Learning objectives
a.Knowledge and comprehension skills.
At the end of the course, students will have acquired skills in the field of distribution marketing, in national and international contexts, both online and offline, gaining a mastery of both theoretical and applied concepts. In particular, students will develop knowledge on:
- The enterprise system
- Distribution
- The online market for agri-food products
- Growth strategies: integration, diversification, internationalisation
- Internationalisation: how to enter countries, choice of country, strategies, culture.
These results in terms of knowledge and understanding will be achieved through the combined use of frontal lectures and monographic seminars held by business operators.
b.Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
Students will possess the necessary knowledge to apply the most appropriate methodological tools for analysing different markets. At the end of the course, students will have a complete vision of the issues related to the distribution marketing of agri-food products and will be able to develop applied understanding, analytical and problem solving skills. The ability to apply the acquired knowledge may be achieved through critical reflection on topics proposed for individual study, in-depth study of specific case studies and the performance of group work (in the classroom or post-lesson).
c. Autonomy of judgement
At the end of the course the student will be able to use the analytical tools acquired in the analysis and interpretation of relevant phenomena in the distribution marketing strategies of companies. The student's autonomy of judgement will be stimulated through the promotion of individual development skills of reflection, interpretation of phenomena and analysis of business strategies. The student, at the end of the course, will be able to make strategic decisions and develop operational solutions, with respect to the various problems in the field of distribution marketing in food markets.
d. Communication skills
During the course the student will be stimulated to acquire appropriate communication skills. This will be done through classroom discussion of case studies/examples of business conduct. To this end, lectures will be conducted in an interactive manner with a continuous exchange of concepts between lecturer and students, so as to maintain high attention, engage students and prompt them to reason using the theories and concepts explained in the lectures.
e. Learning ability
By the end of the course, the student will have gained the ability to expand on the knowledge acquired in the classroom and through the textbooks. The presentation of company cases/ testimonials and the discussion of topical information materials are intended precisely to stimulate the student's curiosity, accustoming him/her to seek explanations for company phenomena/behaviour, analysing situations in detail.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The market for agri-food products is characterised by specificities that make it unique and require ad hoc skills and knowledge in order to develop effective marketing strategies, applying and adapting (where necessary) marketing and distribution tools and techniques. Added to this is the new landscape that all producers (even small ones) have to face, namely that of the international market. Here, the complexity of product and market management increases and specific skills are needed to enable the company to survive and stand out in global competition. If, on the one hand, Made in Italy is, in the agro-food context, a favourable element, it is equally true that there are various criticalities and weaknesses that companies must be aware of in order to be able to cope and compete in the globalised market.
The course therefore intends to provide students with the necessary skills to face increasingly competitive markets, to manage the distribution of agri-food products both in the 'physical' and 'online' contexts.
In order to combine theory with managerial/entrepreneurial practice, the course is enriched with examples and testimonials of strategies adopted by national companies, and not only, examples of best practices that help students understand strategies and company dynamics.
At a conceptual level, the aim is to convey the importance and richness of the cultural, social and economic differences that characterise the various international markets, as well as the effects on consumer behaviour and on the strategic choices of companies. At an operational level, the tools for assessing the international market from a marketing perspective will be provided.
Full programme
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Bibliography
In progress.
Slides used in the classroom and supplementary materials uploaded on the Elly platform.
Teaching methods
Acquisition of knowledge: lectures.
Acquisition of the ability to apply analysis methodologies: discussion of business cases in the classroom.
Acquisition of autonomy of judgement: analysis of business cases - analysis of specific situations in agri-food markets in national and international, physical and virtual contexts.
Acquisition of learning skills: discussions of business cases and events/news concerning agri-food markets will stimulate the analysis of the context and the identification of appropriate solutions.
Acquisition of technical language: the meaning of terms commonly used in business will be explained during the course, so that students become familiar with a technical language.
Non-attending students are reminded to check the available teaching material and the indications provided by the lecturer via the Elly platform.
Assessment methods and criteria
Knowledge and the ability to understand, the ability to apply knowledge, independent judgement and the ability to learn are assessed by means of 3 open-ended questions.
The ability to communicate in appropriate technical language is assessed by evaluating the correct use of technical expressions/terms in the answers to the above questions.
Honours are awarded to those particularly deserving students who, in addition to having met the requirements for a full mark, in the performance of the test have, on the whole, demonstrated an appreciable systematic knowledge of the subject, an excellent ability to apply the knowledge acquired to the specific problem in question, a significant autonomy of judgement and particular care in the formal drafting of the paper.
The test of learning is in written form with 3 open questions (for each one the mark goes from 0 to 10). The duration of the written test is 1 hour.
The student will have the choice of answering the 3 'theoretical' questions or substituting one (of his/her choice) focusing on the topics covered in the classroom by the manager speakers hosted during the course.
The student is only allowed to carry his/her student card/ID and a biro.
Please note that online registration for the roll call is MANDATORY. Test results are published on the ESSE3 portal.
The assessment of any group work will be explained by the lecturer during the course - In the case of performance, the mark obtained during the group work will be an integral part of the total teaching grade.
Other information
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