Strategic Marketing and Business Growth 5 credits

The course provides you with a comprehensive understanding of how marketing contributes to firm-level strategy. You are introduced to marketing’s range of functions and how they serve as key enablers for realising corporate goals. The core of the course focuses on strategy and strategy-making, equipping you with conceptual tools and analytical frameworks to interpret corporate strategy and design market strategies and plans that align with corporate vision, growth targets, and competitive positioning. Key topics include organisational strategy, competitive environments, business growth and innovation, opportunity identification, value-based perspectives on organisations, market creation and disruption, and business model innovation. Through a blend of theory, case analysis, and applied projects, you will explore how organisations create and capture value in dynamic markets. You will further gain hands-on experience in developing comprehensive market plans that support business expansion and long-term profitability. Connection to Research The course is based on current and relevant academic research into strategy, strategic marketing, entrepreneurship, and business growth that form the main component of the course literature. Working with academic literature is an integral part of the course. Connection to Practice Case studies and examples of strategic implementation from practice are an integral part of the course content. Group work will require the application of the theory to specific situations. Connection to Ethics, Responsibility, Sustainability (ERS) The course addresses the social and environmental impacts of business growth and how a natural-resource-based view on strategy can be applied to marketing. Ethics, responsibility, and sustainability are embedded in the course content and course activities, recognising how these issues impact strategic marketing decisions and are included in the assigned literature. This includes an awareness of professional and ethical responsibilities as an integrated part of their marketing competence.