Findings – Through experiential learning and reflective practice participants learn, for example, that: capabilities need to match the intended strategy; investing in production capacity can be leveraged to aid negotiations with competitors, or it can be used as a bully tactic; and, it sometimes is better to be an R&D “follower” rather than a “leader”. The participants also learn that the alignment of operational and strategic choices is necessary in order to leverage success in developing new products but that the actions and strategies of competitors have a direct impact also and need to be considered carefully.
Research limitations/implications – The teaching tool adopts a participative game playing and reflective learning approach to introduce into class some of the real-life competitive dynamics of managing new product development and decision making normally confined to the boardroom. While it is argued that the game demonstrates the challenges of developing successful strategy, the game is set in a static context in which certain external contingencies are not accounted for.