• Olson, B., & Ailworth, E. (2016, January 11). Oil plunge sparks bankruptcy concerns. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-plunge-sparks-bankruptcy-concerns-1452560335
• Fitzgerald, D., & Krouse, S. (2019, February 26). How 5G will change so much more than your phone. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-5g-will-change-so-much-more-than-your-phone-11551236760
• Monga, V., McNish, J., & Muñoz, S. S. (2017, December 28). Apotex faces uncertainty after founder's mysterious death. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/apotex-faces-uncertainty-after-founders-mysterious-death-1514476204

• Zoom Video Introduction Forum
• Group Introduction Forum
• Competition Forum
• Systematic Shock Forum
• Article Research Forum

• Dvorsky, G. (2013, January 9). The 12 cognitive biases that prevent you from being rational. Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/the-12-cognitive-biases-that-prevent-you-from-being-rat-5974468
• Sleesman, D. J., Conlon, D. E., McNamara, G., & Miles, J. E. (2012). Cleaning up the Big Muddy: A meta-analytic review of the determinants of escalation of commitment. Academy of Management Journal, 55(3), 541–562. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0696
• Winslow, R. (2017, June 2). Mayo Clinic's unusual challenge: Overhaul a business that's working. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/mayo-clinics-unusual-challenge-overhaul-a-business-thats-working-1496415044
• Ziobro, P. (2018, June 15). UPS's $20 billion problem: Operations stuck in the 20th century. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/upss-20-billion-problem-operations-stuck-in-the-20th-century-1529072397
• DeBarros, A., & Adamy, J. (2019, May 15). U.S. births fall to lowest level since 1980s. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-births-fall-to-lowest-rates-since-1980s-11557892860
• Byron, E. (2019, June 2). More Americans are living solo, and companies want their business. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-americans-are-living-solo-and-companies-want-their-business-11559497606

Optional Readings

• Hagerty, J. R. (2016, January 12). Harley-Davidson tries to rejuvenate motorcycle sales. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/harley-davidson-tries-to-rejuvenate-motorcycle-sales-1452552030

• PEST Forum
• Psychological Biases Forum

• Soshkin, M. (2018). Domestic airlines in the US [Industry Report 48111b]. IBISWorld. https://www.ibisworld.com (Also found in the Concentration Calculations Group assignment.)
• Amir, A. (2019). Janitorial services in the US [Industry Report 56172]. IBISWorld. https://www.ibisworld.com (Also found in the Concentration Calculations Group assignment.)

• Apple Markets Worksheet (Group)
• SIC Website (Individual)
• Concentration Calculations (Individual)
• Concentration Calculations (Group; due in Lesson 4)
• Case Study Analysis 1 (due in Lesson 4)

• Brown, R. S. (2015). Franchising as a collective action mechanism in fragmented industry structures. Journal of Managerial Issues, 27(1-4), 63–83. https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Ffranchising-as-collective-action-mechanism%2Fdocview%2F1756232156%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D13158
• Complaint, United States v. AT&T, No. 1:11-cv-01560 (D.D.C. 2011).

• Coordination Forum
• Case Study Analysis 1
• Concentration Calculations (Group)

• Editorial Board. (2019, June 28). Idaho quits worrying about snails. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/idaho-quits-worrying-about-snails-11561763217
• Editorial Board. (2019, May 9). Uber's risk is politics. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubers-risk-is-politics-11557444110

• Mobile Antitrust Forum
• Article Search (Individual)

• None

• Watch All Things Must Pass (available to registered students via Kanopy)
• Exam 1

• Howard, P. K. (2014). The rule of nobody. In The rule of nobody: Saving America from dead laws and broken government (pp. 7–13). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co. (Available in the Library Resources.)
• Brown, R. S. (2015). Franchisor market power and control rights in franchise systems: The case of Major League Baseball versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Service Business, 11(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-015-0296-8
• Brown, R. S. (2016). Lobbying, political connectedness and financial performance in the air transportation industry. Journal of Air Transport Management, 54, 61–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2016.03.009
• Brown, R. S. (2016). AT&T’s establishment of a political capability. Journal of Public Affairs, 16(1), 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1568
• Lessig, L. (2012). Why don't we have free markets? In Republic lost: How money corrupts congress—and a plan to stop it (pp. 43–52). New York, NY: Twelve. (Available on E-Reserves. To access this article, click on the Library Resources link in your Course Navigation Menu.)
• Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78–93. (See instructions for Harvard Business Review articles in the Required Materials section of the syllabus.)

