Global Business Management Piacenza

This course aims to provide the basic elements for understanding the main types of corporate finance decisions, with reference to investment and financing choices and capital structure composition. The course combines (i) the strength of theory and core techniques in relation to corporate finance instruments for valuation and (ii) their practical implementation on quantitative data from real financial statements in order to provide a fair evaluation of firms.
At the end of this course the student will be able to:
recognise and understand the most important financial issues regarding the life of a company and to supply an interpretation from the standpoint of both the party financed and the party providing the financing;
analyse and measure the benefits and risks of the most important financial decisions;
apply the main techniques to evaluate a firm and its capital.

Time value of money, interest rates and opportunity cost of capital.
Introduction to net present value method and IRR.
Introduction to financial statement analysis.
Valuation of bonds, equity securities and business assets.
Firms’ capital structure in terms of equity-debt composition
Firms’ valuation from the point of view of shareholders and stakeholders.
The course contemplates lectures and assignments on the technical aspects of the course.

The assessment of the knowledge and skills acquired by the students will be carried out with a written examination based on open end questions and numerical exercises. The exam will be graded in thirtieths (pass grade at least 18/30). Oral examinations will not be allowed.
The written examination will be evaluated taking into account the exactness and the quality of the answers and on the basis of the suitability of the language and the ability to explain statements, investigations and opinions.

The syllabus and the textbook will be indicated at the outset of the course and published on the professor's web page.
“Brealey R., Myers S., Allen F. and Edmans A., 2023. Principles of Corporate Finance, 14th Edition”. Reference chapters will be indicated by the teacher. Additional material (slides and notes) will be delivered via Blackboard

The course is made up of two distinct, although related, modules, one per each semester of classes.
The First module Business Government Relations briefly discusses firms’ and clusters’ strategies and actions to support their competitiveness and then focuses the analysis on the complementary role of governments in making it happen.
A global framework analyzing the determinants of public management interventions will be presented and discussed. This course presents many tools and techniques that public agencies have developed to play an active and key role in the competitiveness arena, efficiently coordinating public resources and actions with firms’ and clusters’ initiatives.
The Second module aims to outline both a complete glimpse of the sources of tax law and the tax system at the international, European and Italian levels. The course also aims to analyse specific and evolutionary aspects that have recently touched, and continue to influence, international tax law and international tax planning of multinational groups. In this perspective, particular attention will be paid to identifying the effects of economic digitalization in tax law and to the evolution of the relationship between taxation and taxpayers.
At the end of the course the students will be able to:
To provide students with an in-depth understanding of the principles and practice of selected topics on Business Government Relations.
To provide students with a solid understanding of the principles and practice of making business in specific location.
To provide students with knowledge of the principles of competitiveness and economic development.
Manage the key principles and policies of international taxation.
Understand the impact of international taxation on cross-border businesses and investments.
Understand and discuss the new international tax law developments.
Understand and discuss all the key traits of entrepreneurial personality and leadership styles applied to the different phases of a business’ life cycle.
Develop a business plan (also for internationalization) and prepare the related formal document(s) for the start-up of new businesses or the development of existing ones;
Discuss and evaluate a business plan in terms of the actual feasibility of a new venture;
Discuss and present to a selected public a business plan project.
At the end of the second module, the students will also be able to:
To provide students with an in-depth understanding of the principles and practice of selected topics on Business Government Relations.
To provide students with a solid understanding of the principles and practice of making business in specific location.
To provide students with knowledge of the principles of competitiveness and economic development.

Module I: Business Government Relations
Role of Government
Analyze the competitive advantage of a location.
Analyze the relationship between businesses and the Government
Understand the role of Government in promoting competitiveness.
Provide suggestion on how to support business development.
Module II: International Corporate Taxation and Tax Planning
Basic notions of International, European and Italian tax law.
The sources of tax law: an International, European and Italian overview
The role of the ECJ and the ECHR in tax law.
The tax system: types of tax and their functioning (taxation of income and consumption).
The taxation of multinational corporations
Base erosion and profit shifting issues. The taxation of the digital economy
The course will be taught through different methods combined: lectures, discussions of case studies, presentations by students in-class and project works.

For the First module:
Quality of a group project (50%) and final exam (50%).
Dates for the presentations and the submission dates for the group projects will be discussed on the first day of the module.
Non-attending students will take the examination, as they choose, on the basis of the first 9 chapters of the text book.
For the second module: Will be required to take a final written exam. Attendees will take the examination exclusively on the basis of the materials distributed in class (slides, judgments, case studies, etc.). Students not attending class on a regular basis will be required to take a final written test covering all the topics indicated above (see “Course content”).
Non-attending students will take the examination, as they choose, on the basis of one of the suggested texts (see "Reading List").

Module I:
M. Porter, On Competition, Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
Module II:
C. HJI Panayi, W. Haslehner, E. Traversa Research Handbook on European Union Taxation Law, EE Publishing, Cheltenham, 2020.
P. Pistone, Diritto Tributario Internazionale, Turin, 2024.
The chapters to be studied for the course will be eventually indicated. Same for not attending students.
Further reading materials (slides, articles, case studies) will be provided by the professor during the course.

