040278 UK Small Business Economics (BA) (2021S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
REMOTE
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Th 11.02.2021 09:00 to Mo 22.02.2021 12:00
- Deregistration possible until We 31.03.2021 23:59
Details
max. 50 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
- Monday 08.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 15.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 22.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 12.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 19.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 26.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 03.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 10.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 17.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 31.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 07.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 14.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 21.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
- Monday 28.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
This course is for bachelor students and covers selected topics in industrial organization. This course aims to investigate the challenges small firms face in their business environment. In particular, we will discuss what kind of strategic actions small firms implement to compete against potential and current rival firms. We also analyze, how these firms are able to establish entry barriers to remain profitable. Further, we explore small firms’ strategic decision-making with respect to product differentiation, pricing behavior, brand management, efficient negotiation management, employee policy, as well as delegation of processes.After discussing firms’ strategic behavior theoretically, students will apply the theoretical knowledge and solve one business case. They will investigate one important strategic decision of a small firm. They will contact an existing company of their choice to investigate to what degree the theoretically defined determinants apply to the decision-making process of that firm and what potential other influencing factors prevail. This type of analysis requires course participants to engage in interviews with employees, which hold relevant decision-making competencies within the firm.The intended goal of the course is to learn about strategic decision-making processes by means of practical examples, namely an existing company. Furthermore, the respective strategic decision should be embedded, discussed, and evaluated using a microeconomic framework. For doing this, econometric, experimental and theoretic work from current economic literature – particularly from the applied industrial organization and strategic management literature – will be discussed. In this way, different methods as well as their application are explored. Eventually, this approach will yield a well-founded result that can be used as a starting-point for a discussion during the presentations.
Assessment and permitted materials
• Students are required to do a (group) presentation of a case study (25%), submit an individual written summary of the case study (25%), write a final exam (25%), and participate actively in class (25%).
• For each of these four components, students can receive between 0 and 100 points. The final number of points is the weighted sum of the four components rounded to one digit.
• To receive a positive grade, the final number of points has then to be at least 50.1. The grade is 1 (2, 3, 4 and 5), if the final number of points is 87.6-100 (75.1-87.5, 62.6-75, 50.1-62.5 and 0-50).
• For each of these four components, students can receive between 0 and 100 points. The final number of points is the weighted sum of the four components rounded to one digit.
• To receive a positive grade, the final number of points has then to be at least 50.1. The grade is 1 (2, 3, 4 and 5), if the final number of points is 87.6-100 (75.1-87.5, 62.6-75, 50.1-62.5 and 0-50).
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Examination topics
Reading list
• Mazzeo, Michael J., Paul Oyer and Scott Schaefer (2014): Roadside MBA: Back Road Lessons for Entrepreneurs, Executives and Small Business Owners, Business Plus, 2014.
• Belleflamme, Paul, and Martin Peitz, Industrial Organization: Markets and Strategies
• Literature related to the specific topics will be announced at a later point in time.
• Belleflamme, Paul, and Martin Peitz, Industrial Organization: Markets and Strategies
• Literature related to the specific topics will be announced at a later point in time.
Association in the course directory
Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:12