Themen der Lehrveranstaltung
Module 1 Major theoretical perspectives: Agency Theory, Stewardship Theory, Upper Echelon Theory, the Behavioral theory of the firm, the Behavioral agency model and Socio-emotional wealth theory, the Resource Dependence Theory and Power-dependence relations, The Resource based view of the firm and dynamic capabilities, Social-Identity theories. Additional perspective include: Contingency theory, Psychology-related theories (e.g., gender perspectives); Institutional theories. Major phenomena include: as for decision makers: the CEOs, TMT/teams, Boards of directors; as for ownership: shareholders/investors (e.g., publicly traded firms), family firms, business groups / multinational enterprises); as for competitive arena: innovative sectors, networks/inter-firm relations, ESG-related industries. Main input/outcome variables: firm performance (short and long term), ESG indicators, technology, innovation/R&D investing/management, Risk taking, M&A, International business, Diversification, Restructuring, Finance-decisions, motivation, effort, efficacy. Module 2 Meeting 1 Rationality and its organizational consequences November 25th 10am-1pm. Room: Seminar Room Second Floor (in Trento) Frederick W. Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management, ISBN 0-486-29988-0. Meeting 2 Bounded rationality and its organizational consequences December 2nd 10am-1pm. Room: Seminar Room Second Floor (in Trento) Simon, H. A. Administrative behavior. Simon and Schuster, (1947) 2013. Optional/additional readings: keep these as suggestions for the long run: Cyert, Richard, and James March. 1963. A Behavioral Theory of the Firm. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; March, J. G., & Simon, H. A. (1993). Organizations. John wiley & sons. Meeting 3 Rationality? December 9th 10am-1pm. Room: Seminar Room Second Floor (in Trento) March, J. G. (1994). Primer on decision making: How decisions happen. Simon and Schuster. Cohen, M. D., March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1972). A garbage can model of organizational choice. Administrative science quarterly, 1-25. Weick, K. E., & Roberts, K. H. (1993). Collective mind in organizations: Heedful interrelating on flight decks. Administrative science quarterly, 357-381. Meeting 4 A few contemporary topics on decision-making and organization. (pick one, more information and options available in class, ideally attuned to your research interests) December 16th 10am-1pm. Room: Seminar Room Second Floor (in Trento)

Unterrichtsform
Module 1 The course offers an opportunity for an open discussion of management theories. Therefore, while there are some lectures offered by the instructor, Ph.D. candidates will be requested to actively work during the course and actively participate during lectures. Individual and Team-works, together with presentations, can be assigned by the instructor. Module 2 The course will consist of four 3-hours meetings. Each class will have the following structure: - Students will be assigned readings beforehand: please make sure that you go through all the readings before coming to class (all readings are abundantly available both in Trento and Bolzano) - Class presentation (1h): Each student is required to prepare a short oral summary of the assigned readings that needs to include the most salient theoretical underpinnings of each piece of work (10 minutes) - Class discussion (30-45min): Students are asked to offer their comments/remarks on the choices of their course mates - Critical revision: let us discuss the relevance of the readings for your own work. In order to fruitfully conduct this segment of the class you are required to find one relevant piece of literature which is relevant for the purposes of your chosen research topic.

Bildungsziele
At the end of the course, the Ph.D. candidate will be able to: 1. speak cogently about major theoretical frameworks in management, outlining assumptions, core propositions/predictions, boundary conditions and developmental perspectives; 2. discuss and bridge theories so to identify research gaps; 3. critically read and understand published studies; and locate a scientific article within the broader literature discourse; 4. assess the value of a research article in terms of quality, conceptual rigor, magnitude of theoretical contribution; 5. understand and apply accepted techniques to write and communicate clearly and effectively ideas in a research article; 6. write a research report.

Art der Prüfung
Module 1 Learning outcomes will be assessed based on the following ways: Final research report. Each class-participant will prepare a final research report about a research project of his/her interest. However, the topic will have to be selected in accordance with the instructor. This report will follow the structure of a management articles, in reference to the following sections: (a) Introduction; (b) Theory background; (c) Hypothesis development; (d) Discussion. Valuation criteria include: (i) depth, accuracy, and comprehensiveness of theoretical background; (ii) clarity and relevance of research gap, theoretical contribution; (iii) clarity, persuasiveness and effectiveness in communicating ideas; (iv) strong conceptual rigor and rationality of ideas. Assessment will also weigh class-participant’s active participation, preparation of home-works and assignments, and responsiveness to stimuli, together with an ability to clearly and acutely challenge ideas based on theoretical knowledge. Formatting rules. The final report will adhere to the following rules: - Font: Times new roman; Pt 12 - Lines: double line-spaced; no space before/after paragraph; first line of a paragraph is indented - Paragraph titles: in bold - Margins: 2 cm top, right, left; 2,5 cm bottom - Main text (Pages & Lenght): 15-20 approx (reference list excluded). Length can vary significantly depending on complexity, values of ideas, chosen topic. The valuation will be on a length-to-quality-of-contribution basis; at the same time, a shorter length can be accepted, given that ability to succinctly and clearly express ideas is appreciated. Therefore, (a) a larger number of pages should be justified based on high-relevant content; (b) in order to self-assess your report and its length, participant can ask themselves whether they have succinctly reported the content they intend to include in the report. In this regard, ability to briefly and succinctly present one’s idea is a core driver for valuation. Note 1: the 15-20 pages approx. do not include the front page. Note 2: in addition to the 15-20 pages, class participants are welcome to include a no-more-than-2-pages section regarding the limitations/boundary-conditions of their study/, and how they would address them. - Front page and abstract: the additional front page should include: (a) title of the project (center page; 16 pt Times new roman); (b) family and personal names (center page, below the title, 12 pt times new roman); (c) the indication “Ph.D. in Economics and Management – Managerial decision making. 2018” (bottom page). The second page should include a short abstract of no more than 250 words. - Structure: the structure includes the following sections: (a) Introduction; (b) theory background; (c) Hypothesis development; (d) Discussion; (e) (optional) limitations. Module 2 Class participation (50% of the final grade): - Prepare the summary of the assigned readings - Critically discuss the readings in class - Find and critically assess at least one paper that is a) aligned with the approach of the class; b) aligned with your research interests. Final project (50% of the final grade – you will need to turn it in by the end of January): - Revise your research proposal writing a positioning segment within the theoretical background section. That is, clarify your stance vis-a-vis the extant literature concerning your chosen research area. You can take this as an occasion to reflect upon your view on the research topic you chose and to understand this view in relationship with other relevant work in your field. As in a real paper I do not expect this short segment to exceed three pages. - I will evaluate your writings in terms of clarity, depth and precision (alongside brevity which is an obvious requirement given the assignment).