Description:

This course introduces the theoretical foundations of responsible management and explores how organizations can integrate sustainability considerations into their strategy development and implementation. It examines how different stakeholders (e.g., governments, civil society, employees, consumers, investors, supply chain partners) shape responsible business conduct and influence organizational decision-making. Furthermore, the course discusses how organizations implement, monitor, and evaluate responsible management practices through instruments such as sustainability accounting, management control systems, and sustainability reporting. Finally, it explores how digitalization creates both opportunities and challenges for implementing and governing responsible management. Throughout the course, theoretical concepts are complemented by empirical research, business cases, and practical applications, enabling students to critically evaluate responsible management practices and their implications for organizations and society.

This course is offered as a lecture with an integrated seminar and follows a “flipped classroom” approach:

• Lecture component: During one week, students are expected to work independently through the instructional videos and the assigned reading material, which introduce the theoretical foundations of responsible management. These provide the theoretical foundation for the onsite sessions. 
• Seminar component: During the following week, the corresponding onsite session takes place, where the concepts introduced in the instructional videos are discussed and applied through interactive learning formats (e.g., business cases, student paper presentations, calculating your personal environmental footprint, participating in in-class sustainability surveys and discussing your results, etc.). The onsite sessions are designed to build on, rather than repeat, the content of the instructional videos.
  
  For detailed information on the course organization, please refer to the course manual, which you can find under “material”.

Learning Targets:

Upon successful completion of this course, students:

• are able to understand and critically reflect the key concepts of responsible management (e.g., sustainability management, corporate social responsibility (CSR), stakeholder management, corporate governance)
• are capable of applying different tools and instruments that firms use to ensure responsible management practices and implement sustainability strategies (e.g., codes of conduct, environmental management systems, social accounting, life cycle assessment)
• are able to identify and critically assess governance and control mechanisms for responsible management (e.g., internal control systems, board oversight, compensation structure)
• can develop and apply instruments of sustainability performance measurement and reporting
• are able to understand scientific studies in the area of responsible management, to critically evaluate them, and relate them to each other
  
   

Outline:

• Foundations of Responsible Management and Sustainability Strategies
• Stakeholder Management, Government and Civil Society
• Responsible Management and Employees
• Responsible Management and Consumers & Investors
• Responsible Management in Production and Supply Chains
• Implementing and Digitalizing Responsible Management

During the seminar component, students will apply and critically reflect on these concepts through practical application materials and activities, including activities such as business cases, calculating your personal environmental footprint, participating in in-class sustainability surveys, and comparing your results with those of previous student cohorts, analyzing sustainability reports, etc. These activities are designed to strengthen students' ability to apply course concepts to practical scenarios and prepare them for similar application-oriented questions in the written examination. 

Literature:

• Hahn, R. (2025). Sustainability Management: Concepts, Instruments, and Stakeholders (2^nd ed.). Pearson.
• Research papers and further literature will be announced at the beginning of the course

Methods of Assessment:

Module examination consisting of: - Written examination (60 minutes, 60% of the final grade) - Presentation including discussion (40% of the final grade)

Formalities:

Dates:

Please refer to Moodle for the scheduling. 

Please note that the first on-site session will take place on 20/10/26 (TBC). All on-site sessions take place from 14:00 to 18:00 (TBC). 

Material:

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