Bedrijfskunde Services

Deze track biedt studenten kennis en vaardigheden vanuit een marketing- en logistiekperspectief. De focus ligt op het ondersteunen van besluitvorming die duurzaamheidsuitdagingen in de Nederlandse bedrijfscontext kan aanpakken.

Deze track omvat de onderstaande vakken. Meer informatie over de vakken volgt later. 

BK3T2101 Duurzame marketing & consumentengedrag (5)

This course explores the intersection of marketing, consumer behavior, and sustainability, equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to address the environmental challenges faced by Dutch businesses today. Students will examine theories related to sustainable business, marketing and consumer behavior and learn how they align with corporate social responsibility (CSR), the circular economy, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Additionally, attention is paid to how (new) technologies (e.g., AI, Augmented Reality) can help in realizing sustainable marketing strategies and consumer behavior. The overall goal is to understand how Dutch businesses can create value while minimizing their ecological footprint and fostering responsible consumer behavior.

Examples of specific topics that will be discussed:

• Sustainable business models: e.g., sharing economy, circular economy, zero-waste business models.
• Sustainable marketing strategies: Managing product returns in e-commerce (e.g., by virtual try-on options); communication of sustainable products; green branding.
• Sustainable consumer behavior: How to nudge consumers to reduce food waste at supermarkets; consumer responses to sustainable labels on packaging; how to stimulate consumers to reuse, repair or buy recycled (e.g., refurbished) products.

Learning goals

1. Understanding sustainability challenges in marketing and consumer behavior within the Dutch business context.
2. Being able to develop and implement sustainable marketing strategies (e.g., green branding, eco-labeling, sustainable certifications).
3. Understanding sustainable consumer behavior related to the circular economy
4. Being able to develop and implement interventions nudging consumers towards more sustainable behavior.

BK3T2102 Duurzame logistieke processen (5)

We aim to cover concepts and tools that address the sustainability challenges in operations and logistics processes, and to evaluate the impact on operational performance. We will discuss sustainability issues in the various supply chain stages, going upstream (manufacturing and warehousing) to downstream (distribution and retail). 

For each stage, students will learn concepts and strategies that can tackle those issues. This will be done by providing case study examples from Dutch businesses and by teaching theoretical models (e.g., inventory models, forecasting models, …) that incorporate these strategies. The latter can expand on the models learned in the OM and SCM courses by showing which modifications are needed to achieve sustainability targets and evaluating the impact on performance output. This way, we can build on students’ existing knowledge and extend it within the context of sustainability in the Dutch business 

environment.

Examples of course content: 

• Transport and network design: the opportunities in the Netherlands to use sustainable transport modes (link to the port, inland waterways), dealing with the limited range of electrical vehicles in network design, how to share transport/warehousing
• Demand and inventory management: how to use forecasting techniques or adapt inventory management to reduce waste of perishable products, how to replenish inventory in a sustainable manner
• Closed-loop supply chains: the operations behind managing production/inventory with product returns or recycling 

Learning goals

1. Understanding sustainability challenges and opportunities in operations and logistics processes within the Dutch business context
2. Applying sustainable practices to supply chain management.
3. Analyzing and evaluating the impact of sustainable practices on operational performance

BK3T2103 BSc Project Duurzame bedrijfsstrategieën (7)

The core of the project is research, and what type of research will vary by track. The Bachelor Project follows all steps of a research cycle: A managerial problem, a knowledge question, review of evidence, research design, data collection, data analysis, answer to the question, recommendation to management. “Management” should be read as “stakeholder from practice”. The outcome can be a design, hypothesis test, conceptual framework, and in all cases is translated into an answer to a managerial problem. The data can be quantitative or qualitative, primary or secondary, empirical or simulated.

To successfully complete the Bachelor Project, we assume that students participate in the course Advanced Research Skills (ARS, previously ARM, B3101) in parallel or have already completed this course. Moreover, we assume that students have active knowledge of the concepts covered in Research Project (BT2103) or Onderzoeksproject (BK2103). Lastly, the course builds on a lot of knowledge that you should have acquired in previous methods-related courses (e.g., statistics, mathematics). It is your responsibility to dust off this knowledge. Look at material from these courses when things are not top of mind. Do not expect your supervisor to act like a tutor on such topics.

Learning goals

1. Collect and critically assess academic and professional literature on a specific topic
2. Write a critical synthesis of the academic and professional literature
   
3. Identify a relevant managerial problem and translate the managerial question into a research question
   
4. Design a research project that can be executed in the available timeframe
   
5. Collect and analyse data that is needed to answer the research question
   
6. Present research results and defend the choices made
7. Critically evaluate and discuss research results