Course Language: German
This is an elective course in the complementary study program (I and II).

The acquisition of information is highly significant both for research and for management decision-making. This course aims to enable students to conduct independent empirical studies as well as to critically evaluate and interpret the results of other empirical research.

The course begins by introducing qualitative and quantitative research approaches. It then focuses on quantitative research, covering topics such as the measurement of constructs (e.g., attitudes), questionnaire design, and experiments. Basic data analysis methods (e.g., analysis of variance, linear regression analysis) from Statistics II will be revisited and applied using the statistical software SPSS.

Note: The knowledge imparted in this course is highly recommended for writing final theses (both for conducting your own empirical studies and for understanding empirical secondary sources), for participating in the professorship’s project studies, and for attending the master's courses offered by the professorship.

Lecture (2 contact hours per week) and SPSS lab (1 contact hour per week)
Trimester: Please refer to current announcements!

Course Language: German

The study projects span two trimesters (winter and spring) and address a variety of topics and research questions. For example, the 2024 project explores how consumers can be encouraged to choose (more expensive) meat from higher-welfare animal farming. In 2023, a customer satisfaction analysis was conducted for a fitness provider, and in 2022, the focus was on vaccine skepticism and the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns.

All of our projects include an empirical study. Each project begins with the analysis and discussion of relevant literature. Based on this, students—supervised by the chair—develop a study design to answer their specific research question and carry out the study. The project concludes with a presentation and discussion of the research findings.

Contact hours and ECTS: 4 contact hours per week (TWS), 8 ECTS credits
Trimester: Winter and Spring trimesters in the second year of study (5th and 6th trimesters)

Course Language: German

Content

Introduction and the Concept of Marketing
The course begins by emphasizing that marketing is not, as sometimes superficially assumed, merely about advertising and sales. Rather, marketing is primarily concerned with the creation of value, which is essential for long-term success in a competitive environment. Considerations of value creation should, for example, be central already during the product development process and determine entrepreneurial decisions in the areas of positioning and target group selection.

Human Judgment and Consumer Behavior
The course introduces fundamental concepts of human perception and judgment. Topics include dual-process models, possible perception biases, and emotions as sources of information. In addition, key aspects and constructs of consumer behavior are explained.

Strategic Marketing Decisions and Marketing Instruments
The course then addresses strategic marketing decisions, including positioning and segmentation, product management with a focus on product innovations, as well as aspects of pricing, communication, and distribution management.

Market Research
Finally, the course provides a brief introduction to market research. (Students interested in empirical research and its methods are referred to the course “Introduction to Empirical Research” offered by the chair as part of the elective area “Supplementary Studies” in the Bachelor’s program.)

Contact hours and ECTS: Lecture and tutorial, 3 contact hours per week (TWS), 4 ECTS credits
Trimester: Winter trimester in the first year of study (2nd trimester)

Course Language: German

Qualification Objectives:

This module aims to provide in-depth knowledge (theories and methods) of strategic marketing decisions. Students will learn to identify strategic marketing challenges, gather relevant information, and make well-founded strategic decisions. They will understand the importance of value creation for achieving competitive advantages and will be able to identify and evaluate opportunities for creating such value.

Content:

In competitive markets, long-term business success depends on providing customers with a unique form of value. There are various ways to create this value—for example, through cost leadership and low prices or through the psychological positioning of products and brands. Against this background, the course discusses key questions of positioning (what kind of value can/should we offer? and consequently: what do we want to stand for?) as well as target group identification (for whom is the value created?). For each of these decision areas, the course presents appropriate decision-making tools. These include, for instance, methods for measuring customer expectations and needs, segmentation approaches (such as cluster analysis), image measurement, and customer satisfaction measurement. The course also addresses aspects of brand management that are closely linked to strategic positioning.

Contact hours and ECTS: Lecture and tutorial, 3 contact hours per week (TWS), 5 ECTS credits
Trimester: Spring trimester in the first year of study (2nd trimester)

This module is a required course in the specialization Strategy, Management, and Market and an elective in Supply Chain Management. It can also be credited toward the elective module area Selected Aspects of Business and Management.

Course Language: German 

Qualification Objectives:

This module aims to provide in-depth knowledge (theories and methods) of relevant aspects of marketing. Students will be enabled to identify key marketing decisions, gather the necessary information, and make sound decisions. By discussing selected theories, students will be able to better understand and anticipate consumer behavior.

Content:

This course covers selected aspects of product, pricing, and customer relationship management, and discusses and applies tools that can support business decision-making. Students will also gain insights into relevant theories that help to better understand selected aspects of consumer behavior.

In the area of product policy, the course focuses particularly on decision-making tools in the innovation process. These tools aim to align product development with customer needs and thereby contribute to the success of a company’s innovation activities. The discussion includes not only consumer goods but also customer-oriented innovation processes in, for example, the supplier or system business (B2B).

In the area of pricing policy, the course examines customer responses to price levels, price changes, bundling, and promotional pricing, as well as selected methods of market-oriented price planning. It also discusses customer perceptions triggered by “dynamic pricing.”

In the area of customer relationship management, the course explores customer retention, its drivers, and its implications.

Contact hours and ECTS: Lecture and tutorial, 3 contact hours per week (TWS), 5 ECTS

Trimester: Fall trimester in the first year of study (3rd trimester)

This module can be credited toward the specializations Strategy, Management and Market (elective) and Supply Chain Management (mandatory). It may also be included in the elective module area Selected Aspects of Business and Management.