Most major companies are not single businesses firms operating in a single location but portfolios of products and business units spanning multiple locations. This course studies corporate strategy in terms of portfolio composition and organization, focusing in particular on vertical integration, horizontal scope, and geographic diversification decisions.

Class time shall be devoted to discussing cases to gain a better understanding of the economic factors underlying value creation and value capture in corporate strategy. In particular, we will explore the role of transaction costs, agency costs, complementarities, and organizational rigidity and adaptation. Students who take this course will develop a sophisticated basis for analyzing corporate strategy decisions both as insiders (corporate managers and management consultants), and as analysts and investors.

Vanessa Burbano

Sidney Taurel Associate Professor of Business

Vanessa Burbano is the Sidney Taurel Associate Professor of Management in the strategy area at Columbia Business School.

Burbano researches the strategic implications of socially responsible and irresponsible firm practices; in particular, how they influence employee behavior. Her body of work has been recognized by her receipt of the 2021 Emerging Scholar Award from the Strategic Management division of the Academy of...

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