''Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life'' is a non-fiction book by Indian-American economist
Avinash Dixit
Avinash Kamalakar Dixit (born 6 August 1944) is an Indian-American economist. He is the John J. F. Sherrerd '52 University Professor of Economics Emeritus at Princeton University, and has been distinguished adjunct professor of economics at L ...
and
Barry Nalebuff
Barry J. Nalebuff (born July 11, 1958) is an American businessman, business theorist, and writer. He is a Milton Steinbach Professor of Management at Yale School of Management and author who specializes in business strategy and game theory. His pu ...
, a professor of economics and management at
Yale School of Management
The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Admi ...
. The text was initially published by
W. W. Norton & Company on February 1, 1991.
Overview
The book discusses issues of strategic behaviour, decision making, and
game theory
Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...
. The authors present the main concepts, such as
backward induction
Backward induction is the process of determining a sequence of optimal choices by reasoning from the endpoint of a problem or situation back to its beginning using individual events or actions. Backward induction involves examining the final point ...
,
auction theory
Auction theory is a branch of applied economics that deals with how bidders act in auctions and researches how the features of auctions Incentivisation, incentivise predictable outcomes. Auction theory is a tool used to inform the design of real- ...
,
Nash equilibrium
In game theory, the Nash equilibrium is the most commonly used solution concept for non-cooperative games. A Nash equilibrium is a situation where no player could gain by changing their own strategy (holding all other players' strategies fixed) ...
, noncooperative bargaining, to a general audience. Each concept is illustrated by examples from common life, business, sports, politics, etc.—as applying game theory to real life may be the best way of crystallizing the best options available.
Reception
—Review by ''Financial Times''
See also
*
1984 Orange Bowl
*''
Co-Opetition: A Revolution Mindset that Combines Competition and Cooperation'' also co-authored by
Barry Nalebuff
Barry J. Nalebuff (born July 11, 1958) is an American businessman, business theorist, and writer. He is a Milton Steinbach Professor of Management at Yale School of Management and author who specializes in business strategy and game theory. His pu ...
*
Coordination game
A coordination game is a type of simultaneous game found in game theory. It describes the situation where a player will earn a higher payoff when they select the same course of action as another player. The game is not one of pure conflict, which ...
*
Tragedy of the commons
The tragedy of the commons is the concept that, if many people enjoy unfettered access to a finite, valuable resource, such as a pasture, they will tend to overuse it and may end up destroying its value altogether. Even if some users exercised vo ...
*''
Thinking, Fast and Slow
''Thinking, Fast and Slow'' is a 2011 popular science book by psychologist Daniel Kahneman.
The book's main thesis is a differentiation between two modes of thought: "System 1" is fast, instinctive and emotional; "System 2" is slower, more delib ...
''
References
{{Reflist
External links
Excerpt from the book*
1991 non-fiction books
Popular science books
American non-fiction books
Business books
W. W. Norton & Company books
Books about game theory