Module 1
Industry Structure and Competitive Dynamics
- Industry boundaries and profit pools
- Five-forces logic and structural change
- Competitor groups and strategic moves
- Substitutes, complements and disruption
INDENTRA Strategic Management Academy Course Page
Standard: PMA-WEB-WF-01 | Strategic Management Academy course landing page
Duda page name: Competitive Strategy, Business Models and Positioning
Final URL: https://www.indentra.co.uk/competitive-strategy-business-models-and-positioning
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Competitive Strategy Programme
Competitive Strategy, Business Models and Positioning
Analyse industries, competitors and customer value to design stronger business models, positioning choices and defensible sources of advantage.
Course overview
Make competitive choices that are explicit, evidence-based and commercially coherent.
Competitive advantage rarely comes from a single framework. It emerges from a coherent set of choices about where to compete, how to create value, how to capture value and what capabilities must be different from competitors.
This course develops the ability to analyse industry structure, competitors, customer needs, substitutes, complements and ecosystem dynamics; test business-model assumptions; and define a positioning logic that can guide investment and execution.
Participants use practical cases and structured tools to move from market evidence to strategic choices, trade-offs and a clear competitive narrative.
Learning outcomes
What participants will be able to do.
By the end of the course, participants should be able to:
- Assess industry structure and the forces that shape profitability and competitive behaviour.
- Build a practical competitor profile using evidence rather than assumptions.
- Analyse customer value, segments, alternatives and sources of differentiation.
- Map how a business model creates, delivers and captures value.
- Identify complementarities, network effects and ecosystem dependencies where relevant.
- Develop alternative positioning options and evaluate their strategic coherence.
- Define the capabilities, activities and trade-offs required to support a chosen position.
- Translate competitive choices into a concise strategic narrative and priorities.
Who should attend
Designed for professionals who influence strategic choices or execution.
- Business-unit and functional leaders involved in market or competitive decisions.
- Strategy, corporate development and planning professionals.
- Product, marketing, commercial and business-development managers.
- Business analysts and consultants supporting strategic option evaluation.
Prerequisites
Professionally accessible and application-focused.
Participants should have general business experience. Prior strategy training is useful but not required.
Course structure
A five-module strategic learning journey.
The sequence develops understanding, application and practical outputs progressively across five connected modules.
Module 2
Customers, Segments and Value Propositions
- Customer jobs, needs and alternatives
- Segmentation and attractiveness
- Differentiation and willingness to pay
- Value proposition coherence
Module 3
Business Models and Value Capture
- Business-model components
- Revenue, cost and margin logic
- Key resources, activities and partners
- Business-model risks and assumptions
Module 4
Strategic Positioning and Sources of Advantage
- Cost, differentiation and focus choices
- Activity-system fit and trade-offs
- Capabilities and barriers to imitation
- Ecosystems, platforms and partnerships
Module 5
Competitive Choice and Strategic Narrative
- Alternative strategic positions
- Choice criteria and scenario tests
- Strategic narrative and priorities
- Signals, measures and review triggers
Learning experience
Learn by analysing, applying, challenging and producing.
Understand
Clarify the strategic logic
Competitive and industry case analysis.
Apply
Practise with evidence and cases
Business-model mapping and challenge sessions.
Produce
Create practical outputs
Positioning and trade-off exercises.
Challenge
Test assumptions and trade-offs
Competitor-response and scenario discussions.
Transfer
Connect learning to work
Workplace application to a selected market, product or business unit.
Completion requirements
Complete the applied learning journey.
- Participate in competitive-analysis and business-model exercises.
- Complete the integrated competitive-strategy case.
- Produce a coherent positioning recommendation with supporting evidence.
- Complete the final strategic-choice and transfer activity.
Participant outputs
Leave with practical strategic-management artefacts.
- Industry and competitor map.
- Customer-value and segmentation summary.
- Business Model Canvas or equivalent model.
- Positioning and advantage statement.
- Competitive-choice decision matrix and action priorities.
Delivery options
Choose the format that fits your people and operating environment.
Instructor-led
Live Classroom
Face-to-face delivery with facilitated discussion, strategic cases, workshops, practical tools and immediate feedback.
Instructor-led
Live Virtual Classroom
Interactive online delivery using collaborative workspaces, breakout activities, coached practice and guided application.
Flexible
Blended Learning
A structured combination of preparation, live sessions, applied assignments, workplace tools and follow-up.
Organisation-specific
Corporate and In-Company
Tailored delivery using organisational terminology, strategic priorities, industry context, decision processes and anonymised cases where appropriate.
Frequently asked questions
Course information and participation.
Is the course only for private-sector companies?
No. Competitive and positioning logic can also help public, not-for-profit and regulated organisations understand alternatives, stakeholder value and strategic differentiation.
Does the course focus on one strategy framework?
No. It integrates several complementary tools so participants can select the analysis needed for the strategic question rather than force every situation into one model.
Will we develop a business model?
Yes. Participants map and challenge a business model as part of the course and connect it to positioning, capabilities and financial logic.
Can our own market or competitors be used?
Yes. Corporate delivery can use selected organisational data and anonymised competitive situations where appropriate.
Does completion provide a professional certification?
The course may provide an INDENTRA course-completion record where applicable. It is not presented as a third-party professional certification unless explicitly confirmed.
Take the next step
Strengthen the choices that determine where and how your organisation competes.
Discuss delivery tailored to your markets, customers, competitors, business models and strategic growth questions.
INDENTRA may adapt sequencing, exercises and examples to suit the delivery format and participant profile while preserving the stated learning outcomes. Course completion does not imply third-party certification or accreditation unless explicitly stated for a specific offering.