Zhongyuan Sun

Reading lists Stream 18Search all readings

Economic perspectives on strategy

Industrial organization, competitive dynamics, signaling and real options.

Of its 110 readings, 19 are assigned in two or more sources and listed first, with the number of sources beside each (in bold for the core readings, in 4 or more); the 91 listed in only one source are folded under each heading.

In the theory tree: leads to 19 Resource-based view and capabilities.

Drawn from: Yao (HBS); Kogut & Keum (Columbia); Glaser (Alberta); Jia (USC); Sullivan (HKUST); Zhou (HKU); Zuckerman (MIT); Levinthal (Wharton); Peng (UT Dallas); Maoret (IESE); Amit (Wharton). Full details of the sources are on the reading lists page.

By decade

Before 1950: 2 readings<19501950s: 0 readings1950s1960s: 1 reading1960s1970s: 7 readings1970s1980s: 15 readings1980s1990s: 32 readings321990s2000s: 32 readings322000s2010s: 19 readings2010s2020s: 1 reading2020s
Most date from the 1990s; half were published in 1998 or later.

18.1 What strategy is: the field and its foundations

  1. Rumelt, R. P., Schendel, D., & Teece, D. J. (1991). Strategic management and economics. Strategic Management Journal, 12(S2), 5–29. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.42501210034
  2. Porter, M. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review.4
  3. Porter, M. E. (1981). The Contributions of Industrial Organization to Strategic Management. Academy of Management Review, 6(4), 609. https://doi.org/10.2307/2576392
  4. Mintzberg, H., & Waters, J. A. (1985). Of strategies, deliberate and emergent. Strategic Management Journal, 6(3), 257–272. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.42500603062
  5. Rumelt, R., Schendel, D., & Teece, D. (1994). Fundamental issues in strategy: A research agenda. Harvard Business School Press.2
  6. Ghemawat, P. (2002). Competition and Business Strategy in Historical Perspective. Business History Review, 76(1), 37–74. https://doi.org/10.2307/41277512
18 more, listed in one source
  1. Christensen, C. R., Andrews, K. R., & Bower, J. L. (1978). Business Policy: Text and Cases (4th ed.). Irwin.
  2. Teece, D. J. (1985). Applying concepts of economic analysis to strategic management. In J. Pennings (Ed.), Organizational Strategy and Change. Jossey-Bass.
  3. Mintzberg, H. (1990). The design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 11(3), 171–195. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250110302
  4. Ansoff, H. I. (1991). Critique of Henry Mintzberg's ‘The design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management’. Strategic Management Journal, 12(6), 449–461. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250120605
  5. Mintzberg, H. (1991). Learning 1, planning 0 reply to Igor Ansoff. Strategic Management Journal, 12(6), 463–466. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250120606
  6. Porter, M. E. (1991). Towards a dynamic theory of strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 12(S2), 95–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250121008
  7. Hambrick, D. C., & Fredrickson, J. W. (2001). Are you sure you have a strategy? Academy of Management Perspectives, 15(4), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2001.5897655
  8. Saloner, G., Shepard, A., & Podolny, J. M. (2001). Strategic Management. John Wiley.
  9. Mahoney, J. (2005). Economic Foundations of Strategy. Sage publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452229850
  10. Mahoney, J. T., & McGahan, A. M. (2007). The field of strategic management within the evolving science of strategic organization. Strategic Organization, 5(1), 79–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127006074160
  11. Nag, R., Hambrick, D. C., & Chen, M. (2007). What is strategic management, really? Inductive derivation of a consensus definition of the field. Strategic Management Journal, 28(9), 935–955. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.615
  12. Collis, D. J., & Rukstad, M. G. (2008). Can You Say What Your Strategy Is? Harvard Business Review.
  13. Ghemawat, P. E. (2009). Strategy and the Business Landscape (3rd ed.). Pearson.
  14. Rumelt, R. (2011). Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters (1st ed.). Currency.
  15. Harvard Business Review (2011). HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy. Harvard Business Review Press.
  16. Khanna, T. (2014). Contextual Intelligence. Harvard Business Review.
  17. Leiblein, M. J., Reuer, J. J., & Zenger, T. (2018). What Makes a Decision Strategic? Strategy Science, 3(4), 558–573. https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2018.0074
  18. SRI Strategy Reader. (n.d.).

