Fall 2026

Industrial Structure and Competitive Strategy

ECON 458 analyzes firm competition and industrial structure using theoretical models and case studies.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Raymond Deneckere3.2/5

Summary

1 / 6

Students report significant weekly reading and writing requirements, including four-page case analyses and a major final paper. Some reviewers characterize the workload as heavy and the final project as the most challenging aspect of the course.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

ECON 301 or 311

ECON 458

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

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Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.00/5 from 33 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 2.3/5 raw quality · 3.3/5 difficulty · 12 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Raymond Deneckere fosters critical thinking through case studies, which some find helpful for the workforce. However, his lectures are described as dry and overly theoretical, with some students finding them hard to follow due to a lack of slides. Recent reviews also note unclear expectations, slow grading, and administrative errors in project guides.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.75 GPA, 88.1% A/AB (n=42 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.75 GPA, 80.4% A/AB (n=46 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.79 GPA, 92.7% A/AB (n=41 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

RAYMOND DENECKERE is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

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SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction42 / 455

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Raymond Deneckere teaches a course focused on case studies and critical thinking rather than rote memorization or exams. Some students find the experience beneficial for professional skills, while others note the heavy reliance on group projects and final papers.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.75 GPA, 88.1% A/AB (n=42 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.75 GPA, 80.4% A/AB (n=46 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.79 GPA, 92.7% A/AB (n=41 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Students report significant weekly reading and writing requirements, including four-page case analyses and a major final paper. Some reviewers characterize the workload as heavy and the final project as the most challenging aspect of the course.

Recent reviews highlight frustration with unclear expectations, slow grading, and lectures that are difficult to follow due to a lack of slides. Students also note that group work is central to the grade, making partner selection critical.

Topics

  • Entry barriers and price competition dynamics.
  • Entry and exit strategies.
  • Competitive tactics including product differentiation and advertising.

Skills

  • Analyze firm competition and industrial structure.
  • Apply theoretical models and case study analysis.
  • Evaluate entry barriers, pricing dynamics, and competitive tactics.

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

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AB
B
BC
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D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
ECON 458 · Fall 2026

Industrial Structure and Competitive Strategy

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:296:022932",
    "course_id": "ECON 458",
    "course_uid": "course_e1235dcbd05a8b1ac84ba097",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "022932",
    "source_subject_id": "296",
    "title": "Industrial Structure and Competitive Strategy",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
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Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

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Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

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Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
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Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "b8d5614de293ee9770763e537db646b419cb0f415d89469f5d73f307fd79d754",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}