Good strategy does not exist in isolation: the success and profitability of a business depends not only on the strategic moves that it makes but also on the strategic moves that other firms make. Understanding the strategic linkages between firms can therefore be immensely valuable.
Game theory is a tool specifically designed to analyze and exploit these strategic linkages between the moves made by different firms.
In this course, you will explore the marketplace and identify the key players within your field. Once you have identified the key players, you will analyze their capabilities and motivations. You will consider the physics of business as you map out actions and reactions to your strategic moves. In addition, you will examine how other players perceive you and devise ways to influence these perspectives to your advantage.
Sometimes the best strategic move is to boldly seek to change the game! You will determine how best to do so and strategize accordingly.
Professor of Economics and Area Coordinator for Strategy and Business Economics, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
Justin P. Johnson received his PhD from MIT and is currently a professor of economics at Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. He teaches business strategy to the School’s MBA and Executive MBA students.
Professor Johnson is an active and globally renowned researcher in economics and strategy, and a past editor at both the Journal of Industrial Economics and the International Journal of Industrial Organization, top journals in his field. He uses analytic tools from economics and game theory to better understand how firms can succeed in challenging environments, and what strategies they can adopt to either achieve or maintain dominance in markets. Much of his research is motivated by events in high-tech markets, such as older work on open source software and recent work on the business and pricing strategies of web-based resellers of airline tickets, hotel rooms, and other products. More broadly, he is interested in markets where rapid change is taking place and in how firms can survive and thrive in the face of such change.
In addition to his research, academic talks, teaching, and involvement with executive development, Professor Johnson discusses his research and its relevance to current matters of interest with governmental bodies around the world, including the US Department of Justice, the US Federal Trade Commission, the EU Directorate General for Competition, and the UK Competition Authority.