18.2 Industry structure and positioning

  1. Caves, R. E., & Porter, M. E. (1977). From Entry Barriers to Mobility Barriers: Conjectural Decisions and Contrived Deterrence to New Competition. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 91(2), 241. https://doi.org/10.2307/18854163
  2. Porter, M. (1980). Competitive strategy. Free Press.3
  3. Caves, R. (1998). Industrial Organization and New Findings on the Turnover and Mobility of Firms. Journal of Economic Literature, 36, 1947–1982.3
  4. Sutton, J. (1991). Sunk Costs and Market Structure: Price Competition, Advertising, and the Evolution of Concentration. MIT Press.2
  5. Porter, M. E. (1998). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors (1st ed.). Free Press.2
  6. Porter, M. E. (2008). The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78–93.2
  7. Bronnenberg, B. J., Dhar, S. K., & Dubé, J. H. (2009). Brand History, Geography, and the Persistence of Brand Shares. Journal of Political Economy, 117(1), 87–115. https://doi.org/10.1086/5973012
  8. Adner, R., Ruiz-Aliseda, F., & Zemsky, P. (2016). Specialist versus Generalist Positioning: Demand Heterogeneity, Technology Scalability and Endogenous Market Segmentation. Strategy Science, 1(3), 184–206. https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2016.00162
13 more, listed in one source
  1. Chamberlain, E. H. (1932). The Theory of Monopolistic Competition: A Re-Orientation of the Theory of Value (8th ed.). Harvard University Press.
  2. Robinson, J. (1933). Economics of Imperfect Competition. St Martins Pr.
  3. Bain, J. S. (1968). Industrial Organization. Wiley.
  4. Porter, M. E. (1979). How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review.
  5. Porter, M. E. (1979). The Structure within Industries and Companies' Performance. Review of Economics and Statistics, 61(2), 214. https://doi.org/10.2307/1924589
  6. Caves, R. E. (1980). Industrial organization, corporate strategy and structure. In Readings in Accounting for Management Control (pp. 335–370). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7138-8_16
  7. Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive Advantage. Free Press.
  8. McGee, J., & Thomas, H. (1986). Strategic groups: Theory, research and taxonomy. Strategic Management Journal, 7(2), 141–160. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250070204
  9. Porter, M. E. (1998). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (1st ed.). Free Press.
  10. Berry, S. T., & Waldfogel, J. (1999). Free Entry and Social Inefficiency in Radio Broadcasting. The RAND Journal of Economics, 30(3), 397. https://doi.org/10.2307/2556055
  11. Syverson, C. (2004). Market Structure and Productivity: A Concrete Example. Journal of Political Economy, 112(6), 1181–1222. https://doi.org/10.1086/424743
  12. Knott, A. M., & Posen, H. E. (2005). Is failure good? Strategic Management Journal, 26(7), 617–641. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.470
  13. Sutton, J. (2007). Market Share Dynamics and the “Persistence of Leadership” Debate. American Economic Review, 97(1), 222–241. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.97.1.222

