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Course syllabus - Theories of the Organisation of Firms: the Classics, 7.5 credits

Information about the course

  • Course code: FOES028
  • Third-cycle subject: Business Administration
  • School: The School for Business, Society and Engineering
  • Responsible department: Department for Marketing and Strategy
  • Valid from: Autumn term 2025
  • Established by: Dean of School
  • Decision date: 2025-02-27
  • Level of education: Third cycle level

Course objective

This course aims to provide doctoral students in Business Administration and Industrial Economics and Organisation with a deeper and broader knowledge on the roots of the theories of how companies and markets are organised to be economical.

Participants will gain advanced insights into the application of theory for continued research. The course explores established theories and key contributions within the field of Business Administration. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the theoretical currents within the research field, and provides an overview of the foundational "original research" that has shaped contemporary studies. Additionally, participants will gain an understanding of the emergence and evolution of central concepts within the discipline.

Course content

In this course, modern classics will be studied with focus on the organisation of resources to sustain businesses. These "classics" can be considered modern
in the sense that they are significant for understanding the historical development of business administration, but also because they continue to influence the development of concepts and theories in various ways.

The modern classics are important for the continuous development of theory, and they constitute a recurring and important reference point for advancing knowledge in the subject:

  1. firms’ ability to control their operations,
  2. organisational change, and
  3. the implications of market versus hierarchy from both a transaction cost perspective and a behavioural perspective.

Intented learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student should be able to

  1. Display in-depth knowledge about firms’ organisations.
  2. Show ability to explain and apply terms relevant in the field of Business Administration and their importance for students’ own research.
  3. Independently reflect and report on advanced literature using a scientific language.
  4. Discuss advanced texts in a group-setting (a seminar) to obtain a better understanding.
  5. Apply the theories discussed during the course on their thesis work.
  6. Understand the impact of the modern classics on the research field of Business Administration.

The intended qualitative targets in relation to the Higher Education Ordinance, appendix 2.

Knowledge and understanding

For the Degree of Doctor, the doctoral student shall demonstrate:

  • A1: broad knowledge and systematic understanding of the research field as well as advanced and up-to-date specialised knowledge in a limited area of this field.

Competence and skills

For the Degree of Doctor, the doctoral student shall demonstrate

  • B1: the capacity for scholarly analysis and synthesis as well as to review and assess new and complex phenomena, issues, and situations autonomously and critically,
  • B2: the ability to identify and formulate issues with scholarly precision critically, autonomously, and creatively, and to plan and use appropriate methods to undertake research and other qualified tasks within predetermined time frames and to review and evaluate such work, and
  • B5: the ability to identify the need for further knowledge.

Judgement and approach

For a Degree of Doctor the doctoral student shall demonstrate

  • C1: intellectual autonomy and disciplinary rectitude as well as the ability to make assessments of research ethics.

Teaching formats

Reading, writing and seminars.

Examination

SEM1, seminar, 6 credits, concerning learning outcomes 1, 2, 4 and 6, grade fail (U) or pass (G).

INL1, written assignment, 1.5 credits, concerning learning outcomes 1-3 and 5-6, grade fail (U) or pass (G).

Grade

Examinations included in the course are assessed according to a two-grade scale, fail or pass.

Grades are to be decided by a teacher specially appointed by the university.

A person who has not passed the regular examination shall be given the opportunity to retake the test.

Requirements

To participate in the course and the examinations included in the course, the applicant must be admitted to doctoral studies. Subject to availability, teachers at Mälardalen University that hold a doctorate can be offered to take part of the course.

Specific entry requirements

Participants must be admitted as doctoral students in Business Administration, Industrial Economics and Organization, or a related academic field.

Selection criteria

Selection of applicants will be made in accordance with the ranking below.

  1. Doctoral students in Business Administration or Industrial Economics and Organization at Mälardalen University.
  2. Doctoral students in the research school of Management and IT (MIT).
  3. Other doctoral students at Mälardalens University.
  4. Doctoral students at other universities.