Upon completion of the programme, students will be able to:

• Understand the driving forces of globalization from the perspective of the international movement of goods, services, capital, firms and technologies.
• Comprehend the relationship between competitiveness, terms of trade, exchange rates, trade policy and firms’ internationalisation strategies.
• Understand the role of Global Value Chains, Multinational Enterprises and Foreign Direct Investment in shaping contemporary international production networks.
• Understand the workhorse gravity model in International Economics and its application to trade and Foreign Direct Investment.
• Identify the main sustainability issues from the Agenda 2030 – SDGs perspective and evaluate public policies and private strategies impacting the business environment.
• Correctly apply open-economy macroeconomic models to predict the effects of different economic events, policy changes and financial shocks.
• Know the definitions and structure of national income accounts and balance of payments accounts.
• Know the structure, governance and duties of central banks, and understand how monetary and fiscal policy work in open economies and monetary areas.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the functions and determinants of interest rates and exchange rates.
• Discuss economic arguments using appropriate terminology, data, models and evidence, both in written work and in group presentations.

The module is a 60-hour course divided into two 30-hour parts. The first part, Managerial Economics 1, builds on International Economics and focuses on globalisation, international trade, firms, FDI, GVCs and sustainability. The second part, Managerial Economics 2 – Advanced Economic Scenarios Analysis, develops advanced open-economy macroeconomic tools for interpreting exchange-rate dynamics, policy regimes, monetary systems, financial globalisation and macroeconomic crises.
Part I – Managerial Economics 1: International Economics, Globalisation and Firms (30 hours)
In the last two decades, Global Value Chains (GVCs) have become a central topic in economics and international business. Economies are linked more closely than ever through trade in goods and services, technologies, investments and human flows. These stylised facts shape new forms of globalisation and deeper economic integration. The fragmentation of production and the growing role of multinational enterprises have profoundly changed how products and services are produced and traded, making many final goods appear as if they were “made in the world”.
From a firm-level perspective, International Business addresses the internationalisation strategies of firms, including export decisions, foreign sourcing, equity-based and non-equity-based foreign operations, and the organisation of production across borders. GVCs are scrutinised in trade, investment and environmental policy contexts. The internationalisation of production also raises sustainability concerns, including carbon transfers, environmental imbalances between developed and developing countries, and the role of energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies.
Main topics:

• Globalisation, international economic integration and the movement of goods, services, capital, technologies and people.
• International trade, competitiveness, terms of trade and exchange rates.
• Comparative advantage, Ricardian trade, specific factors, Heckscher-Ohlin, the standard trade model and economies of scale.
• Firms in the global economy: exports, foreign sourcing decisions and multinational enterprises.
• The gravity model and its applications to trade, FDI and GVCs.
• FDI, spillovers, backward linkages, firm heterogeneity and domestic productivity.
• GVCs, trade sanctions, sustainability and policy challenges.
  Part II – Managerial Economics 2: Advanced Economic Scenarios Analysis (30 hours)
  The second part addresses the main topics in the wide globalisation scenario from the perspective of open-economy macroeconomics: national output and income and their measurement, unemployment and inflation, growth and stability, interest rates, money, banks and central banking, balance of payments and exchange rates, and macroeconomic policy alternatives.
  Main topics:
• National income accounting and balance of payments.
• Exchange rates and the foreign exchange market: an asset approach.
• Money, interest rates and exchange rates.
• Price levels and exchange rates in the long run.
• Output and the exchange rate in the short run.
• Fixed exchange rates and foreign exchange intervention.
• International monetary systems.
• Financial globalisation: opportunity and crisis.
• Optimum currency areas and the euro.
• Developing countries: growth, crisis and reform.

There are two distinct evaluations during the course:

• 40%: two small-group presentations of case studies, papers or applied topics (20% each).
• 60%: final exam. The exam might be composed of theoretical exercises, open questions and short essays on indicated topics.
  The final grade is the weighted average of the two presentations and the final written exam. Assessment will consider the accuracy and completeness of economic reasoning, the ability to apply models and concepts to international and macroeconomic scenarios, the quality of data interpretation and use of evidence, the clarity of written answers, the quality of oral presentation and teamwork, and the appropriate use of economic terminology.

Textbook selected chapters in Part 1 – International Trade Theory, Part 2 – International Trade Policy, Part 3 – Exchange Rates and Open-Economy Macroeconomics, and Part 4 – International Macroeconomic Policy will be indicated by the Professor.
Krugman, P., Obstfeld, M. and Melitz, M. (2023), International Economics: Theory and Policy, Global Edition, Pearson, 12th Edition.
Journal Articles
Anderson, James E. (1979), “A Theoretical Foundation for the Gravity Equation”, American Economic Review, 69(1): 106–116. Official link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1802501
Anderson, James E. and Eric van Wincoop (2003), “Gravity with Gravitas: A Solution to the Border Puzzle”, American Economic Review, 93(1): 170–192. Official link: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/000282803321455214
Antràs, P. and Chor, D. (2022), “Global Value Chains”, in Gopinath, G., Helpman, E. and Rogoff, K. (eds.), Handbook of International Economics, Vol. 5, Elsevier, pp. 297–376. Official link: https://antras.scholars.harvard.edu/publications/global-value-chains
Bruno, Randolph Luca, Nauro Ferreira Campos and Saul Estrin (2021), “The Effect on Foreign Direct Investment of Membership in the European Union”, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. Official link: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13131
Bruno, R. L., Cipollina, M. and Dal Bianco, S. (2023), “The Ripple Effect of Sanctions: Exploring the Impact on Global Value Chains Using a Gravity Model”, Italian Economic Journal, 9(3): 1063–1087. Official link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40797-023-00242-6
Bruno, R. L., Cipollina, M. and Dal Bianco, S. (2025), “Trade Sanctions and Global Value Chains: A China–South Africa Perspective”, China Economic Review, 89: 102300. Official link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2024.102300
Bruno, R. L., Crescenzi, R., Estrin, S. and Petralia, S. (2021), “Multinationals, Innovation, and Institutional Context: IPR Protection and Distance Effects”, Journal of International Business Studies. Official link: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-021-00452-z
Feenstra, Robert C. (1998), “Integration of Trade and Disintegration of Production in the Global Economy”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(4). Official link: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.12.4.31
Görg, Holger and David Greenaway (2004), “Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?”, The World Bank Research Observer. Official link: https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkh019
Greenaway, David and Richard Kneller (2007), “Firm Heterogeneity, Exporting and Foreign Direct Investment”, The Economic Journal. Official link: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2007.02018.x
Javorcik, Beata Smarzynska (2004), “Does Foreign Direct Investment Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms? In Search of Spillovers Through Backward Linkages”, American Economic Review. Official link: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/0002828041464605
Krugman, Paul (1994), “Competitiveness: A Dangerous Obsession”, Foreign Affairs, 73(2). Official link: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/1994-03-01/competitiveness-dangerous-obsession
Krugman, P. and Venables, A. J. (1995), “Globalization and the Inequality of Nations”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110: 857–880. Official link: https://doi.org/10.2307/2946642
Rodrik, Dani (1998), “Symposium on Globalization in Perspective”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(4). Official link: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.12.4.3
Silva, J. M. C. Santos and Tenreyro, S. (2006), “The Log of Gravity”, Review of Economics and Statistics, 88(4): 641–658. Official link: https://doi.org/10.1162/rest.88.4.641
Timmer, M. P., Erumban, A. A., Los, B., Stehrer, R. and de Vries, G. J. (2014), “Slicing Up Global Value Chains”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(2): 99–118. Official link: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.28.2.99
Some additional readings will be indicated in class, included in the lecture slides with clickable links, and posted on the course website.

