Aim of the course

To introduce key theories concerning firms and economic organizations that have been strongly influential in management research, to train students in the use of these theories in their thesis work.

Course content, structure and teaching

The course discusses the role of the firm in management research. It covers basic economic concepts that are central to the theory of the firm such as incentives, transaction costs, and property rights, jointly with resource-based view and evolutionary theory. Moreover, it discuss about the role of the theory of the firm in the changed nature of the firm. Then the course discusses main theories, comparing differences, similarities and potentiality. Finally, it analyzes organizational design, governance, finance, and related issues to provide to young researchers the tools to manage the first part of a paper that has to be eligible for publication.