Strategy and Business Policy

The Strategy and Business Policy specialization addresses why and how firms garner and sustain a competitive advantage, and how they can benefit from adapting to and leading societal and technological change.

The PhD program recruits small cohorts of students each year, which encourages emulation, moral support and friendship. We also collaborate hand-in-hand with faculty members who gradually consider us as peers.

Arnaud Cudennec

Strategy and Business Policy, 2020, Assistant Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The Strategy and Business Policy specialization addresses why and how firms garner and sustain a competitive advantage, and how they can benefit from adapting to and leading societal and technological change.
Topics covered include innovation, organization, competition, and institutional problems. Particular emphasis was recently placed on alliances, M&A, integration strategies, institutional changes, social responsibility, entrepreneurship and technology strategy.

A state-of-the-art research

Research professors of the department regularly publish in Top Academic journals. In 2020, the Strategy and Business Policy department would have ranked #4 among all US Management Departments in number of publications in the 5 main Strategy journals (Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Administrative Science Quarterly.

Main specialization field courses (non-exhaustive list)

Behavioral Strategy
Category Research in Strategy
Competitive Strategy and Firm Heterogeneity
Corporate Strategy
Foundations of Strategy
Innovation Strategy
Institutional Analysis: Individuals, Organizations, Societies
Sociological & Organizational Perspectives on Entrepreneurship
Taking stock and Future Perspectives
Value-based Strategy and Formal Modeling

See global course examples here

Students may join courses from other specializations to broaden their knowledge.

Research Seminars

Most academic departments organize research seminars on a regular basis as well as many other academic events. Students are encouraged to join these seminars already from the first year of studies. They give students a good idea of what they are expected to produce. They are also a good way to socialize with the professors of the departments and the other PhD students. Most of these research seminars are available to all PhD students from all specializations.

Special Fellowship

The Strategy and Business Policy Department invites applications for a Special PhD Fellowship within the research area of "Purposeful Leadership". This Special Fellowship awards 5.000 euros annually in addition to the HEC Foundation PhD Research Fellow scholarship of 20.000 euros for a period of up to five years. Read more here.