18.3 Competitive dynamics and game theory

  1. Adner, R., & Levinthal, D. A. (2004). What Is Not a Real Option: Considering Boundaries for the Application of Real Options to Business Strategy. Academy of Management Review, 29(1), 74. https://doi.org/10.2307/201590102
  2. Goolsbee, A., & Syverson, C. (2008). How do Incumbents Respond to the Threat of Entry? Evidence from the Major Airlines. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 123(4), 1611–1633. https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2008.123.4.16112
23 more, listed in one source
  1. Bresnahan, T. F. (1987). Competition and Collusion in the American Automobile Industry: The 1955 Price War. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 35(4), 457. https://doi.org/10.2307/2098583
  2. Lieberman, M. B., & Montgomery, D. B. (1988). First-mover advantages. Strategic Management Journal, 9(S1), 41–58. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250090706
  3. Fisher, F. M. (1989). Games Economists Play: A Noncooperative View. The RAND Journal of Economics, 20(1), 113. https://doi.org/10.2307/2555655
  4. Shapiro, C. (1989). The Theory of Business Strategy. The RAND Journal of Economics, 20(1), 125. https://doi.org/10.2307/2555656
  5. Bernheim, B. D., & Whinston, M. D. (1990). Multimarket Contact and Collusive Behavior. The RAND Journal of Economics, 21(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.2307/2555490
  6. Zajac, E. J., & Bazerman, M. H. (1991). Blind Spots in Industry and Competitor Analysis: Implications of Interfirm (Mis)Perceptions for Strategic Decisions. Academy of Management Review, 16(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.2307/258606
  7. Ghemawat, P. (1991). Commitment: The Dynamic of Strategy. Free Press.
  8. Saloner, G. (1991). Modeling, game theory, and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 12(S2), 119–136. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250121009
  9. Bowman, E. H., & Hurry, D. (1993). Strategy through the Option Lens: An Integrated View of Resource Investments and the Incremental-Choice Process. Academy of Management Review, 18(4), 760. https://doi.org/10.2307/258597
  10. D'Aveni, R. A. (1994). Hypercompetition: Managing the Dynamics of Strategic Maneuvering (1st ed.). Free Press.
  11. Katz, M. L., & Shapiro, C. (1994). Systems Competition and Network Effects. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8(2), 93–115. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.8.2.93
  12. Brandenburger, A. M., & Nalebuff, B. (1995). The right game: Use game theory to shape strategy. Long Range Planning, 28(5), 128. https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-6301(95)90326-7
  13. Baum, J. A. C., & Korn, H. J. (1996). Competitive Dynamics of Interfirm Rivalry. Academy of Management Journal, 39(2), 255–291. https://doi.org/10.2307/256781
  14. Gimeno, J., & Woo, C. Y. (1996). Hypercompetition in a Multimarket Environment: The Role of Strategic Similarity and Multimarket Contact in Competitive De-Escalation. Organization Science, 7(3), 322–341. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.7.3.322
  15. Smith, K. G., Ferrier, W. J., & Ndofor, H. (2001). Competitive Dynamics Research: Critique and Future Directions. In M. A. Hitt, R. E. Freeman, & J. S. Harrison (Eds.), Handbook of Strategic Management (pp. 309–354). Blackwell Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1111/b.9780631218616.2006.00012.x
  16. Yoffie, D. B., & Kwak, M. (2001). Judo Strategy: Turning Your Competitors' Strength to Your Advantage. Harvard Business School Press.
  17. Brown, J. R., & Goolsbee, A. (2002). Does the Internet Make Markets More Competitive? Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry. Journal of Political Economy, 110(3), 481–507. https://doi.org/10.1086/339714
  18. Miller, K. D., & Shapira, Z. (2004). An empirical test of heuristics and biases affecting real option valuation. Strategic Management Journal, 25(3), 269–284. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.374
  19. Shleifer, A. (2004). Does Competition Destroy Ethical Behavior? American Economic Review, 94(2), 414–418. https://doi.org/10.1257/0002828041301498
  20. Ellison, G., & Ellison, S. F. (2009). Search, Obfuscation, and Price Elasticities on the Internet. Econometrica, 77(2), 427–452. https://doi.org/10.3982/ecta5708
  21. Bennett, V. M., Pierce, L., Snyder, J. A., & Toffel, M. W. (2013). Customer-Driven Misconduct: How Competition Corrupts Business Practices. Management Science, 59(8), 1725–1742. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1120.1680
  22. Chen, M., & Miller, D. (2015). Reconceptualizing competitive dynamics: A multidimensional framework. Strategic Management Journal, 36(5), 758–775. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2245
  23. Van den Steen, E. (2018). The Strategy in Competitive Interactions. Strategy Science, 3(4), 574–591. https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2018.0068

18.4 Value creation and capture

No reading here is assigned in more than one source.

8 readings listed in one source
  1. Brandenburger, A., & Nalebuff, B. (1996). Co-Opetition. Doubleday.
  2. Brandenburger, A. M., & Stuart, H. W., Jr. (1996). Value‐based Business Strategy. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 5(1), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1430-9134.1996.00005.x
  3. Makowski, L., & Ostroy, J. M. (2001). Perfect Competition and the Creativity of the Market. Journal of Economic Literature, 39(2), 479–535. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.39.2.479
  4. Foss, K., & Foss, N. J. (2005). Resources and transaction costs: how property rights economics furthers the resource‐based view. Strategic Management Journal, 26(6), 541–553. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.465
  5. Brandenburger, A., & Stuart, H. (2007). Biform Games. Management Science, 53(4), 537–549. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1060.0591
  6. Casadesus-Masanell, R., & Ricart, J. E. (2010). From Strategy to Business Models and onto Tactics. Long Range Planning, 43(2-3), 195–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2010.01.004
  7. Lieberman, M. B., Balasubramanian, N., & Garcia‐Castro, R. (2018). Toward a dynamic notion of value creation and appropriation in firms: The concept and measurement of economic gain. Strategic Management Journal, 39(6), 1546–1572. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2708
  8. Miller, C. D., & Toh, P. K. (2022). Complementary components and returns from coordination within ecosystems via standard setting. Strategic Management Journal, 43(3), 627–662. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3143