The course is designed to provide an understanding of international financial statements in an economic context.
Successful completion of this course results in the ability to read and meaningfully interpret financial statements that are prepared and disseminated by business entities with a special focus on listed companies, competing in global industries. This necessarily requires devoting attention to the basic rules of the accounting language as well as to the issues and to the institutions, which influence and formulate these rules. The course will also provide the basis for the financial analysis and comparative reporting.
In terms of skill objectives the student will:
consolidate the knowledge of financial statement literacy, in the sense that students should be able to examine an annual report and understand a meaningful portion of information contained therein
improve the ability to evaluate the financial effectiveness of alternative business models
develop the capability of conducting a comparative financial analysis of peers in the same industry
raise his/her awareness about the strengths and limitations of financial reporting and communication.
This course is designed to broaden and deepen your conceptual and technical understanding of performance management and control systems (PMCS). These are considered broadly to include everything that managers do to ensure good performance or, more specifically, to ensure that the company’s strategies get implemented effectively. Management accounting at this level of analysis is an integral part of companies’ PMCS. The emphasis in the course is on financial controls, which dominate in importance at managerial levels. Using financial controls requires managers to make decisions about: (1) responsibility structures (e.g., cost centers, profit centers), (2) performance measures (e.g., market, financial, and/or nonfinancial measures, and their combinations), (3) performance evaluations, which take into consideration performance targets or other benchmarks, and (4) rewards (including performance-dependent compensation).
At the end of the module students will be able to:
recognise the focus of management control
map the fundamental characteristics of the PMCS
evaluate the effectiveness of the PMCS in relation to the strategies pursued by the firm
suggest changes in the design and use of a PMCS to support managerial activity and provide managerial incentives

The course will mainly focus on:
annual report and financial communication
income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement: main contents, formats and their links
assets (selected items) evaluation criteria – impact on key financial indicators
liabilities (selected items) evaluation criteria – impact on key financial indicators
ratio analysis: from accounting measures to accounting based measures
business model and segmental reporting
During the course, interactive lectures will be complemented with exercises, problems and case analysis. Practice exercises and problems from the textbook are suggested, and solutions are distributed via Blackboard. Further, to stimulate interaction and experiential learning, group work will be assigned and assessed as an integral part of the course evaluation. Group assignment(s) are described in details in the analytical programme.
The course assumes full attendance and active participation in and outside class (group work). Should students have problems in attending, they should please contact the instructor.
The course will mainly focus on:
control alternatives: action, personnel/cultural, financial controls
financial controls requirements and effectiveness
financial control responsibility structures and transfer pricing
planning and targeting of financial results
financial measures choice and their implications on managerial behavior
financial control in the presence of uncontrollable factors
balanced scorecards for performance evaluation and control purposes
The course will be taught through lectures on theory, analyses and discussion of corporate cases. The focus of most of the classes will be on a case that brings the topics “to life” and provides issues for us to discuss. The cases require advance preparation.
In the final part of the course students will be asked to participate into a business game by the Harvard Business School, to simulate the design and use of a balanced scorecard in case of a company turnaround. Given a choice of which strategy to apply, students will need to design and use a balanced scorecard to implement the strategy at best. Students will select Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to be included in the balanced scorecard in the design phase. To implement the selected strategy students will then allocate resources to initiatives based on the feedback from the balanced scorecard (use-phase). The simulation is a “single player” game, however the different teams compete with each other to obtain the best “exit value”, e.g. the private equity valuation at the end of a four-year period.

