The overarching theme of this course is markets and business strategy. Students learn how firms formulate pricing and competitive strategies when facing strategic interaction, technological change, and evolving market structures. Particular attention is given to digital environments, where data and algorithms can fundamentally reshape competition.
Using economic theory with an emphasis on applied game theory, the course analyzes competition at different but connected levels. We study how firms compete within markets, how strategic choices are shaped by market structure and technological features, and how interactions at one level influence outcomes at another. Standard models of price and quantity competition provide a benchmark, while mechanisms such as network effects and data-driven advantages are examined as forces that can alter the intensity and nature of competition - potentially leading to more concentrated markets, intensified price competition, or new forms of strategic interaction.
The course combines formal economic modeling with applied case discussions, enabling students to analyze pricing and competitive strategies for both established firms and potential entrants. EBO3 builds on insights from EBO1 (consumer behavior and market equilibrium) and extends them to strategic and technologically dynamic market settings.