Experiential learning is used throughout management and business courses, and while the benefits of experiential learning are well established, they are less often used when teaching strategic management. Yet, many concepts in strategy, such as the value chain, are often difficult for students to understand. The abstract nature of these topics, coupled with the limited real-life exposure to strategy in general, make these topics particularly difficult for students to understand and apply. The Golden Ticket exercise was designed to help students correctly apply the VRIO framework and conduct a value chain analysis. At the end of the exercise, students are able to see the big picture of the firm’s value creating activities, identify the firms’ core competencies, and create the value chain for the firm. This exercise can be used in undergraduate and graduate strategy, marketing and management classes, and can be taught face to face or online. Student feedback suggests that they found this exercise engaging, practical and an enlightening way to learn about value chain analysis and core competencies.