• Readings Forum (Optional)

• None

• Watch the Beer Wars documentary (available to registered students via Kaltura)
• Case Study Analysis 2 (due in Lesson 9)

• Walt Disney Company. (2018). Fiscal year 2018 annual financial report. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/app/uploads/2019/01/2018-Annual-Report.pdf

• Disney M-Form (Group)
• Case Study Analysis 2

• Katzenbach, J., Steffan, I., & Kronley, C. (2012). Culture change that sticks. Harvard Business Review, July–August. (See instructions for Harvard Business Review articles in the Required Materials section of the syllabus.)
• Grinnell, J., & Muise, C. (2010). Dell computers: Competing toward decline? Journal of Business Case Studies, 6(3), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.19030/jbcs.v6i3.872
• Higgins, T. (2018, May 14). Tesla CEO Musk says company is 'flattening management structure' in reorganization. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-ceo-musk-says-company-is-flattening-management-structure-inreorganization-1526308678
• Jargon, J. (2018, June 11). McDonald's promises franchisees more support. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-shares-details-of-restructuring-plan-in-new-memo-1528754609
• Greene, J. (2018, March 29). Microsoft downgrades Windows' role in cloud-focused reorganization. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-diminishes-windows-role-in-cloud-focused-reorganization-1522335763
• Schwartzel, E., & Armental, M. (2019, Feb 5). Disney offers fresh details on plans for digital future. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/disneys-profit-falls-amid-streaming-push-11549403029

• Stakeholder Management Forum
• Stock Ownership Forum

• None

• Exam 2

• Dean, J. (2019, May 5). Tech giants rethink the businesses that made them big. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-giants-rethink-the-businesses-that-made-them-big-11557071214
• Kang, J. (2019, March 19). No-frills gym chain bulks up thanks to workout boom. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/no-frills-gym-chain-bulks-up-thanks-to-workout-boom-11552996800
• Turner, Z. (2017, September 21). How grocery giant Aldi plans to conquer America: Limit choice. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-grocery-giant-aldi-plans-to-conquer-america-limit-choice-1506004169
• La Roche, J. (2014, February 24). Carl Icahn shreds the Ebay board, and demands that Ebay and PayPal split. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/carl-icahn-ebay-letter-2014-2
• Bussey, J. (2011, August 19). The two-edged sword of dual-class shares. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904292504576484971843643158
• General Electric. (2015, April 22). Notice of 2015 annual meeting & proxy statement. Meeting of General Electric, Oklahoma City, OK.
• Ante, S. E., & Bensinger, G. (2012, February 28). Sprint's woes weighed on deal. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203833004577248001619915494

• Segment Identification (Individual)
• Aldi's Low-Cost Activities

• Bender, R. (2019, May 19). Bayer's Roundup problem slashes its market value. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/bayers-roundup-woes-send-investors-fleeing-11558266059
• Nicas, J., & Stevens, L. (2017, August 23). Wal-Mart and Google team up to challenge Amazon. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/wal-mart-and-google-partner-to-challenge-amazon-1503460861
• Terlep, S., & Prang, A. (2019, May 9). Maker of Schick Razors to buy upstart Harry's. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/schick-razor-parent-edgewell-personal-care-to-buy-harrys-11557398410
• Schwartzel, E. (2019, May 30). Star Wars attractions give force to Disney theme parks. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/star-wars-attractions-give-force-to-disney-theme-parks-11559213063
• Greene, J., & Nassauer, S. (2018, July 17). Amazon foes Walmart and Microsoft deepen tech partnership. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-foes-walmart-and-microsoft-deepen-tech-partnership-1531800060
• Nassauer, S., & Negishi, M. (2018, January 26). Wal-Mart has a new ally in fight with Amazon: Japan's Rakuten. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/wal-mart-has-a-new-ally-in-fight-with-amazon-japans-rakuten-1516930260
• Maloney, J., & Mattioli, D. (2019, March 23). Why Marlboro maker bet on Juul, the vaping upstart aiming to kill cigarettes. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-marlboro-maker-bet-on-juul-the-vaping-upstart-aiming-to-kill-cigarettes-11553313678
• ​Calia, M. (2015, February 25). Hudson's Bay, Simon Property Group to form joint venture. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/hudsons-bay-simon-property-group-to-form-joint-venture-1424868317
• Martin, R. L. (June 2016). The Big Idea M&A: The One Thing You Need to Get Right. Harvard Business Review, 43–48.
• Trichterborn, A., Knyphausen-aufseß, D. Z., & Schweizer, L. (2016). How to Improve Acquisition Performance: The Role of a Dedicated M&A Function, M&A Learning Process, and M&A Capability. Strategic Management Journal, 37, 763–773.

