Topic outline

  • General

    21E06050 Responsibility Management (book exam, 6 cr)

    Syllabus 2020-21

    Leena Lankoski (leena.lankoski@aalto.fi)

    INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS PLANNING TO TAKE THE EXAM IN 2021-2022: THERE ARE THREE SEPARATE MYCOURSES PAGES FOR THE THREE EXAMS TAKING PLACE DURING 2021-2022. THE LITERATURE TO BE STUDIED IS LISTED ON THOSE MYCOURSES PAGES.

    Welcome to study for the book exam on Responsibility Management! The learning objective of this course is to strengthen and deepen your knowledge and theoretical understanding of key areas of corporate responsibility management and sustainability in business.

    This is a Master’s level course which is an elective in the Creative Sustainability programme as well as in the Management and International Business programme.  A prerequisite for the course is 21E16001 Sustainability in Business or equivalent. The exam can be taken only by Creative Sustainability students and by students in one of the Aalto School of Business Master’s Programmes.

    There are three exams during the academic year. In the academic year 2020-2021 the exam dates are 14.9.2020, 27.11.2020, and 19.3.2021. Because of the COVID-19 situation, the next exam (19.3.2021) will be organized online through this MyCourses site.

    How to take part in the online exam on 19.3.2021:

    • Register to the exam through Oodi (registration closes on 12.3.2021 at 23:59)
    • The exam can be taken only by Creative Sustainability students and by students in one of the Aalto School of Business Master’s Programmes
    • A prerequisite for taking the exam is the course 21E16001 Sustainability in Business or equivalent
    • After the registration closes, the teacher will add the registered students to this MyCourses site. Those students will then gain access to the section where the exam will take place. The placeholder for the exam is already visible on this site, so you can already familiarize yourself with where to find the exam once it opens
    • The exam will be open on 19.3. during 14:00-16:00. This means that you cannot start the exam before 14:00 and you cannot continue the exam after 16:00. Note that instead of the four hours originally indicated in Oodi, the exam time will be only two hours in the online implementation
    • During the exam you ARE allowed to consult the literature as well as your own notes. However, the nature of the exam requires that you have studied the literature well in advance
    • During the exam you are NOT allowed to collaborate with anyone else. Your responses must be your own work only

    Literature to be studied for the exam in the academic year 2020-21 is listed below. All articles are available in electronic format through Aalto library. All articles are required, and passing the exam will require integrating and applying knowledge across several articles. Study the articles for a deep understanding of their substantive content (not methodological detail). Please note that this is an advanced level course, which is reflected in the level of sophistication that is expected of the answers.

    • Definitions and meanings: Lankoski, L. (2016). Alternative conceptions of sustainability in a business context. Journal of Cleaner Production, 139: 847-857.
    • General about responsibility management: Waddock, S. & Bodwell, C. (2004). Managing responsibility: What can be learned from the quality movement? California Management Review, 47(1), 25-37.
    • Business models, circular economy: Bocken, N. M., de Pauw, I., Bakker, C., & van der Grinten, B. (2016). Product design and business model strategies for a circular economy. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 33(5), 308-320.
    • Innovations: Goodman, J., Korsunova, A., & Halme, M. (2017). Our collaborative future: Activities and roles of stakeholders in sustainability‐oriented innovation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26(6), 731-753.
    • Organization and management: Eccles, R.G., Perkins, K.M., & Serafeim, G. (2012). How to become a sustainable company. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(4), 43-50.
    • Marketing: White, K., Habib, R., & Hardisty, D. J. (2019). How to SHIFT consumer behaviors to be more sustainable: A literature review and guiding framework. Journal of Marketing, 83(3), 22-49.
    • Financial performance outcomes: Lankoski, L. (2008). Corporate responsibility activities and economic performance: A theory of why and how they are connected. Business Strategy and the Environment, 17: 536-547.
    • Social and environmental outcomes: Halme, M., Rintamäki, J., Knudsen, J.S., Lankoski, L., & Kuisma, M. (2020). When is there a sustainability case for CSR? Pathways to environmental and social performance improvements. Business & Society, 59(6), 1181–1227.
    • Current topics / Climate change:  Cadez, S., & Czerny, A. (2016). Climate change mitigation strategies in carbon-intensive firms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 4132-4143.
    • Current topics / Biodiversity: Winn, M. I. & Pogutz, S. (2013). Business, ecosystems, and biodiversity: New horizons for management research. Organization & Environment, 26(2), 203-229.