University of Commerce Luigi Bocconi

The course explores how sustainability is becoming an existential challenge for humanity – due to such alarming issues as climate change or growing social inequality – and a source of change for companies. Organizations are rethinking their role in society and increasingly choosing to exceed the legal requirements they face and to take action to address social and environmental problems. Students are confronted with the theoretical bases of sustainability, seen as a perspective that shapes the role of the organizations within society and promote sustainable development, and the challenges of incorporating this perspective into the practices of organizations. A strategic approach to sustainability is more complex than traditional strategy, because it requires managers to engage with the non-market environment including regulators, activists, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The course is oriented around understanding the conditions under which sustainability can benefit all the stakeholders involved. The course discusses topics including sustainable development and corporate sustainability; climate change and the road to Net Zero; the business case for sustainability; circular economy and sustainable business models; sustainable supply chains; sustainability in the marketplace; social sustainability in the workplace; sustainable finance, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria, and purpose-led shareholders; sustainability metrics and reporting; and embedding sustainability in organizations. The course recommends students should be familiar with basic concepts regarding management, organizations, and global economy as a prerequisite.

The course provides an overview of the fashion system and an in-depth understanding of the strategic, organizational and managerial features of fashion companies, both in the high end and in the mass market. Main topics addressed in the course are: what is fashion, which are the fashion related sectors, and what are the differences between fashion and luxury; how creativity and management do integrate in fashion and luxury companies; how to carry out an industry analysis: strategic features of fashion companies and main business models in fashion and their evolution; the role of the textile sector and the origin of trends: where do they come from and how do they spread; fashion history and country branding: why France, Italy and US became leaders and which are the new centers for fashion; customer segmentation: how to engage the customers from new senior to generation Z; brand positioning in fashion: how to become a lifestyle brand; and key processes and main roles in fashion: product strategy and merchandising, distribution and omnichannel management, and communication and PR in the digital era. This course recommends background knowledge on some basic concepts on corporate and competitive strategy (such as industry analysis, consumer segmentation, growth strategies, and SWOT analysis) as a prerequisite.

The course analyzes the impact of digital transformation in changing the competitive landscape of several industries. Of particular interest of the course are: the disruptive nature of technological changes; the entrepreneurial ferment across industries; the interplay between incumbents and newcomers. The goal of the course is to: analyze digitalization as a context for the transformation of cultural organizations; discuss its implications for industry configuration, value appropriation, and offering configuration; compare inter-company and inter-industry competition. 

The mission of this course is to get students ready for the growing complexity of the international business and to equip them with a toolkit for decision making in the modern global context. The main learning goal of this course is to formulate or contribute to the formulation of international strategy for any kind of business. This course covers topics including globalization trends and internationalization goals; differences among markets and adaptation decisions; internationalization strategy definitions; foreign markets selection; entry modes to foreign markets and cross-border alliances; and implementation of internationalization strategy. Prerequisites: prior background knowledge of key terminology and theoretical frameworks of general management and business administration.