Eclipsing the Competition

It models the solar photovoltaic industry and puts the player in the role of a senior executive at SunPower. The simulation is designed to show how scale and learning can shape competition between PV producers. [MIT Sloan simulation overview](https://mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu/jsterman/simulationsforstrategyandsustainability/)

The model uses an experience curve in which unit costs fall by roughly 20 percent each time cumulative production doubles. The case also describes solar industry volume growing by about 30 percent per year or more in its example setting. [MIT Sloan simulation paper](https://img.climateinteractive.org/2015/01/Learning-Edge-MFS-Part-I.pdf)

Players set product prices and decide how much revenue to put into process improvement. The simulation catalog describes a 20-year horizon in which students try to balance market growth, scale economies, and profitability. [Forio simulation catalog](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn-common.forio.com/marketing/Store/Forio_Simulations_Catalog_2016.pdf)

Yes, the settings can include technology spillovers, aggressive competitor pricing, and entry by firms with superior new technologies. That means a low-price growth strategy can still be exposed to disruption from outside the existing group of producers. [MIT Sloan simulation paper](https://img.climateinteractive.org/2015/01/Learning-Edge-MFS-Part-I.pdf)