• Walmart's JV Activities
• Readings Response (Group)
• Current M&A Deal Forum

• Amazon's Shared Aggregated E-Commerce Shopping Cart Patent: Golwalkar, Y. V. (2019). U.S. Patent No. 10,169,806 B1. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. (Available in the Amazon, Burger King, and Smuckers Patents assignment.)
• Burger King's Box Patent: Pusta, P., & Marchesan, M. (2013). U.S. Patent No. D695,608 S. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. (Available in the Amazon, Burger King, and Smuckers Patents assignment.)
• Armental, M. (2019, January 11). Netflix sued over alleged 'choose your own adventure' trademark infringement. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/netflix-sued-over-alleged-choose-your-own-adventure-trademark-infringement-11547239960
• Mochizuki, T. (2017, June 12). Sharp to Americans: You don't want to buy a Sharp-brand TV. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/sharp-to-americans-you-dont-want-to-buy-a-sharp-brand-tv-1497241004
• Gasparro, A. (2018, August 21). Cat fight: Cheetos maker Pepsi challenges orange snack rival. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/cat-fight-cheetos-maker-pepsi-challenges-orange-snack-rival-1534858638
• Schlackman, S. (n.d.). How Mickey Mouse keeps changing copyright law. Artrepreneur. https://artrepreneur.com/journal/disney-copyright-keeps-changing/
• Smucker's Sealed Crustless Sandwich Patent: Kretchman, L. C., Geske, D. (2004). U.S. Patent No. US 2004/0180116 A1. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. (Available in the Amazon, Burger King, and Smuckers Patents assignment.)

• Kang, J., & Gottfried, M. (2019, March 18). Blackstone nears deal to acquire Servpro Industries. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/blackstone-nears-deal-to-acquire-servpro-industries-11552936361
• Jargon, J. (2018, October 10). McDonald's franchisees plan push for stronger sales. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-franchisees-plan-push-for-stronger-sales-1539212514
• Jargon, J. (2018, October 9). McDonald's franchisees grumble that restaurants are no cash cow. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-franchisees-consider-push-on-profit-cash-flow-1539118360
• Entrepreneur. (2023). 2023 Franchise 500 Ranking. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500
• Franchise Times. (n.d.). Search the top 500. Franchise Times. https://www.franchisetimes.com/top-500-2022/
• Franchise Times (2017, September 27). Methodology. Franchise Times. https://www.franchisetimes.com/methodology/article_6b55d75c-7be8-57f6-9f0d-edc474fdca67.html
• Franchise Times. (2020, November 3). Franchise Times top 200. Franchise Times. https://www.franchisetimes.com/franchise_resources/top200-2019/franchise-times-top-200/article_99375ff2-224a-5e43-a3e8-c6463b0e4e40.html
• Chin, K. (2018, November 1). Sears expands Kenmore, DieHard brands with licensing deal. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/sears-expands-kenmore-diehard-brands-with-licensing-deals-1541081796
• Flint, J. (2019, May 15). Bazinga! Streaming deal for 'The Big Bang Theory' comes into play. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/bazinga-streaming-deal-for-the-big-bang-theory-comes-into-play-11557925203
• Trachtenberg, J. A. (2019, May 27). Sports Illustrated sold for $110 million to licensing company Authentic Brands. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/sports-illustrated-sold-for-110-million-to-licensing-company-authentic-brands-11559005320
• Al-Muslim, A. (2019, May 23). Taco Bell plans expansion in India with 600 new locations. Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/taco-bell-plans-expansion-in-india-with-600-new-locations-11558616724

• Franchise System Analysis (Group)

• None

• Final Exam