LFU:online

This module, combining VO (Vorlesungen / Lectures) and SE (Seminars), aims at providing students with a solid understanding of the strategic, organizational and ethical implications of corporate sustainability. Adopting a firm-oriented perspective, the course intends to familiarize participants with the complexity of these decisions, and with the challenges and opportunities resulting from a proper stakeholder management approach. 

At the end of the course students will be expected to: 

- Know the meaning of some core concepts such as corporate sustainability, CSR, sustainable development, stakeholder management, etc.; 

- Gain an in-depth theoretical understanding of the components and interrelations of economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable strategies and related organizational implementation decisions 

- Critically evaluate and compare different theories on sustainability and sustainable strategies 

- Be able to analyze the linkages between financial, social and environmental performance; 

- Chart ‘real-life’ practices of sustainable business opportunities and threats as well as learn from real world examples, cases and company presentations that illustrate how to put sustainability into practice; 

- Develop the skills to analyze a problem and to find solutions relevant to the implementation of sustainability strategies in different settings; 

- Develop skills to effectively conduct case studies

This course takes a strategic perspective on corporate sustainability. As such, it starts with clarifying what strategy is, i.e. the process that aims at identifying an organization’s fundamental long-term objectives and defining those courses of actions that are most likely to deliver those objectives. The crucial point is that such key strategic decisions define which stakeholders (Freeman, 1984) are affected and which resources are needed. In fact, the decisions managers make in this respect play a fundamental role in determining the evolution of the firm itself and its socio-ecological system towards (or away from) sustainable development. Against this backdrop, for many years now, companies face the challenge of how to deal with sustainability. The concept of sustainability is generally referred to as a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their own needs. Societies, and thus, companies, face grand challenges, like ecological problems such as planetary boundaries and climate change, global inequality and migration. The UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), which many countries have accepted, are one manifestation of these global challenges. Importantly, although the private sector is part of the problem (e.g. through greenhouse gas emissions), companies are also part of the solution through sustainable process and product innovation that help changing the way of doing business and consuming. Moreover, companies face more and more sustainable demands from their stakeholders, including global suppliers. Thus, social, environmental and ethical conflicts affect increasingly decision-making processes in firms, since they are increasingly required to respond to the grand challenges. One way of doing this is the firm’s strategic pursuit of social and ecological objectives in addition to the classic economic goals, which is commonly referred to as corporate sustainability (or other "buzzwords" like inclusive business, corporate (social) responsibility, and shared value creation). But how does a strategy to achieve corporate sustainability really look like? What could be adequate organizational responses and practices in this context? Following this line of reasoning, this course is built on the fundamental premise that implementing corporate sustainability and thus, moving towards a sustainable way of doing business, is primarily a strategic and organizational problem.

We accomplish the course objectives through the following teaching methods:

The first part (“VO”) is characterized by engaging students in active learning, based on theoretical foundations, highly interactive lectures, case studies coupled with plenary discussions, and by providing evidences thanks to managers’ leadership examples. 

The second part (“SE”) is dedicated to an in-depth project, to be developed by students in form of a short paper and a presentation, with the help of feedback (by peers and instructor). It is absolutely necessary that students prepare all sessions according to the syllabus.

Please be aware that attendance is mandatory in SE. If you have an attendance issue, please contact the instructor BEFRORE the respective class to find a solution. 

Evaluation in the VO: 

Evaluation in the SE: Quality of the project assignments (per group, 70%) and quality of the individual contribution throughout all SE sessions, final presentation and the subsequent discussion in Q&A (per individual student, 30%).

We will combine the evaluations from the VO and SE. You will receive a single final grade for the entire module. 

To pass the module, students have to reach 60% in both VO and SE.

It is essential for students to thoroughly prepare for all sessions as outlined in the syllabus, especially completing all assigned pre-readings. Your grade will significantly rely on your individual understanding of the literature. The syllabus and required readings will be accessible on the OLAT platform before the semester begins.

Please note that the course content and structure outlined in the syllabus may be adjusted based on the progression of the course. Cases marked with an asterisk (*) in the syllabus are subject to license fees, which students will be responsible for covering. Detailed instructions on how to access and obtain these cases will be provided prior to the relevant class sessions.

Please make sure that you check your university email account regularly. All communication will be done via your uibk.ac.at email addresses.