CORE COURSE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

IN BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

MODULE

What is Strategy?
Week 5. Part 1.
Tim Wawn
 Key Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this video lecture,

participants should be able to:
● Define what it means to have a competitive
strategy
● Identify a generic process to develop a
strategy
What is Strategy?
 In Week 3 we learned about
the Value Proposition
“The Value Proposition is the reason why customers turn to
one company over another. It solves a customer problem or
satisfies a customer need. Each Value Proposition consists
of a selected bundle of products and/or services that caters
to the requirements of a specific Customer Segment. In this
sense, the Value Proposition is an aggregation, or bundle, of
benefits that a company offers customers.”
- Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. ‘Business Model Generation’
 A key task of the entrepreneur is to design a Human
Institution which supports and delivers the Value Proposition
The Value Chain provides a template for how your
Human Institution should be functionally organised to
support and deliver your Value Proposition

Source: Porter M. ‘Competitive Strategy’

“Strategy is a plan to differentiate the enterprise and give
it a competitive advantage.” - The Harvard Business Review Entrepreneur's Handbook

“Competitive strategy is
about being different. It
means deliberately
choosing a different set
of activities to deliver a
unique mix of value.”
- Michael Porter, ‘Competitive Strategy’
Generic Process
for Developing a
Strategy
Generic Planning Process for Developing a Strategy

Source: Byers T.H., Dorf R.C., and Nelson A.J.,

‘Technology Ventures: From Ideas to Enterprise’
Thank you
 References
▪ Byers T., Dorf R., and Nelson A., Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise (4th
Edition), McGraw-Hill.
▪ Dalio R., Principles, Simon & Schuster
▪ Gans, J., Scott, E.L., and Scott, S. ‘Strategy for Start-ups’, Harvard Business Review,
May-June 2018
▪ Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneurs Handbook, Harvard Business Review Press
▪ Johnson K., The Entrepreneur Mind: 100 Essential Beliefs, Characteristics, and Habits
of Elite Entrepreneurs, Johnson Media
▪ Mullins, J., The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do
before writing a business plan. (3rd Edition), Pearson UK.
▪ Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. Business Model Generation, John Wiley & Sons
▪ Porter M., Competitive Strategy, The Free Press
▪ Ries E., The Lean Startup, Portfolio Penguin
▪ Schramm, C. ‘What many Business Schools teach has little to do with Entrepreneurial
success’, Harvard Business Review, May-June 2018