the course final mark.
The course is passed when the final mark is equal or higher than 5.0 (five).
Student's performance during the course. A good performance throughout the course requires: i) class attendance and student active participation. Class attendance will be monitored and is expected to be no less than 80%; and (ii) programmed exercises and activities. They consist of (ii.1) a collection of problems that covers the main topics of the subject with a maximum weight of 45%. These problem sets can be solved by a group of 2 or 3 students; (ii.2) the Activity: create your own exercise, is compulsory although its maximum weight is 15%. Important: this activity is mandatory and it is not possible to pass the course if the Activity: create your own exercise is not submitted, regardless of the mark of the final exam and the rest of assignments of the subject. In the event the Activity:create your own exercise is not submitted, the course final grade will be 3.0 and the course will be failed. This is an individual activity. The student shows what he/she has learned and how it can be used as a tool for analyzing the industry reality and the competitive advantage among firms. All these aspects (i) class attendance and (ii) the delivery of programmed exercises and activities will be supervised during the course and result in a mark, which count for as much as 60% (45%+15%) of the course final mark.
Those students not showing up in the final exam will be considered 'not-submitted' ("no-evaluable").
At the end of the course the final mark will be disclosed. The student final mark is the result of weighting the three aspects object of evaluation: the final exam (minimum mark of 3.0 and course final in the case of a lower mark); the collection of problem sets and the mandatory activity (create your own exercise). The weight of the exam is 40% and the weight of the collection of problems and the activity is the remaining 60%.
A re-evaluation will be held for those students who, having not passed the course, have obtained a course final mark between 3.0 and 4.9.
The re-evaluation will consist of doing another final exam, comprising all the concepts developed during the course. The student's performance during the course will not be re-evaluated. The final mark of the re-evaluation process is only given by the re-evaluation exam.
As a result of the re-evaluation the maximum course mark will be 5.0 (five).
This subject does not include a unique evaluation system.
Calendar of evaluation activities
Books:
Grifell-Tatjé, E. and C.A.K. Lovell (2015), Productivity Accounting. The Economics of Business Performance. Cambridge University Press: New York.
Besanko, D., D. Dranove, M. Shanley and S. Schaefer (2017), Economics of Strategy, John Wiley and Sons. 6ª Ed.
Bogetoft, P. (2011), Performance Benchmarking. Measuring and Managing Performance. Springer: New York. 5.ª Ed.
They are the latest editions available.
Articles:
Brandenburger, A.M. and H.W. Stuart (1996), "Value-Based Business Strategy". Journal of Economics and Management Strategy 5(1): 5-24.
Brea-Solís, H., R., Grifell-Tatjé, E.(2019), "A Business Model Analysis of Kmart's Downfall," International Journalof Retail & Distribution Management 47(2): 111-128.
Brea-Solís, H., R. Casadesus-Masanell & E. Grifell-Tatjé (2015), ”Business Model Evaluation: Quantifying Walmart’s Sources of Advantage,” Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 9(1), 12-33.
Casadesus-Masanell, R., & Larson, T. (2009). “Competing through business models (D).” Harvard Business School, Case 710-410.
Casadesus-Masanell, R., & Ricart, J. E. (2008). “Competing through business models (A).” Harvard Business School, Case 708-452.
Casadesus-Masanell, R., & J. E. Ricart (2010),”From Strategy to Business Models and onto Tactics,” Long range Planning 43: 195-215.
Casadesus-Masanell, R., & J. E.Ricart (2011). “How to Design a Winning Business Model.” Harvard Business Review 89(1-2), 100-107.
Chen, X., Grifell-Tatjé, E., Fu, Tt., 2023, “A Profit Difference Decomposition Model for Measuring Group Performance: An Application to Chinese and Taiwanese Commercial Banks,” OMEGA. The International Journal of Management Science 120 (October), article 102899.
Chesbrough, H. & R.S. Rosenbloom (2002), “The role of Business Model in Capturing Value from Innovation: Evidence from Xerox Corporation’s Technology Spin-Off Companies,” Industrial and Corporate Change 11(3):529-555.
Estache, A. & E. Grifell-Tatjé (2013), “How (un) even was the distribution of the impacts of Mali’s water privatization across stakeholders?” Journal of Development Studies 49(4), April: 483 – 499.
Garcia-Castro, R. & R.V. Aguilera (2015), "Incremental Value Creation and Appropiation in a World with Multiple Stakeholders," Strategic Management Journal 36: 137-147.
Garcia-Castro, R., J.E. Ricart, M.B. Lieberman and N. Balasubramanian (2018), "Business Model Innovation and Replication: Implications for the Measurement of Productivity" in E. Grifell-Tatjé, C.A.K. Lovell and R. Sickles, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Productivity Analysis, Oxford University Press: New York.
Grifell-Tatjé, E. & C.A.K. Lovell (1999), "Profits and Productivity”. Management Science. 45(9), September: 1177 – 1193.
Grifell-Tatjé, E. & C.A.K. Lovell (2013), “Advances in Cost Frontier Analysis of the Firm,” in C.R. Thomas and W. Shughart II (ed.), Oxford Handbook in Managerial Economics. Oxford University Press: Oxford: p 66 – 88.
Grifell-Tatjé, E., and C.A.K. Lovell (2018), “The Business Foundations of Social Economic Progress,” Business Research Quarterly, 21(4). 278-292 .(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2340943618303244)
Grifell-Tatjé, E., C.A.K. Lovell and R. Sickles (2018), "Chapter 1. Overview of Productivity Analysis: History, Issues and Perspectives,” in E. Grifell-Tatjé, C.A.K. Lovell and R. Sickles, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Productivity Analysis, Oxford University Press: New York.
Hashimy, L., G. Jain and E. Grifell-Tatjé, 2022, “Determinants of Blockchain Adoption as Decentralized Business Model by Spanish Firms – An Innovation Theory Perspective,” Industrial Management & Data Systems 133 (1), 204-228.
Howell, C., Grifell-Tatjé, E., 2023, “An Index Approach to Measuring Product Differentiation: A Hedonic Analysis of Airfares,” Review of Income and Wealth, 69 (4), December, 952-974.
Howell, C., Grifell-Tatjé, E., 2022, “Market Heterogeneity and the Relationship between Competition and Price Dispersion: Evidence from the U.S. Airline Market,” Transport Policy 125, 218-230.
Lefebvre, M., S. Perelman & P. Pestieu (2018), "Productivity and Performance in the Public Sector," in E. Grifell-Tatjé, C.A.K. Lovell and R. Sickles (ed.), Oxford Handbook of Productivity Analysis. Oxford University Press: New York.
Williamson, P.J. (2010), “Cost Innovation: Preparing for a ‘Value-for-Money” Revolution,” Long Range Planning 43: 343-353.
Winter, S.G. & G. Szulanski (2001), "Replication as Strategy," Organization Science 12(6), Nov/Dec: 730-743.
The subject will provide the solfware if needed.
Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
---|---|---|---|---|
(PAUL) Classroom practices | 4 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
(TE) Theory | 4 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |