Maastricht University - School of Business and Economics

Discrimination, crime, marriage, fertility, education, or religion are all examples of key parts of our societies. The behavior of people and the design of institutions in these social contexts have major consequences for society (including policy and the economy as a whole). Economists claim that the economic approach is useful in explaining human behavior and social interactions in such settings and hence helps to better understand the functioning of societies. This in turn helps to design policies helping to achieve societal goals. This course analyzes different social phenomena through the lens of economists. It trains students to understand and analyze a wide range of social phenomena from an economic point of view and to investigate and interpret these issues empirically. In particular, students are given a thorough understanding of how social phenomena can be analyzed from an economic perspective and they get an introduction to econometric tools with which empirical claims about causality can be established. PREREQUISITES: Basic understanding of economic theory and quantitative methods, an advanced level of English.

This course introduces students to the world of start-ups, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), and corporate venturing. It acquaints students with concepts and theories that are relevant to the process of setting up and managing a business. Students explore how entrepreneurial behavior in large companies can positively influence multiple individual and firm-level performance variables. The course also offers students a "learning-by-doing" environment in which they practice certain fundamentals of the entrepreneurial process such as value creation, opportunity recognition, and creativity. The theories covered are then applied in their specific business context. The course discusses the different steps in the entrepreneurial and small-business process including opportunity recognition; gathering resources; strategic planning in smaller companies; managing the venture; and growth, exit, or failure of the business. It also introduces different types of entrepreneurships, such as social, academic, and corporate venturing, as well as the theories that are important within this research field.

This course provides an introduction to topics in the field of (international) financial markets, central banks, monetary policy, and the banking sector.  It begins with a classification of financial markets (e.g. capital markets, money markets) as well as an analysis of the role financial markets play in the overall economic framework, both from a macro-economic as well as a micro-economic perspective. Thereafter, the "management" of financial markets is discussed, in particular the central role played by central banks in this respect. The functions and tasks of central banks are analyzed, in particular their responsibility for monetary policy. The course deals with the operational framework for monetary policy, and the interaction of central banks and banks in the money market. The functions of banks are elaborated upon, as well as their respective business activities, and the developments in the (international) banking sector are analyzed. The course finishes with an analysis of risk management at banks, and the importance of adequate risk management from the point of view of overall financial stability. In this context, the role of financial supervisors is also discussed.

This course stimulates critical thinking and personal development rather than providing clear-cut management recipes. The course covers management myths and realities, paradox thinking, organizational design, teams, learning, leadership, and corporate social responsibility.

Global Supply Chain Management focuses on why and how companies engage in international supply chain activities. Key topics include motives, barriers, risks, partnership(s), and the global supply chain organization. Coping with various supply chain disruptions is a recurring challenge addressed. Tutorials evolve around student presentations and discussions of relevant literature, case studies, and roleplay. Students regularly present assigned literature or case material, as well as provide additional material such as relevant academic articles, cases, and examples.

This course provides the opportunity to learn how to apply knowledge and skills to address complex social and environmental problems. This course is structured around experiential problem-based learning, providing the opportunity to synthesize theory and practice. Topics include critically reviewing concepts; user-centered design of social and environmental enterprises; frameworks for understanding and strategizing; understanding and reporting social and environmental impact; and cross-sector collaboration. Prerequisites: two introductory business courses.

Marketing Management focuses on the development of a better understanding of core marketing issues through the analysis of real-life marketing problems and marketing decision-making in an international context. The course adopts two formats: case study analysis and a marketing research project. In the case study format, emphasis is put on contemporary and international issues within a diverse scale of industries that focus on strategic as well as tactical marketing problems. Although conceptual material is provided and used as an instrument for analysis, emphasis is put on a critical and problem-solving approach of real-life cases. Through a marketing research project, students are challenged to delve into a real managerial issue and utilize skills that are developed within the course. To understand how to address this problem, students are tasked to design and implement full-scale marketing research and provide a report with proposed solutions back to the company. The sessions build upon PBL-guided case study sessions, while in-class exercises and assignments help build students’ marketing research skills. Lectures support the elaboration of the research project. International marketing and research cases are discussed in tutorial group meetings. The necessary knowledge for these discussions can be found in a basic textbook on marketing management, as well as a book on how to conduct marketing research. The latter is also necessary for successfully conducting a real-life marketing research project. Additional information on how to conduct marketing research comes from lectures. Basic managerial, marketing, and statistical knowledge is a prerequisite for attending this course.

This course examines various contemporary aspects of corporate governance, including issues relating to responsibility, accountability, sustainability, oversight, risk, ethics, and incentives. The course is multi-disciplinary, integrating concepts from the disciplines of accounting, finance, law, economics, and business ethics. A comprehensive overview of a myriad of issues, both theoretical and practical, arising out of the current international debate on creating effective corporate governance is provided. Next to acquiring a comprehensive overview of corporate governance, key learning objectives are to: (1) Develop a deep understanding of the key elements of corporate governance, (2) Acquire general knowledge of institutional differences in corporate governance as well as a general appreciation of many different codes of best practice worldwide; (3) Learn how to apply knowledge and understanding of corporate governance to real-world problems, and provide well-informed advice and judgments based on relevant academic research; and (4) Learn how to effectively communicate knowledge, advice and judgments on various corporate governance issues.

Neuroeconomics, sometimes also known as Decision Neuroscience, is an emerging field combining insights from economics, psychology, and neuroscience to understand how (healthy) humans make decisions and how these are related to underlying cognitive and neural processes. The ultimate goal of Neuroeconomics is to integrate knowledge from the different parent disciplines to answer the fundamental question of how our brain makes us decide. This course provides an introduction to Neuroeconomics by discussing examples showing the limitations of viewing decision-making merely through the lens of the traditional fields of economics, psychology, and neuroscience. The course reviews various methods used in Neuroeconomics research for measuring and influencing brain activity. An important part of the course is devoted to learning the foundations and models of Neuroeconomics such as the basics of neuroscience. Seminal and recent studies in Neuroeconomics are read, discussed, and critically evaluated. This interdisciplinary and challenging course consists of lectures and group work. It uses formal concepts from economics and neuroscience. Prerequisites include sufficient quantitative skills and basic knowledge of microeconomics.