Why are customers willing to pay more for some products, brands, and experiences than others? In this module, you will examine willingness to pay as a core driver of value creation and competitive advantage. Through auction dynamics, customer behavior scenarios, and strategic analysis, you'll explore how perceptions of quality, convenience, identity, and competition shape customer preferences—and why understanding willingness to pay is essential for making effective strategic decisions.

Why do some companies create more value than competitors—even when they sell similar products at similar prices? In this module, you'll explore the value stick, a powerful framework for understanding how value is created, shared, and captured across customers, companies, suppliers, and employees. Through the turnaround of the company Best Buy, and insights from former CEO Hubert Joly, you will examine how organizations can strengthen competitive advantage by increasing willingness to pay, improving margins, and creating value across the broader business ecosystem.

Why do some companies achieve superior performance without charging the highest prices or capturing all the value they create? In this module, you will examine how firms capture and share value through pricing decisions, customer surplus, and supplier relationships. Through examples from Best Buy and other leading organizations, you'll explore how effective pricing strategies, value sharing, and dual advantage can strengthen competitive position and drive long-term profitability.

Why do some companies consistently outperform competitors? In this concluding module, you will bring together the course's core concepts—including value creation, willingness to pay, the value stick, and value capture—to examine how firms build and sustain competitive advantage. Through a final strategic dialogue, you will apply these frameworks to a realistic business challenge, evaluate tradeoffs, and defend recommendations using the principles developed throughout the course.