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2019/2020  KAN-CCMVI2091U  Nudge for Good: Behavioural insights for Consumers, Businesses and Organizations

English Title
Nudge for Good: Behavioural insights for Consumers, Businesses and Organizations

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration Summer
Start time of the course Summer
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 80
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Lucia Reisch - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
For academic questions related to the course, please contact instructor Lucia Reisch at lre.msc@cbs.dk
Main academic disciplines
  • Corporate governance
  • CSR and sustainability
  • Economics
Teaching methods
  • Online teaching
Last updated on 16/04/2020

Relevant links
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors:
  • Assess the key academic literature in the field of behavioural economics (BE) and behavioural insights in general.
  • Learn and appraise the theory and practical application of BE/BI for sustainable development, health, and the digital world.
  • Understand and apply methods of design, application, and evaluation of nudging
  • Critically reflect the ethics and (good) governance of nudging
Course prerequisites
None
Examination
Nudge for Good: Behavioural insights for Consumers, Businesses and Organizations:
Exam ECTS 7.5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Please see text below
4 hour home assignment. No requirement for maximum number of pages.
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer, Ordinary exam: 4 hour home assignment in the period of 27–31 July 2020
Retake exam: 4 hour home assignment in the period of 28 September–2 October 2020
3rd attempt (2nd retake) exam: 72-hour home assignment- 23-26 November 2020 – for all ISUP courses simultaneously

Exam schedules available on https:/​/​www.cbs.dk/​uddannelse/​international-summer-university-programme-isup/​courses-and-exams
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Retake exam: 4 hour home assignment, new exam question
Exam form for 3rd attempt (2nd retake): 72-hour home project assignment, max. 10 pages.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach
Behavioural Insights (BI) and "nudging" are increasingly used by policymakers and businesses to steer people's behaviour in desired directions. The 2017 Nobel Prize has been awarded to Richard Thaler "for his work on Behavioral Economics" (BE). To date, more than 200 governments worldwide apply the insights of BI and BE complementing traditional policy instruments. It is well established that BI can help individuals help reach their goals regarding health, wealth, and the environment. More recent, there is increasing evidence on the use of nudges aimed at groups of people, at businesses and organizations.
 
The focus of this class is to understand, analyse, and apply BI to key societal challenges such as sustainable development, public health, and the digital world. We will also learn to differentiate "dark nudging" from "nudging for good", particular in the field of "digital nudging".
 
Preliminary assignment: Reading and understanding of the mandatory book as well as several online sources. Small preparatory assignments will be offered.
 
Class 1: Introduction: Behavioural Economics (BE), Behavioural Insgihts (BI) and Behavioural Pubic Policy (BPP)
Class 2: Foundations: Biases and heuristics
Class 3: Foundations: Theoretical approaches to nudging
Class 4: Nudging consumers                           
Class 5: Nudging organizations and businesses
Class 6: Good governance of nudging
Class 7: Application: Sustainable Development
Class 8: Application: Health
Class 9: Application: Digital Nudging
Class 10: buffer slot
Class 11: Wrap up, Q&A, test exam
 
Feedback activity:
In the middle of the class (the week with 3 sessions), we will have group work with an interactive feedback session where we learn about how to give good feedback and apply this to the content of the course.
Description of the teaching methods
This year all courses are taught digitally over the Internet. Instructors will apply a mixture of direct teaching through a live link (like Skype, Team, Zoom…) and indirect, where visual pre-recorded material is uploaded on Canvas. The instructor will inform participants about the precise format on Canvas.
Feedback during the teaching period
We will have an interactive feedback session where we learn about how to give good feedback and apply this to the content of the course. Students will be asked to prepare small home assignments (e.g. a Blitz presentation, a pro & con debate, a panel debate) and we will practice Feedback.
Student workload
Preliminary assignment 20 hours
Classroom attendance 33 hours
Preparation 126 hours
Feedback activity 7 hours
Examination 20 hours
Further Information
Preliminary Assignment: To help students get maximum value from ISUP courses, instructors provide a reading or a small number of readings or video clips to be read or viewed before the start of classes with a related task scheduled for class 1 in order to 'jump-start' the learning process.
 
Course timetable is available on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams
 
We reserve the right to cancel the course if we do not get enough applications. This will be communicated on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams end March 2020.
Expected literature

Mandatory readings:

 

Richard Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein (2008). Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. (all issues are fine, there is only one edition)
 

 

Additional relevant readings:

 

For each session, two topical relevant journal articles will be provided, available in the Syllabus that will be posted in Spring 2020.
 
Last updated on 16/04/2020