OpenAI: Framing and shaping non-market strategy

Which social and political issues deserve priority, and how should firms respond to them strategically? This case examines these questions through the lens of OpenAI, the American artificial intelligence (AI) organization that launched Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, or ChatGPT, in November 2022, the first widely accessible generative AI tool based on a large language model. The rapid development of AI has sparked a global race for dominance, fueling geopolitical competition among nations and regions and giving rise to regulatory, social, and ethical debates. Organizations developing artificial general intelligence now operate within this complex context, making non-market considerations unavoidable. OpenAI, like other leading tech firms, faces significant challenges stemming from the non-market environment.
These challenges give rise to multiple non-market issues, each at different stages of public awareness and requiring distinct strategic responses. This case puts students in the role of members of the OpenAI Global Affairs team and encourages them to identify the most important social and political issues facing OpenAI- and, more broadly, organizations in the AI sector- while mapping key stakeholders involved. How can OpenAI frame these issues and use non-market strategies to identify strategic opportunities?

This case is particularly relevant to graduate-level, MBA, and executive education programs. It fits well in courses on strategic management, non-market strategy, corporate political activity, and stakeholder management, where students examine how organizations formulate non-market strategies to pursue strategic objectives under conditions of high uncertainty. This case is also well-suited to technology- and ethics-focused courses, as it can stimulate discussion of the broader ethical, social, and governance challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
Hence, this case is designed to equip students with the tools and frameworks needed to navigate complex non-market environments and make strategic decisions in the face of uncertainty. By the end of the discussion, students will be able to:
-      Define the unit of analysis in a non-market environment and explain the lifecycle of non-market issues.
-      Apply the 4I (issues, institutions, interests, and information) framework to analyze a firm's non-market environment.
-      Identify and categorize political strategies commonly employed by firms to influence policy outcomes.
-      Prioritize competing non-market issues when making strategic decisions under uncertainty.
-      Explore alternative strategies firms can employ to influence the non-market environment while remaining aligned with organizational values and broader stakeholder pressures.

Non-market strategy; Corporate political activity; Stakeholder management; Artificial intelligence; Government policy and regulation; ChatGPT; Ethics; Privacy; Intellectual property; Climate change; Corporate social responsibility; Lobbying

Master, FC

Information technology

Année de la problématique : 2026

Livraison : Livraison par lien de téléchargement

Nombre de pages : 13

Temps d'utilisation : 1h30