ØABED4800 Advanced Corporate Finance and Research Methodology Course description

Corporate finance consists of the financial activities related to running a corporation with a focus on maximizing shareholder value. This course in advanced corporate finance looks at current research articles published in top academic journals to identify how companies implement corporate finance activities in practice.

The goal of this course is twofold. On the one hand, students should become familiar with advanced theories and empirical evidence related to corporate finance decisions, understand the assumptions, applicability, and the limitations of the results. On the other, this course also aims at making students capable of carrying out research projects on their own. We will therefore not only look at the empirical evidence produced in research articles but also analyze the methodology used in those papers and discuss why which method was used or should have been used.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in the research seminar series where distinguished researchers from around the world are presenting their newest work.

Det er en obligatorisk innlevering (5 - 10 sider) som utføres i grupper på to eller individuelt.;;Studentene må ha bestått den obligatoriske innleveringen for å kunne gå opp til skoleeksamen.;Ved ikke godkjente oppgaver gis studentene anledning til å levere forbedret versjon én gang. Faglærer informerer om innleveringsfrister.

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After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has

• advanced knowledge about the differences between the characteristics of a corporation and other forms of organizing a business and how these characteristics affect investment, financing, and risk-taking policies of a business.
• advanced knowledge about how companies raise private and public capital, decide on capital structure, and implement valuations.
• advanced knowledge about how companies can engage in value enhancing strategies and complete mergers and acquisitions (M&As).
• advanced knowledge about how companies determine payout policies and executive compensation.
• advanced knowledge about empirical techniques used in contemporary academic research to test corporate finance theories and when to use them.

Skills

The student can

• review and discuss key concepts in corporate finance
• apply knowledge acquired and relevant theories to his/her work with his/her master's thesis
• use relevant empirical methods to carry out limited empirical research projects.

General competence

The student

• is able to analyze and propose solutions to contemporary corporate finance problems managers of companies face in their day-to-day business.
• can apply his/her knowledge and skills in new areas in order to carry out advanced assignments and projects.
• can communicate extensive independent work and master language and terminology of the academic field.
• can communicate about academic issues, analyses, and conclusions in the field, both with specialists and the general public.

Knowledge is crucial today, both to value creation in society and the competitiveness of organisations. Increasing awareness of the value of knowledge and the need to make use of it in everyday activities have led both private and public sector organisations to acknowledge the need for efficient knowledge development and utilisation. Knowledge management initiatives aim to build organisational capacities that make a direct contribution to the organisation's survival and earning by developing, organising, storing and using knowledge resources.

The course offers an interdisciplinary approach that integrates disciplines such as HR management, accounting, strategy, marketing and innovation. Students who take this course aim to work in knowledge worker management. It is a particular goal that the theoretical insight that students acquire through the course should also be applied to real issues. The application of theory to actual problems is emphasised through the case approach used in this course.

The following coursework requirements must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1: Students have to write summaries of two empirical and two theoretical research articles following the guidelines of how to read and summarize research articles handed out by the teacher. Each summary should be between one and two pages. One part of the papers can be freely chosen by the student, while the other part will depend on which external guest researcher is presenting his/her work in the finance research seminar. These assignments satisfy several goals at once. Students should become able to read, understand, and summarize research papers, as well as have an opportunity to dig deeper into areas that they are interested in and might write their master theses in. In addition, by participating in the research seminar students get a glimpse into the research production process.  
• Coursework 2: Students have to do three assignments related to the material taught in class in groups of up to five people. Each assignment has a maximum amount of 10 pages. The assignments comprise exercises and short case studies, small empirical analyses to deepen the understanding of the theories and apply them to real-world problems.

All required coursework must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam. If one or more coursework requirements have not been approved, the student will be given one opportunity to submit an improved version by the given deadline.

After completing the course, students will acquired the learning outcomes defined in knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has an understanding of the links between knowledge development in the external global environment, in business and industry sectors and in the organisation, and of how changes can influence knowledge-based value creation
• has an understanding of the concept of knowledge management in relation to the present labour market and technology, and recognises the complexity of managing knowledge and how important knowledge management is to value creation in all organisations
• has knowledge of organisational characteristics, structures, cultures, communication, innovation and technology that influence knowledge processes in organisations 
• has knowledge of different action alternatives that organisations can choose between to contribute significantly to the organisation's knowledge processes, performance and development

Skills

The student

• is capable of cooperating with others to analyse practical issues and prepare and present recommendations for improvement measures in the fields of knowledge management and digital transformation

General competence

The student

•  will acquire the competence and skills required to build digital transformation and servitization through a systematic introduction to how to manage, measure and organize intangible resources.The content of the course is intended to give students an in-depth understanding of strategic management of the knowledge resources of individuals, groups and organisations, as well as provide insight into business model- and service innovation in an open international innovation system.

The course is organized in a series of intensive seminars that consist of a combination of lectures, group presentations and case discussions The students are expected to actively participate in discussions and similar in the classes.

The following coursework requirements must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam: 

• Coursework 1: A written literature review with a scope of 3-4 pages written individually.
• Coursework 2: Presentation of an analysis carried out in groups. Each presentation must be 10 minutes long, and each group member must contribute to the presentations. The group will consist of 4-8 students, depending on the number of students enrolled in the course.
• Coursework 3: Preparation of questions based on one of the other groups' analyses. The students must oppose one of the other groups' presentations, and create discussion in the classroom. 

The aim of the coursework requirement is the development of individual and group analysis skills, as well as contributing to discussion in plenary. 

All required coursework must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam. If one or more coursework requirements have not been approved, the student will be given one new opportunity to get these approved, within a given deadline.

Undervisningen gis som en kombinasjon av vanlige forelesninger og øvinger. Øvingene er eksempler på eksamensoppgaver.