Learning objectives
Course has a threefold aim: A) supply students with a basic knowledge on main Industrial Organisation issues, about structure of industries, conduct of companies and economic performance; B) make students learn to apply theorethical issues to specific industries, of wich they will learn to examine Structure, Conduct and Results as they are in industrial reality: the packaging machinery industry, a sector featured by high international competitiveness and high internationalization of firms; C) allow students to learn professional techniques concerning industry analysis through teamwork study of specific companies’groups. Students will also learn to write and present reports on main firms and sector features, as well as on their evolution.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course is mainly twofold: in first part, by means of frontal teaching, as in standard Industrial Organisation courses, main theorethical instruments needed for industries’ analysis are supplied. Main theorethical framework is here Structure-Conduct-Results, augmented with many industries’ as well as firms’ case studies.Second part is more empirical: after introducing main data sources and taxonomies on firms and industries, companies of an important and dynamic capital goods industry (i.e. machinery) and its evolution are examined: the packaging machinery industry. Here Structure-Conduct-Results theory are applied through direct analysis of data on industry’s firms (with both micro and macro data on an international basis). Not only technological, productive as well as competitive issues will be analysed that result in performance scores, but also financial resilience and marketing strategies, included internationalization degree.This second part will be conducted (in an interactive manner with teacher) by students on publicly available data, as well as on original data supplied by UCIMA (Union of Italian Packaging Machinery Manufacturers, Confindustria). This team work will request students to face issues of industry analysis by means of simple statistical data analysis techniques (on excel and SPSS).
Full programme
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Bibliography
Dennis W. Carlton e Jeffrey M. Perloff, Organizzazione Industriale, 3a Ed., McGraw-Hill
Other data and materials (from UCIMA Research Center) as well as SPSS statistical package needed for teamwork will be supplied by teacher.
Teaching methods
Frontal teaching
Teamwork on firm and industry level data
Reports production and presentation. (Reports will be included in compulsory materials for final written exam)
Assessment methods and criteria
Written exam on book as well as on results from Reports produced by teamwork.
Other information
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