The course assessment is based on assignment(s) (30%) and final exam (70%).
Group assignments will be described in the detailed syllabus and evaluated base on their completeness, in-depth analysis and consistency of the argumentations expressed.
The exam will be based on a mix of open questions, multiple-choice questions, short exercise(s).
In the case of students not attending classes, the closed book written exam is worth 100%.
The course evaluation is expressed by means of a grade on a 30-point scale.
The course assessment is based on assignment(s) (30%) and final exam (70%).
Group assignment(s) will be described in the detailed syllabus and evaluated base on their completeness, in-depth analysis and consistency of the argumentations expressed.
The exam will be based on a mix of open questions, multiple-choice questions, short exercise(s).
In the case of students not attending classes, the closed book written exam is worth 100%.
The course evaluation is expressed by means of a grade on a 30-point scale.

Young D. S. and Cohen J., Corporate Financial Reporting and Analysis: A Global Perspective, 4th Edition, 2018, Wiley is the recommended textbook.
Additional background readings are:
Robert N. Anthony, David F. Hawkins, Diego M. Macrì, Kenneth A. Merchant, Il Bilancio, McGraw-Hill, 13th edition” - Relevant chapters are: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 11.
C. T. Horngren, G. L. Sundem & J. A. Elliott, D. R. Philbrick, Introduction to Financial Accounting, 11th Edition, Pearson – Relevant Chapters are:1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 12.
Customised edition of: K. A. Merchant & W. A. Van der Stede, Management Control Systems – Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Incentives, 3rd Edition. The book can be purchased at the bookstore (Libreria Internazionale Romagnosi, Piacenza) or online at http://www.scuolabook.it/. Cases and the business simulation can be purchased online http://hbsp.harvard.edu. Additional debriefing slides will be uploaded on the elearning platform.

This course is designed to equip students with the tools and insights needed to understand, analyze, and formulate an organization’s corporate strategy, including decisions related to:

• the appropriate corporate scope;
• diversification;
• vertical integration;
• corporate growth (acquisitions, alliances, internal development)
• organization and governance of a multibusiness firm.
  The goal of this course is to:
• understand the frameworks, methods, and tools that can be useful to make decisions related to a firm’s positioning, growth, and change;
• transfer knowledge on theoretical approaches regarding corporate strategies.
  On completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Understand the fundamental concepts and strategic models of corporate strategy;
• Understand the challenges associated with implementing corporate strategies;
• Analyze, formulate, and evaluate firm strategy at the corporate level.
  This course is designed to equip students with the tools and insight needed to analyze the international aspects of firm strategy, including: defining strategic approaches to competition in the international arena; entry into overseas markets, managing activities across national borders, designing organizational structures and management systems to implement international strategies. The course builds on a variety of concepts and theories drawn from Strategic Management and International Business fields.
  The goal of this course is to familiarize students with:
  The strategic options available to firms competing globally and the challenges associated with implementing international business strategies;
  Concepts, frameworks and theories relevant to the management of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and international firms.
  On completion of this course students will be able to:
  Understand external and internal factors affecting MNEs’ patterns of overseas expansion;
  Identify firm-specific and location-specific advantages in an international business environment;
  Apply frameworks and tools for the management and organization of MNEs;
  Develop analytical skills for assessing benefits and risks of internationalization decision, as well as a problem-solving orientation towards the challenges associated with the pursuit of internationalization strategies;
  Build and present a report that critically analyzes firm-level internationalization.

This course explores the core principles and analytical tools involved in the strategic management of multibusiness firms, with a particular emphasis on decision-making at the corporate level. It examines the underlying rationales for diversification and the existence of multibusiness enterprises, investigating both the potential to create corporate value through synergies and the risks of value destruction. Students will study various diversification strategies, focusing on economic synergies. The course also addresses issues related to vertical integration and the definition of firm boundaries. Topics include growth strategies such as mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, and organic development, alongside. Furthermore, the course examines the influence of corporate governance structures on strategic outcomes.
The course is structured as a mix of lectures and class discussion of assigned readings (either cases or papers). It is therefore essential that students arrive at each class prepared to be active participants.
Why do firms go international? And why multinational? Drivers of internationalization and theories of MNE
How do firms internationalize? The process of internationalization
The internationalization-performance relationship
The effect of distance on international business
Globalization of industries and international business strategies
Foreign markets entry modes: export, FDI, and collaborative ventures
Crossborder acquisitions and greenfield investments
Organizing strategy. The evolution of multinational corporations’ organizational models
The role of foreign subsidiaries and the headquarter-subsidiary relationship
Emerging markets and new business opportunities.
The course is structured as a mix of lectures and class discussion of assigned readings (either cases or papers). It is therefore important that students come to each class prepared to be active participants.

The assessment will be based on a mix of group work and a final exam, as follows:
1. Group work (groups of max. six people): 30%
2. Individual final written exam: 70%
Group works include: (1) a written memo on a corporate strategy case; and (2) a 10-minute group presentation of a corporate strategy case.
The final written exam will consist of three open-ended questions, two theoretical questions, and one case study analysis (exam time: 1 hour).
If a student refuses his/her final exam grade and wants to retake the exam in a future exam period: (1) the student must inform the professor by email within 5 days after the exam grade is published; (2) the groupwork grades will no longer be part of the student’s grade, and the grade for the course will be 100% based on the final exam; and (3) the student will take the exam for students not doing the group work, including the additional readings, which is discussed below.
For students not doing the group work, the assessment will be entirely based on the final written exam (100% of the course grade), which will have open-ended questions. Beyond the materials mentioned above, the exam for these students will cover a few additional readings to ensure an equal workload and treatment for students who complete the group work and those who do not. Details on these readings will be provided on the course Blackboard page.
Both the final exam and the group work will be assessed based on completeness, in-depth analysis that applies the relevant concepts and tools discussed during the course, and effective communication specifically:
Effective application of relevant theoretical frameworks and analytical tools introduced in the course, including the appropriate use of visual aids such as charts and tables.
Accurate identification and articulation of key strategic problems and issues.
Development of practical, feasible, and well-substantiated recommendations for managerial action.
Clarity, coherence, and professionalism in communication, with particular attention to ethical standards in both written and oral work.
The course evaluation is expressed on a 30-point scale.
The assessment will be as follows:

