MN30677 Corporate Strategy & Development Sem2 Project Guidelines

Topic Selection

Each participant should select a particular corporate event (e.g. M&A, strategic alliance, minority equity investment, outsourcing deal) or corporation with an established corporate development strategy and carry out a detailed strategic analysis in a written report. The report will account for 100% of your module mark. The objective of the project is to offer you an opportunity to apply your understanding and learning from this course in a real-world context and on a subject matter that is of most interest to you.

You are free to select any topic, provided that:
(1) Your topic must directly relate to the content covered in this module's syllabus;
(2) The corporate event(s) you analyze must have occurred (or announced) in 2020 or later. Before making your final selection, ensure that enough relevant information is readily available.

Some examples of topics from previous years include:

• Amazon’s acquisition of WholeFoods – Blind ambition or a well-calculated move?
• Autonomy or Integration? An in-depth analysis of Facebook’s intensified integration plan to bring Instagram into its single operational platform.
• How the acquisition of Salmoiraghi & Viganò fits Luxottica’s ongoing vertical
  integration strategy.
• Paradoxical Allies: can a firm gain strategic utility from an equity-based alliance with an NGO? The case of Kymab and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

Some of the key characteristics of a good report are discussed below.

Context and Objectives

Make sure that you state clearly the issue or problem that you are investigating. Justify the selection of the particular corporation or corporate event that you are analysing. Your report should have a clear statement of the objectives of your work. Examples of objectives: 

1. An in-depth examination of the acquisitions made by a selected firm, focusing on the motives of the acquirer;
2. A detailed analysis of the target integration approaches in a technology acquisition;
3. A comparative analysis of modes of corporate development, such as acquisition, internal development or alliances;
4. A comparative analysis of different modes of foreign market entry, such a cross-border acquisition versus green-field investment;
5. A strategic analysis of the outsourceability of different parts of the value chain.

Research Design and Theoretical Background

Your report should be designed in a way that shows linkages to important themes in the module. You are expected to demonstrate familiarity with the relevant theoretical frameworks from the module and the ability to select, interpret and apply appropriate theories and analytical sets of tools. Cite the relevant literature, justify your choices and discuss possible theoretical limitations. Make sure that you identify and discuss in detail the main dimensions of your study, namely the main dependent and explanatory variables. For example, you could explore how the structure of an alliance (explanatory variable) impacted some performance indicators of one of the partners (dependent variable).