Written ordinary home exam - assignment autumn 2019

CORPORATE STRATEGY
Elective Course: BA-BHAAV6006U

Date 13th of December to the 16th of December 2019

A: FORMALITY

1. Hand-out and hand-in of the assignment.

The assignment can be downloaded from the 13th of December 2019 at 12:00 o’clock in the noon.
The paper must be uploaded before 12:00 O’clock noon the 16th of December 2019. Both
download and upload take place through the platform: Digital Exam CBS.

2. The size and content of the assignment.

The first page of all uploaded papers must include the following information: The title of the paper
which is “STRATEGIC ANALYSES AND DEVELOPMENT AT DSV – Exam paper autumn
2019”. The exam number of the author, the name of the course: “BA-BHAAV6006U Corporate
Strategy – autumn 2019”. The name of the school and education: Copenhagen Business School, HA
Education, Elective.

The next maximum 10 pages make up the content of the exam paper and focus on the below
questions/problems. Tables and figures also count as part of the 10 pages. Each of these ten pages
must contain no more than 2,275 characters incl. spaces.

This can be followed by a literature list and up to 6 pages of appendix.

Citation of text must be clearly marked by quotation signs ‘’or italic letters and there must be a
reference to the precise sources listed in the literature list. It is prohibited to copy text from other
sources without clear quotation marks. Your exam paper must be made individually by yourself.
A lack of compliance with the above mentioned formal criteria can lead to a rejection of the handed
in paper and in worst case if students are court in plagiarism even further sanctions can be put into
place.
 B: QUESTIONS

1. Analyse and discuss the attractiveness of the freight forward industry in Europe. You can for
instance apply the PESTEL & the Five Forces models and try to identify Critical Success
Factors.

2. Identify and evaluate the main groups of activities, resources and competences at DSV. You
can for instance apply the Value Chain for the identification of activities, resources and
competences and the VRIO frameworks for the evaluation of the resources and
competences.

3. Based on the findings within question 1 & 2 suggest an appropriate competitive strategy for
DSV for the European market for freight forward. You ought to discuss how the strategy
would make the industry attractive and build on linkages within the company’s Value Chain
and on unique resources and competences. Further also discuss how this strategy might be
attacked by competitors, and how it may be defended by DSV.

4. Based on the findings within question 1 & 2 suggest an appropriate growth strategy that
both argue for the growth direction of DSV (using the Ansoff’s Growth Matrix) and the
growth method of DSV (organic growth, strategic alliances and/or M&A) on the European
market.

The questions account equally and must have equal attention. Your answer can be structured
directly to the above 4 questions or it can be organized as a problem oriented essay. In answering
these questions you do not need to describe or explain models, terms and theories from the course,
but only to apply them on the case. You can however discuss the potential strength and weakness of
the models and terms applied and the derivative limitations of your recommendations to DSV.

You are welcome to make use of the below links and you are encourage to visit the case company’s
homepage and search for more information about the company and the industry. However you are
not allowed to contact the case company directly or make use of any inside information that you
may be in position of.

Links to the case company’s homepage:

https://www.dsv.com/

See also CBS Library – databases for market information

 C: STATEMENT OF AIMS OF THE COURSE IN CORPORATE
STRATEGY

In order to acquire the mark 12 within the course Corporate Strategy 7,5 ECTS version the student
must demonstrate:

- Knowledge about and understanding of relevant terms, concepts, models, processes and
perspectives within the field of corporate strategy.

- An ability to identify and solve strategic problems within organizations and industries by
applying relevant terms, concepts, models, processes and perspectives from the discipline of
Corporate Strategy on either cases or real organizations.

- An ability to discuss and evaluate the strength and weakness of the applied terms, concepts,
models, processes and perspectives within the field of Corporate Strategy in relation to your
recommendations.

D: Mark for the exam paper

The mark for the exam paper (course) will be available medium January 2020 on the platform:
Digital Exam CBS.