Dear Colleagues,
Many of us teach competitive advantage and the resource-based view through a combination of lectures, discussions, and case analyses. While these approaches are effective for illustrating resource heterogeneity and differences in firm performance, they often leave students with an important unanswered question: How do firms actually acquire the resources that create competitive advantage?
To address this challenge, my colleagues and I have developed a theory-driven simulation designed for undergraduate, MBA, and executive strategy courses.
The Resource Acquisition & Competitive Advantage Simulation places students in the role of managers making resource investment decisions under uncertainty. Rather than analyzing resource advantages after they emerge, participants must evaluate opportunities, make acquisition decisions, and observe how those decisions influence subsequent performance.
The simulation is grounded in research on resource-based theory, strategic factor markets, and resource acquisition. It is intended to help students experience several concepts that are often difficult to convey through discussion alone:
· The challenges of acquiring resources under uncertainty
· The origins of resource heterogeneity among firms
· The relationship between decision-making coherence and performance
· How investments shape strategic and financial outcomes
· Why firms facing similar opportunities often achieve very different results
The exercise can be delivered in either a single-class-session format or a two-session format. In the one-session version, all participants begin with identical resources and the discussion explores why heterogeneity emerged over (simulated) time. In the two-session version, participants begin with different resource endowments and the discussion explores the impact of ex ante heterogeneity on subsequent choices and outcomes.
To facilitate adoption, we've developed instructor materials (learning objectives, discussion questions, timing guides, and debrief outlines), as well as quick-start materials and reflection exercises for students.
We are currently seeking instructor feedback and would be happy to offer interested faculty the opportunity to preview the simulation. We are also conducting related research on strategic decision-making and welcome conversations with instructors who may be interested in participating.
If this resource might be useful in your strategy course, please feel free to contact me for additional information, a demonstration, or sample teaching materials.
Best regards,
Michael
Leiblein.1@osu.edu
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Michael Leiblein
Professor
The Ohio State University
Columbus OH
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