Course Topics
The focus of this course will be to study the behavior, attitudes, and performance of people in formal organizations with a special focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. Participants will study issues and topics that require the knowledge of behavioral science concepts and organizational theory to understand, predict and influence human behavior in order to improve individual, team and organizational effectiveness. To understand the varied dimensions of organizational behavior and organizational effectiveness, fundamentals, actions, and interactions of individuals, groups / teams and organizational systems are emphasized. While the levels of analysis stress predominantly the individual level (e.g., impact of values, perception), and the group level (e.g., groups and teams, team composition, communication, conflict) references to the organizational and institutional level are given.

Teaching format
The course combines three didactic approaches: ¿ basic knowledge about basic knowledge is conveyed via frontal teaching based on a supportive script and textbooks, ¿ the newly acquired knowledge is discussed, reflected and deepened in oral discussions and readings, and ¿ applied in one individual and team assignment.

Educational objectives
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILO) ILO 1: KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ILO 1.a The student acquires advanced knowledge and understanding of the models and tools of economic-business analysis for starting a new company, with particular focus on identifying new market opportunities, accessing and obtaining economic-financial resources, as well as technological and organizational skills for the development of the company; ILO 1.b The student acquires advanced knowledge and understanding of the models and tools of economic-business analysis for the management of a new enterprise, from the financial and organisational point of view and with respect to the dynamics of growth and development; ILO 1.c The student acquires advanced knowledge and understanding of the theories and tools for the economic analysis of business decisions; ILO 1.d The student acquires advanced knowledge and understanding of models for new product development and innovation management within enterprises; ILO 2: ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ILO 2.a Ability to acquire and select information that may be relevant from an entrepreneurial point of view, also in economic-productive contexts different from those studied; ILO 2.b Ability to select the tools for the strategy and management of the enterprise, consistent with the enterprise economy models considered appropriate; ILO 2.c Ability to propose and implement strategic and operational courses of action conducive to the creation of a new enterprise; ILO 2.d Ability to acquire and select relevant information to frame cases of innovation (product, service, social, managerial organisational), also different from the studied contexts; ILO 2.e Ability to propose and implement strategic and operational courses of action to foster the development of innovations by a company; ILO 3: AUTONOMY OF JUDGEMENT ILO 3.a Acquire the ability to analyse complex entrepreneurial problems, such as the elaboration and evaluation of an entrepreneurial project (business plan) or the development of a new product; ILO 3.b Acquire the ability to make predictions, such as analysing the future consequences of entrepreneurial, managerial and operational choice; ILO 3.c Autonomy of judgement is developed in the training activities carried out for the preparation of the thesis, as well as in the exercises that accompany the lectures and that involve group discussions and the comparison of individual analyses carried out by students in preparation for the lecture. ILO 4: COMMUNICATION SKILLS ILO 4.a Acquire the ability to describe and communicate in an intercultural context, in a clear and precise manner, problematic situations typical of the management of a new enterprise and the development of innovation, such as, for example, the conditions for the validation of a problem or solution, the prospects and risks associated with a business model or an innovation project. The development of communication competences assumes heterogeneous situations such as, for example, the presence of internal stakeholders (e.g. colleagues, managers, owners), or external stakeholders (e.g. potential investors, suppliers and other business partners) and the ability to sustain an adversarial process; ILO 4.b The achievement of these objectives is assessed in the course of the training activities already mentioned, as well as in the discussion of the final thesis. ILO 5: LEARNING SKILLS ILO 5.a Acquire the ability to study independently, to prepare summaries; ILO 5.b Acquire the ability to identify thematic connections and to establish relationships between different cases and contexts of analysis; ILO 5.c Acquire the ability to frame a new problem systematically and to generate appropriate taxonomie; ILO 5.d Acquire the ability to develop general models from the phenomena studied.

Additional educational objectives and learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding: Participants are provided with the fundamentals of organizational behavior and human resource management. Related readings of seminal works and their in-class discussion support the understanding of newly acquired knowledge. Applying knowledge and understanding: Participants will be enabled to put the knowledge of organizational behavior and the management of people into practice. The individual assignment fosters the transfer of theoretical concepts to individual contexts. Making judgments: Participants will be guided and encouraged to translate the newly acquired knowledge about generic concepts to real life situations as well as critically challenge common wisdom about managing people in organizations, both technically and ethically. Communication skills: Through presenting their term assignments participants will be trained to articulate and defend their arguments in front of critical audiences. In-class discussions, if actively used, will train these skills additionally. Learning skills: Critical in-class discussions, comprehending and adequately summarizing and communicating reading assignments and term assignments help to improve individual learning skills.

Assessment
The assessment of the individual performance is based on two exclusive alternatives that must be irrevocably chosen after the fourth lecture or earlier: Alternative A (attending students): Class attendance must be at least 80% and there is no exemption from lectures dedicated to the presentation of term assignments (mid of January 2026). Class participation and individual summary of mandatory readings (20% of total grade): A well-structured page summarizing in an individual way the content of one mandatory reading per lecture (approx. 4-5 summary papers) of not more than 1 text page (approx. 500 words) without any copy-paste or screenshot elements and participation in in-class discussions about these readings and knowledge presented. (ILOs 1a-1c, 2. - 5.) Individual term assignment (30% of total grade): Students are expected to transfer a concept or theory that they learn about during the lecture to an own problem, event, or experience. This includes the timely elaboration of a well-structured document of not more than 2 text pages (approx. 1,000 words) -50%- and a max. 5 minutes presentation (no ppt. etc) in class -50%-. (ILOs 1.- 5.) Group term assignment (30% of total grade): Students are assigned to groups which will receive a clearly defined task such as conducting a thematic literature review or assessing the transferability / applicability of general OB concepts on the EIM context. Expected output are a well-structured paper of not more than 10 text pages (approx. 5,000 words) -60%- and an approx. 15 minutes presentation in class -40%- Written exam with options to choose from – 20 minutes (20% of total grade). (ILOs 1.- 5.) NOTE: Term assignments are valid for the academic year 2025/2026 and cannot be carried over beyond that time-frame. Alternative B (non-attending students): Class attendance and assignments not required – final written exam of 80 Minutes (100%) –closed book– based on the script, textbook, and required readings (provided via OLE). (ILOs 1.- 2.)

Evaluation criteria
The following evaluation criteria are essential for the assessment: ¿ Correctness and reliability of statements ¿ Structure and clarity of statements ¿ Logic and coherence of statements ¿ Quality and extent of the research as a basis for ¿ statements ¿ Integration and interconnectedness of newly acquired content ¿ Activity and proactivity regarding individual contributions ¿ Evidence-based choice and application of newly acquired content ¿ Quality, applicability and innovativeness of outputs and hand-ins ¿ Compliance with formal and ethical rules and standards regarding written and verbal documents, statements and other outputs including meeting deadlines and matching given requirements (e.g., volume) ¿ Empathy and supportive engagement within regard to the learning process and beyond.

Required readings

Robbins, S. P. & Judge, T. A.: Organizational Behavior, 19th ed., Pearson or Global Edition. ISBN 978-1292259239

Gary Yukl, G.: Leadership in Organizations, 9th ed., Pearson or Global Edition; ISBN 978-8131756164

Supplementary readings

Teaching slides (script), reading assignments, supplementary readings, all of which will be made available for downloads from OLE in addition to course information.

Further information
An extended syllabus will be provided and explained in the first lecture and subsequently posted on OLE