18.5 Firm heterogeneity and performance

  1. Rumelt, R. P. (1991). How much does industry matter? Strategic Management Journal, 12(3), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.42501203022
  2. McGAHAN, A. M., & Porter, M. E. (1997). How much does industry matter, really? Strategic Management Journal, 18(S1), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199707)18:1+<15::aid-smj916>3.0.co;2-12
18 more, listed in one source
  1. Lippman, S. A., & Rumelt, R. P. (1982). Uncertain Imitability: An Analysis of Interfirm Differences in Efficiency under Competition. The Bell Journal of Economics, 13(2), 418. https://doi.org/10.2307/3003464
  2. Schmalensee, R. (1985). Do Markets Differ Much? American Economic Review.
  3. Yao, D. A. (1988). Beyond the reach of the invisible hand: Impediments to economic activity, market failures, and profitability. Strategic Management Journal, 9(S1), 59–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250090707
  4. Milgrom, P., & Roberts, J. (1990). The economics of modern manufacturing: Technology, strategy, and organization. The American Economic Review, 511-528.
  5. Carroll, G. R. (1993). A sociological view on why firms differ. Strategic Management Journal, 14(4), 237–249. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250140402
  6. Waring, G. (1996). Industry differences in the persistence of firm-specific returns. American Economic Review.
  7. Khanna, T., & Rivkin, J. (2000). The Structure of Profitability Around the World. Working paper.
  8. Helfat, C. E. (2002). The birth of capabilities: market entry and the importance of pre-history. Industrial and Corporate Change, 11(4), 725–760. https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/11.4.725
  9. Ruefli, T. W., & Wiggins, R. R. (2003). Industry, corporate, and segment effects and business performance: a non‐parametric approach. Strategic Management Journal, 24(9), 861–879. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.350
  10. Bertrand, M., & Schoar, A. (2003). Managing with Style: The Effect of Managers on Firm Policies. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4), 1169–1208. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355303322552775
  11. McGahan, A. M., & Porter, M. E. (2005). Comment on ‘Industry, corporate and business‐segment effects and business performance: a non‐parametric approach’ by Ruefli and Wiggins. Strategic Management Journal, 26(9), 873–880. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.480
  12. Ruefli, T. W., & Wiggins, R. R. (2005). Response to McGahan and Porter's commentary on ‘Industry, corporate and business‐segment effects and business performance: a non‐parametric approach’. Strategic Management Journal, 26(9), 881–886. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.479
  13. Bloom, N., Sadun, R., & Reenen, J. V. (2012). Americans Do IT Better: US Multinationals and the Productivity Miracle. American Economic Review, 102(1), 167–201. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.102.1.167
  14. Bloom, N., Genakos, C., Sadun, R., & Van Reenen, J. (2012). Management Practices Across Firms and Countries. Academy of Management Perspectives, 26(1), 12–33. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2011.0077
  15. Bloom, N., Eifert, B., Mahajan, A., McKenzie, D., & Roberts, J. (2013). Does Management Matter? Evidence from India. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 128(1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjs044
  16. Vanneste, B. S. (2017). How Much Do Industry, Corporation, and Business Matter, Really? A Meta-Analysis. Strategy Science, 2(2), 121–139. https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2017.0029
  17. Sadun, R., Bloom, N., & Van Reenen, J. (2017). Why Do We Undervalue Competent Management? Neither Great Leadership Nor Brilliant Strategy Matters Without Operational Excellence. Harvard Business Review.
  18. Oberholzer-Gee, F., & Yao, D. A. (2018). Integrated Strategy: Residual Market and Exchange Imperfections as the Foundation of Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Strategy Science, 3(2), 463–480. https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2018.0061

18.6 Other readings

  1. Hart, O. (1995). Firms, Contracts, and Financial Structure. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/0198288816.001.00013
11 more, listed in one source
  1. Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, Voice, and Loyalty.
  2. Akerlof, G. A. (1970). The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 84(3), 488. https://doi.org/10.2307/1879431
  3. Heclo, H. (1977). A Government of Strangers: Executive Politics in Washington. Brookings Institution.
  4. Heymann, P. B. (1987). The Politics of Public Management. Yale University Press.
  5. Oster, S. M. (1995). Strategic Management For Nonprofit Organizations: Theory and Cases. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195085037.001.0001
  6. Hansmann, H. (1996). The Ownership of Enterprise. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674038301
  7. Moore, M. H. (2000). Managing for Value: Organizational Strategy in for-Profit, Nonprofit, and Governmental Organizations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(1_suppl), 183–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764000291s009
  8. Spence, M. (2002). Signaling in Retrospect and the Informational Structure of Markets. American Economic Review, 92(3), 434–459. https://doi.org/10.1257/00028280260136200
  9. Varadarajan, R. (2010). Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain, definition, fundamental issues and foundational premises. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(2), 119–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-009-0176-7
  10. MacInnis, D. J. (2011). A Framework for Conceptual Contributions in Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 136–154. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.75.4.136
  11. Hult, G. T. M. (2011). Toward a theory of the boundary-spanning marketing organization and insights from 31 organization theories. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(4), 509–536. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0253-6