Puranam, P., & Vanneste, B. (2016). Corporate Strategy: Tools for Analysis and Decision-making. Cambridge University Press.
Case studies for groupwork assignments (https://hbsp.harvard.edu/coursepacks/1302989)
Additional articles and case materials will be provided on Blackboard before each class.
Students are expected to read assigned papers before class and participate in class discussions.
Slides and supplementary materials will be uploaded on a regular basis.
Teaching materials include powerpoint presentations, papers, book chapters, and business cases, provided by the instructor throughout the course.
Business cases will be posted on blackboard as far as there is no copyright infringements. Cases that cannot be posted on blackboard will be made available at the University copy shop.
Additional suggested reading:
-C.A. Bartlett, P.W. Beamish, Transnational Management: Text and Cases in Cross-Border Management, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2018, 8th edition.

• Optional readings will also be provided for the students who are interested in getting more in-depth exposure to a topic.

This advanced course in Sustainability Management delves into the latest developments and foundational concepts of sustainability in corporate and cross-sector practices. Rather than treating sustainability as a purely technical or managerial concern, the course examines it as a field shaped by competing conceptual frameworks, regulatory trajectories, and stakeholder dynamics. The curriculum traces the historical evolution of sustainable development from its early conceptualisation in international policy discourse to contemporary frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN Global Compact, and the European Green Deal. It then uses this trajectory as the basis for understanding current managerial, accounting, and accountability practices in sustainability. Through case studies and interactive teaching sessions, students will engage with sustainability management both theoretically and practically: from the design of sustainable business models and the integration of sustainability into core business functions, to the production of sustainability disclosures and reports in compliance with leading European and global regulatory frameworks. In this regard, particular attention is devoted to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The course situates these practices and instruments within a broader critical debate, encouraging students to reflect on the societal and political dimensions of corporate sustainability rather than treating reporting as a merely technical exercise.
The intended learning outcomes of the course are the following:
Knowledge and Understanding
Students will understand:
The historical trajectory of sustainable development and its translation into contemporary policy and managerial frameworks, including the SDGs, the UN Global Compact, and the EU Green Deal.
The conceptual architecture of sustainability, including notions of strong and weak sustainability and the Triple Bottom Line.
The design and governance logics of sustainable business models, including alternative organisational forms.
The integration of sustainability considerations into core business functions such as supply chain management, production, and marketing.
The field of sustainability accounting and accountability.
The regulatory landscape governing sustainability disclosure, with specific attention to the CSRD, ESRS, and GRI standards.
Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding
Students will be able to:
Critically analyse and interpret case studies to draw out practical implications and managerial insights across diverse sustainability contexts.
Apply relevant conceptual frameworks to assess the quality, coherence, and strategic orientation of corporate sustainability practices.
Evaluate sustainability disclosures against applicable regulatory standards and accountability expectations.
Making Judgements
Students will develop the expertise to:
Conduct comparative analyses of corporate sustainability reports and disclosures, considering different regulatory standards, sector-specific challenges, and the credibility and assurance of sustainability information.
Formulate independent, evidence-based judgements on the adequacy and limitations of corporate sustainability practices, moving beyond descriptive assessment toward critical evaluation.
Communication Skills and Capacity for Learning
Students will be able to present complex sustainability-related arguments clearly to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, in written and oral form.
Students will have developed sufficient autonomous learning capacity to engage with evolving sustainability regulation and scholarship beyond the scope of this course.

Evolution of the Concept of Sustainable Development and Sustainability.
Neoliberal and Critical Approaches to Business Sustainability.
Sustainability Strategies.
Organisational Structures, Legal Entities, and Sustainability.
Stakeholder Approach to Sustainability Management.
Sustainability in Production.
Sustainability in Supply Chain Management.
Sustainability Marketing and Greenwashing.
Sustainability Accounting and Accountability.
Sustainability Reporting and International Standards.
The course adopts an active and participatory pedagogical approach, combining different formats to support both conceptual understanding and practical skill development. The primary format is the interactive lecture, in which core concepts, frameworks, and regulatory instruments are introduced and discussed. Student participation is actively encouraged throughout: questions, observations, and critical perspectives raised during sessions are treated as central to the learning process rather than supplementary to it.
Conceptual sessions are systematically alternated with case study analyses, which ground theoretical arguments in concrete organisational situations and allow students to observe how sustainability management frameworks apply (and, at times, fail to apply) in practice. Selected cases draw from different industries, geographies, and institutional contexts, encouraging comparative and critical reflection.
The course also incorporates short in-class group exercises designed to consolidate specific concepts and methodological tools introduced during lectures. These exercises promote collaborative reasoning and prepare students for the group assignment, which constitutes a significant component of the final evaluation. Dedicated class time will be allocated for students to work on their group assignment under the instructor's guidance, allowing them to clarify analytical and methodological questions as they develop their work.

