The exploration of the economics of strategy will enable the student to understand and critically discuss the following issues:

LG1: Understand key theories about the existence, organization, and functions of the firm.
LG2: Analyze the market context and competition processes.
LG3: Define and assess the horizontal and vertical limits of the firm.
LG4: Evaluate strategic positioning and business models.
LG5: Develop, sustain, and evolve competitive advantages.

P1: Theories of the Firm and its Limits
Main theories (neoclassical, transaction cost, resource-based, agency).
Horizontal and vertical limits of the firm.
Integration and alternatives.
P2: Market Analysis and Competition Dynamics
Competition between firms and barriers to entry/exit.
Market analysis and industry structure.
Industry life cycle and strategies for turbulent contexts.
P3: Strategic Positioning and Competitive Advantage
Differentiation, cost leadership, and market niches.
Use of information to create value.
Sustaining competitive advantage over time.
P4: Internal Organization
Performance evaluation, incentives, and organizational structure.
Alignment between strategy and company structure.

This course can be concluded through:

I - Semester assessment

1- Exam: 60% (minimum grade: 8,5 val)
2- Group Project: 40%


II - Final assessment

1 - Exam: 100%

At the end of this learning unit?s term, the student must be able to:
1. Describe the concept of business profitability and to compute and analyze the more relevant profitability ratios, linking profitability with the firm?s capital structure;
2. Analyze the financial condition of a firm, and to compute and analyze the most relevant financial ratios;
3. Compute and describe the concept of cash flow in capital investment valuation;
4. Apply and understand the main valuation criteria used in capital investment analysis;
5. Understand the interlink between the processes of investment and financing decisions;
Extend the use of the investment project techniques to estimate the entire firm value.

I - Financial Analysis
1. Income and profitability ratios
2. Financial leverage
3. Sources and applications of funds
4. Working capital
5. Solvency
6. Cash flow analysis

II - Capital Investments
1. The concept of the project?s cash flow map
2. Valuation methodology
3. The discount rate
4. Valuation criteria: NPV, IRR, PI and PAYBACK
5. Mutually exclusive projects

III - Capital Structure
1. The structure of capital and the firm?s value
2. Adjusted valuation of capital investments

IV - Firm valuation
1. Methods of firm valuation
2. Free cash flow
3. Multiple growth rates for cash flows

Assessment throughout the semester
- Individual and group written reports and oral presentations (40%).
- Final test (60%).
- Both evaluations have a minimum grade of 7.5.
- Minimum class attendance is 70%.

Evaluation by Exam
- The exam accounts for 100% of the final grade.

By the end of this course the student should be able to
LG1 - Understand the relationship between sectoral dynamics and the decision-making process at firm and sectoral levels.
LG2 - Understand the relationship between sectoral dynamics and evaluation processes in critical dimensions of action at sectoral and firm level.

1. Introduction to industry dynamics
2. Industry dynamics and decision-making - general approaches
3. Industry dynamics and decision-making - specific approaches
4. Industry dynamics and evaluation

Assessment takes place through a final exam with a weight of 100%.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:
LO1. Know the main concepts of oligopoly models, games theory and contracts;
LO2. Apply theoretical knowledge to the real economic analysis.

S1. Oligopoly and Strategic Interaction
S2. Games Theory and Strategic Interaction
S3. Economics of Contracts

The assessment of the course has two different methods:
a) Assessment throughout the semester:
- Minimum of 2/3 attendance
- Three in-class tests analysing relevant documents, with the best two counting 40%; the marks must not be lower than 8v.
- Written test: 60%, whose mark cannot be below 8v.
b) Assessment by Final Exam (100%)

At the end of this learning unit, the student must be able:
LG1. To know the main tendencies in the international economic environment
LG2. To discuss the key dimensions of performance of the firm in an international environment and critically discuss relevant case studies

P1. International Economic Environment and Internationalization Process - a general mapping
P2. World Economy in Big Numbers
P3. Main Risks of the Internationalization Process: cultural risk and country risk
P4. Economic Diplomacy
P5. Market Selection and Analysis
P6. Business Internationalization - Case Studies

Approval in this curricular unit can be obtained in two ways:
I. Assessment throughout the semester including the following elements:
- Individual test: 60%.
- Group work: 40% (resulting from written report and discussion in class)
II - Final evaluation corresponding to an exam (100%)

By the end of the semester students must have developed the following skills (learning goals):
- Knowledge and understanding of the main goals of competition and regulation policies, as well as the tools for policy intervention;
- Knowledge and understanding of the relevant concepts of Economic Theory for the analysis of markets and policies;
- Knowledge and understanding of the Portuguese and European (whenever relevant) institutional framework, for competition and regulation policies;
- Knowledge and understanding of the main challenges and drawbacks in competition and regulation policy implementation;
- Knowledge and understanding of several regulation approaches in specific industries (energy, communications, transports, etc.).

