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This week we will discuss competitive advantages, both differentiation and cost advantage

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This week we will discuss competitive advantages, both differentiation and cost advantage. Please be sure to review the following three cases in order to support this discussion:

1. AirAsia: The World’s Lowest Cost Airline pp. 532-542 Course Text: R. M. Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Text and Cases, 9th edn., Wiley, 2016
2. Starbucks Corporation, May 2015 pp. 442-459 Course Text: R. M. Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Text and Cases, 9th edn., Wiley, 2016
3. Harley-Davidson Inc., May 2015 pp. 502-514 Course Text: R. M. Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Text and Cases, 9th edn., Wiley, 2016

Once you have reviewed the cases answer the following questions:

• Which corporations exhibited a Differentiation Advantage? Which corporations exhibited a Cost Advantage? Be sure to provide examples for each corporation illustrating the type of competitive advantage.
• In relation to "cost drivers" What are some of the factors which cause one firm’s unit costs to differ from those of its competitors?  Please provide examples.
• Which competitive advantage is more sustainable Cost Advantage or Differentiation Advantage? Please explain.