Course Attendance and Participation. Attendance is strongly recommended as it enhances the learning experience by facilitating the development of analytical and managerial skills through active participation in case study discussions. The interactive nature of the course encourages students to engage deeply with the content and peers, thereby fostering a more profound understanding of sustainability management.
Course Evaluation Overview. The course evaluation is quantified on a 30-point scale, with 18 points being the minimum required to pass. The assessment components are tailored to evaluate various skills, including theoretical application, analytical depth, and effective communication. Below is the assessment structure for both attending and non-attending students:
For Attending Students:
Group Assignment (40%): Students will develop a credibility and assurance report of an organisation's sustainability disclosure, evaluated from both a practical perspective (technical and substantive rigour of the content) and a theoretical perspective (engagement with sustainability concepts discussed in class).
Final Written Exam (60%): The written examination includes a set of multiple-choice questions and two open-ended questions. One question tests conceptual knowledge acquisition, the second tests the practical application of that knowledge.
For Non-Attending Students:
The grade for non-attending students will be based solely on the written final examination, covering the full programme.
Multiple-choice questions assess the accuracy and breadth of students' conceptual knowledge. Open-ended questions are evaluated on the basis of four criteria: the pertinence and completeness of the response to the question posed; the correct and precise use of discipline-specific terminology; the logical coherence and argumentative structure of the answer; and the capacity to establish meaningful connections between concepts, regulatory frameworks, and practical cases. Responses that demonstrate the ability to move beyond mere description toward analysis, evaluation, or reasoned critique will be rewarded accordingly.
Technical Rigour: The report demonstrates a thorough and accurate application of relevant sustainability reporting standards. Credibility and assurance considerations are addressed with methodological precision, and the analysis reflects a working command of the regulatory framework applicable to the selected organisation.
Conceptual Grounding: The analysis is anchored in the theoretical and conceptual frameworks discussed in the course. Students demonstrate the ability to relate regulatory and disclosure practices to broader debates in sustainability accounting and accountability, moving beyond descriptive summaries toward interpretive and critical engagement.
Analytical Depth: students identify strengths, limitations, and silences in the sustainability disclosure under examination, and support their assessments with evidence-based reasoning. Comparison with sector peers or relevant benchmarks is valued where appropriate.
Clarity, Structure, and Communication Quality: The report is well-organised and clearly written. Arguments are presented with consistent terminology and a coherent analytical thread throughout.
Collaborative Process and Presentation: All members should be able to explain and defend the report's findings, and to communicate their conclusions effectively to an audience of peers and instructors.

Required Textbooks:
Hahn, R. (2025). Sustainability Management: Concepts, Instruments, and Stakeholders. Pearson.
Laine, M., Tregidga, H., & Unerman, J. (2021). Sustainability Accounting and Accountability (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Additional Material:
Lecture slides, case study materials, selected academic articles, and regulatory documents will be made available to students throughout the course via the online teaching platform. Specific chapters of the aforementioned textbooks to be studied for the written exam will be indicated by the instructor at the beginning of each module.

The course aims to develop knowledge and skills on how to design and understand data analysis based on statistical methodology and results of statistical models in real world business applications.
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
choose and apply, by using the statistical software SPSS (IBM), the right statistical tool to recover and summarize information from the different kind of data.
Represent different kind of data in different way through dynamic visuals by using the software PowerBI (Microsoft).
Answer to business research questions using the statistical techniques presented during the course.
Identify and interpret the theoretical and conceptual foundations of exploratory data analysis, data modeling for information representation.
The aim of the course is that of getting the students started in research methods in the fields of quantitative business and marketing. The goal is to learn and implement statistical techniques that can lead to data-driven decisions. The course is interdisciplinary and will concentrate on data analysis mostly from an applied perspective. By using the software SPSS (https://www.ibm.com/it-it/spss) and Power BI (https://powerbi.microsoft.com), we face the analysis to manipulate data, to create visualizations, and to apply statistical models for highlight the relationships between variables.

Introduction to SPSS
Review of descriptive statistics and inference
Review of Matrix Algebra
Simple and multiple linear regression
Cluster analysis
Introduction to PowerBI
Data Visualization
A blend of lectures, coding and data analysis (30 hours). Theory will be followed by many hands-on exercises. Laptop is required to attend the lessons to have the opportunity to try the concepts being explained.

At the end of the course students are required to take a written exam using the Personal Computer.
The exam consists of a written test using the Personal Computer. The exam consists in solving three empirical exercises (about ten points each) related to different datasets. In particular, the students will use SPSS and Power BI providing a word document (a report) containing answers and comments about the different analyses.
The exam procedure is the same in each exam session and applies to attending and non-attending students.
Additional information will be provided on Blackboard.

The course will illustrate the major themes and approaches in business ethics, looking at managerial and philosophical visions, both from a historical and theoretical perspective, and their connections with social responsibilities. A special focus will concern the impacts of digital and AI instruments on business ethics and of ethical proactivity and preparedness in conditions of emergency.
The course will enable students to recognize, analyze, and apply several forms of ethical reasoning in business contexts. It will also strengthen their ability to appropriately address ethical issues in complex and dynamic corporate environments with sensitive leadership skills. Moreover, it will encourage the direct use of LLM algorithms.
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:
1. recognize and analyze ethical aspects in business practices and identify different ethical paths in providing solutions to ethical business issues in global dynamic contexts;
2. develop self-awareness about their personal ethical approaches and the capability to harmonize them with other visions in multicultural business environments;
3. interpret and adequately implement ethical behaviors in specific business situations;
4. demonstrate critical thinking and the ability to articulate ethical reasoning in business contexts, and examine the consequences of unethical and ethical business decisions;
5. discuss and adapt to digital ethics scenarios in business and digital business also through the use of LLM algorithms;
6. anticipate, prepare and respond ethically to conditions of emergency.