1. Economic Theory and Competition as a Public Good: market power, regulation and efficiency
2. Competition Law and Policy: its goals and limits
3. Supervision over agreements between firms, decisions of association between firms, concerted practices
4. Supervision over abuses of dominant position
5. Control over mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.
6. European Union control over State Aid
7. Why regulating Public Utilities
8. Cost Plus and Incentive Regulation approaches
9. Alternative regulation approaches under imperfect information context
10. Pricing structures in regulated industries

Students can choose between two assessment alternatives: (A) written exam (100%); or (B) Written exam (50%) and individual essay on competition or regulation (50%).

The curricular unit intends to provide the students with knowledge that allows to:

- Understand the importance of the use of econometric techniques in economics contexts;
- Identify and understand the several types of economic data;
- Understand the main statistical concepts;
- Identify and understand the several types of microeconometric models and their applicability conditions;
- Recognize the most adequate model for a given problem in study taking into account the available data;
- Estimate microeconometric models using the statistical/econometric softwares;
- Interpret the results of the several microeconometric models in a critical way;
- Elaborate a report with the main conclusions of the estimated models.
- Present orally the results of the estimated models.

1. Introduction
2. Revisions of statistical concepts
3. Revisions of descriptive statistics (univariate and bivariate)
4. Revisions of Inferential statistics
5. Linear regression model (simple and multiple)
6. Regression models of qualitative dependent variable

The evaluation comprehends two components: Evaluation throughout the semester and Final Exam.The Evaluation throughout the semester comprises the following:
1.Report (in group) applying the econometric models mentioned in the program and oral presentation (50%)
2.Final test (50%)
Students should obtain a minimum of 8 in each component of the Evaluation throughout the semester. A Final Exam evaluation is available to those that do not pass in the Evaluation throughout the semester. The mark of this evaluation only includes this exam.

At the end of this learning unit, the student must be able:
LG1: Know and understand the key issues with respect to hiring and turnover/layoffs;
LG2: Know and understand the key issues with respect to the definition of pay, incentives, and other other working conditions given to the workers of a given company;
LG3: Understand how a firm can organize their human resources in order to better explore the complementaries between workers in terms of their skills.
LG4: Know and understand the key determinants of the decision of being in entrepreneurship/self-employment vs. wage employment

PC1. Hiring strategies
PC2. Pay and other incentives
PC3. Pay and other working conditions
PC4. Human capital
PC5. Labour turnover
PC6. Teams
PC7. Entrepreneurship/Self-employment

For the students in periodic assessment, evaluation is done through an Individual assignment (100%)

For the students in final assessment, evaluation will be done through an exam (100%).

LG1 - To know the main types of master thesis and to be able to identify the type that better matches the work he/she wants to develop during the 2nd year of the program
LG2 - To know how to define the research questions
LG3 - To know how to prepare a chronogram for the research process
OA4 - To know how to make a literature review and the main sources of bibliography that can be used to this end
LG5 - To know how to define the phases of empirical work in Economics
LG6 - To know how to apply the main rules for presenting references and citations and understand the concept of plagiarism in order to avoid situations of this nature in scientific work
LG7 - To understand the key guidelines for writing and orally presenting a research project

PC1 - Methodological topics associated with developing a research project
1.1 Types of thesis
1.2 Identifying the research questions and the research phases
1.3 Doing a literature review and identifying the main literature sources
1.4 Types and phases of empirical work in Economics
1.5 Citations and references
1.6 Plagiarism in scientific work
1.7 Writing a thesis
1.8 Oral presentation of a thesis
PC2 - Research topics in Business Economics and Competition

Performance evaluation includes the following elements:
- Thesis project - written report + oral presentation (25%);
- Literature Review - written report + oral presentation (25%);
- Empirical analysis - written report + oral presentation (50%).
In this course there is not a second period of assessment. This course does not have an exam due to its nature.

LO1. Define a scientific problem and its relevance;
LO2. Define research goals and possible hypotheses;
LO3. Produce a literature review supporting the dissertation?s main problem;
LO4. Apply suitable methodologies of data collection and analysis, if applicable;
LO5. Provide a critical reflexion sustained on theoretical frameworks and empirical results.

S1. Writing an introduction and abstract that summarizes the research carried out in the thesis
S2. Definition of a research problem and research goals
S3. Literature review
S4. Defining an empirical strategy
S5. Using data collection methods (if applicable)
S6. Using data analysis methods (if applicable)
S7. Critical interpretation of the results derived from the empirical strategy using the theoretical and empirical contributions identified in the literature review
S8. Writing conclusions and defining future research paths

- Written presentation of the thesis
- Oral presentation of a synthesis of the thesis followed by a public defense with a jury.

LG1. Define a research question and its relevance;
LG2. Identify the research goals;
LG3. Produce a literature review to frame the project's topic;
LG4. Use the adequate empirical methodologies;
LG5. Provide a critical reflexion sustained on theoretical frameworks and empirical results.

PC1. Writing an introduction and abstract
PC2. Definition of a research problem and research goals
PC3. Literature review
PC4. Defining an empirical strategy
PC5. Using data collection methods (if applicable)
PC6. Using data analysis methods (if applicable)
PC7. Critical interpretation of the results derived from the empirical strategy using the theoretical and empirical contributions identified in the literature review
PC8. Writing conclusions and defining future research paths

- Written presentation of the thesis
- Oral presentation of a synthesis of the project followed by a public defense with a jury.