The course will focus on the following topics: The origins, meaning, and relevance of business ethics; Business ethics, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy; Principles of business ethics from the perspectives of philosophers and managers; Ethical theories: deontology, consequentialisms, virtue ethics, ethics of care, responsibility; The institutionalization of business ethics, ethical cultures, and codes of ethics; Ethical decision-making and leadership: individual and organizational factors; The digital revolution: digital ethics and business ethics; The use of LLM algorithms for ethical purposes; Living and working in conditions of uncertainty: ethical proactivity, preparedness and response. Moreover, the course will provide a special focus on start-up companies that are innovative as to their actors, products, processes, economic visions, and (ethical) behaviors.
The module encompasses lectures, class discussions, videos, presentations of case studies, invited experts’ contributions. The format of the course is essentially interactive: attendance and active participation in the class are strongly encouraged.

Attending students’ preparation for the exam will be assessed through intermediate assignments and group presentations on the topics of the course, an individual written exercise discussing a complex ethical case, and active participation (questions, comments, discussions) in the class. The final grade for attending students will be the result of the following components:

• Intermediate and final group exercices: 70%.
• Written individual exercise: 30%.
  Non attending students will take an individual written exam with 30 multiple choice questions and 5 open-ended questions on both theoretical problems and analysis of case studies. The final grade for non attending students will be the result of the following components:
• 20 multiple choice questions: 40%
• 5 open-ended questions: 60%

All reading materials (chapters of books, articles, videos) for the preparation of the exam
(both for attending and non-attending students) will be made available online onBlackboard by the teacher at the beginning of the course.
A detailed Syllabus will be made available on Blackboard before the beginning of the course.

This Module aims to describe the Marketing definitions and boundaries, trying to analyze the evolution of trading relationships between manufacturers and retailers. After a deep analysis of context’ major trend and discontinuities, the course attention will be focused on the customer experience management and the new development trends of digital channels.
The course aims to provide students with the basic knowledge and tools to understand the main phenomena on the Marketing and Retail scenario and to develop their own critical views on these facts. In particular, they will:

• Take a look at the most important scenario challenges
• Discover traditional and new paradigms in Marketing Theory, like Customer Experience Management
• Understand the main issues in managing channel relationship (strategic approach)
• Gain confidence with operational tools
• Verify the connection between theoretical models and manufacturers/retailer management practices trough which national and international case histories, particularly within the Modern Grocery Distribution (MGD) sector.
  Knowledge and understanding. By the end of the course students will have acquired in-depth knowledge and understanding regarding Marketing and Retail decisions. These outcomes in terms of knowledge and understanding will be achieved through the combined use of lectures and monographic seminars, also held by business operators (manager).
  Applying knowledge and understanding. The ability to apply knowledge will take place through the in-depth study of specific case studies and current events, as well as in class discussions and group work.
  Making judgments. Through course attendance and self-study students will be able to develop their capability of making judgments independently reaching the ability to take both strategic and executive decisions, even in uncertain conditions. In particular, at the end of the course, the students will develop full judgment autonomy, especially in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the company’s strategic choices with reference to the world of customer experience management and digital channels, and the related operational implications.
  Communication skills. During the course highly specialized/technical language will be adopted in order to stimulate students to improve their communication skills with a view to allowing the predisposition of analytical reports. Moreover, the student will improve his/her written communication skills through the reports/final exam and the oral communication skills through the public presentations/in class discussion. Furthermore, participation in group work will enable them to prepare and present group work to a professional and international audience, respecting formal constraints and deadlines.
  Learning skills. Learning skills of the students will be stimulated by means of the request to enlarge, update and independently/continually deepen knowledge acquired in class and in individual study, especially with regard to constantly changing issues, such as marketing and distribution, remarkably if related to the international competitive dimension.
  The course will tackle the basic concepts and theories of the Sociology of consumption, as well as their application to the analysis of consumer behaviors in contemporary societies. The course aims also to discuss new trends in consumer behaviour, such as those linked to the “prosumer” paradigm and the sharing economy. Consumer behaviour will be studied by integrating sociological perspective with that of other disciplines such as economics, psychology, anthropology and communication studies.
  At the end of the course students will be able
  to interpret the complexity of consumer behaviour from a sociological perspective;
  to analyse the role and impact of individual, social and economic factors on consumer behavior and to select the most critical ones for firm decisions;
  to reflect in a critical way on the relation between producer and consumer and on the new forms of consumption.
  Knowledge and understanding. By the end of the course students will have acquired in-depth knowledge and understanding regarding Consumer behavior, thanks to lectures and in-depth study.
  Applying knowledge and understanding. The ability to traduce theoretical knowledge into practice will be developed through the collective discussion of specific case studies and seminars held by managers.
  Making judgments. Through course attendance and self-study students will be able to develop their capability of making judgments independently, especially in assessing a firm’s strategic choices with reference to the world of customer behavior management and the related marketing operational implications.
  Communication skills. During the course students will improve their written communication skills through the report and final exam while the oral communication skills through the public presentations and in class discussion.
  Learning skills. Learning process will take advantage from the participation in group work that will enable students to prepare and present group work to a professional audience, respecting formal constraints and deadlines as well as sharing decisions with classmates about strategic topics related to the complex and continuously changing consumer behavior.

Marketing outline: Consumer Marketing, Retail Marketing, Trade Marketing, Green Marketing and Digital Marketing
The role of AI in Marketing activities
The Customer Journey: the role of Digital evolution
Customer Experience Management
International future trends and evolution
Traditional lectures will be integrated with managerial seminars, collective discussions and assignments (individual and/or in team developed), with the aim to develop problem-solving attitude, acquire critic approach and team-work attitude.
Attendance at lectures is not compulsory, but recommended.

• Sociological theories of consumption.
• Individual, socio-economic and cross-cultural factors influencing consumer behavior.
• Lifestyles and social networks role in digital consumption.
• Social research methods to study consumers profiles.
• Evolution in producer and consumer behavior: co-creation and co-production.
  Traditional lectures, collective discussion of case studies, seminars with experts and firms representatives, project work. During the course, students will have the opportunity to work in groups and present and discuss the results of their project works with classmates and the teacher. Seminars require students an active participation, in order to contribute to the discussion with experts.

Students will be assessed on their knowledge of the content and on their ability to interpret the present outcomes of channel management in a critical way.
The final exam is written (with 3 open-ended questions) both for attending and non-attending students, even if it is differentiated in contents. Questions will be open and based on own elaboration skills in order to evaluate students’ learning. The differentiation of the exam programme between attending and non-attending students is due to the fact that attending lectures will give to the students the possibility to deepen the topics of the course with up-to-date analysis, managerial seminars, case histories, class discussion and team project works.
Communication skills using appropriate language will be tested through evaluation of suitability of vocabulary and form of expression used during the final exam. The written text will aim students to develop the ability to synthesize information and to organize a proposition.
For attending students, the written exam is based on 3 different questions regarding lectures contents, class discussions, managerial evidence and a selection of readings. The final written exam will take 45 minutes at a whole. In particular, time available for the first two question will be 15 minutes, while for the last one will be 10 minutes. The remaining 5 minutes will be used by the candidate to review the exam in its entirety. Questions will be open and based on own elaboration skills in order to evaluate students’ learning capability of theoretical contents. The final score will be out of thirty, and distributed as follows: 12 points for the first answer (of reasoning), 12 for the second (open answer), 6 for the last (aimed at verifying the accuracy of knowledge). All class activities will contribute to defining the final mark for attending students. For non-attending students the final written exam is based on 3 different questions regarding exclusively the specific readings selection indicated in the bibliography, designed ad hoc for non-attending. Also in this case, the exam will take 45 minutes at a whole: the time available for the first two question will be 15 minutes, while for the last one will be 10 minutes. The remaining 5 minutes will be used by the candidate to review the exam in its entirety. The final score will be out of thirty, and distributed as follows: 12 points for the first answer (of reasoning), 12 for the second (open answer), 6 for the last (aimed at verifying the accuracy of knowledge).
Each grade is based on the accuracy of the student’s responses, the ability to create connections and the personal contribution in analyzing marketing and management topics.
For attending students, the final exam consists of a written test based on open-ended questions, aiming to evaluate theoretical knowledge (60% of the grade) and on two project works prepared and discussed in the last lessons of the course, aiming to evaluate student critical sense along with the correct use of sociological concepts and the ability to present the results of his own work to others (40% of the grade).
For non attending students, the final exam consists of a written test based on open-ended questions, aiming to evaluate theoretical knowledge (60% of the grade) and on case studies to analyze and discuss in order to evaluate student critical sense along with the correct use of sociological concepts (40% of the grade).

For attending students, a specific readings list will be designed for.
For non-attending and exchange students, a specific references/readings list will be designed for.
The lecturer will communicate the detailed reading list and other directly to the class at the beginning of the course: all these indications will be available also on Blackboard platform.
Please, email the Teacher to receive more detailed information about the program.
Attending students:
Materials provided during the lessons and available on Blackboard platform.
Arcidiacono D., Loconto A., Maestripieri L., Podda A., Pro-sumers on the move: overcoming the line between labour and consumption, Sociologia del lavoro, 152, 2018
Non attending students
Hoyer W.D., D.J. Maclnnis, R. Pieters, Consumer Behavior, South-Western, 2017
Arcidiacono D., Loconto A., Maestripieri L., Podda A., Pro-sumers on the move: overcoming the line between labour and consumption, Sociologia del lavoro, 152, 2018
Detailed information on chapters to study and slides will be provided during the lessons and on Blackboard platform.

International Human Resource Management is designed to provide an overview of, and an analysis on, business organization and human resource management within the international business realm. It will investigate the HRM processes such as recruiting, selection, training and development, performance appraisal and evaluation, compensation, career paths.
On completion of this course students will be able to:
Understand and discuss the systemic links between business strategy, HRM strategy and the various process and subprocess involved.
Manage the various modules of the whole HRM process (planning, recruitment, selection, development, separation) at an international level.
Plan and use the main HRM tools.
Evaluate issues arising from HRM inside an international context, identify feasible solutions path, and put them into practice at a global level.
Understand and use major HRM policies and practices in different business and cultural environments.
Apply both qualitative and quantitative skills in order to analyze HRM issues.

The link between Strategy, Structure and HRM.
The HRM process. The main subprocesses: staffing, appraisal, compensation, development, separation in an international environment.
HRM tools for motivation, performance evaluation, appraisal, rewards, and incentives.
Managing an international staff: composing an international staff; training and development of international staff; international compensation and performance management; repatriation and knowledge management.
This module is a mix of lecture, in class exercises, simulations and discussion. The format of this class is interactive.

Written exam with four open-ended questions, 90 minutes, 30 points. Only for students who participated in the final group project, the written test will count for up to 20 points, or 66% of the overall grade. A maximum of 10 points, or 33% of the overall grade, will be awarded for the group project.

Dessler, G., Human Resource Management, (16th edition, global edition), Pearson, 2020.
Deresky H. & Miller S., International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures, Text and Cases, (10th edition, global edition), Pearson, 2023.
Dowling, P.J., Festing, M., & Engle A.D., International Human Resource Management. (6th edition), Cengage Learning, 2013.