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2021/2022  KAN-CJURV1043U  Contracts and the Value Chain

English Title
Contracts and the Value Chain

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Second Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc/MSc in Business Administration and Commercial Law, MSc
Course coordinator
  • Jaakko Salminen - CBS Law
Main academic disciplines
  • CSR and sustainability
  • Business Law
  • Globalisation and international business
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 15-02-2021

Relevant links
Learning objectives
Understanding the role that contracts have in the rise of new forms of production, such as centralised mass production, global value chains, digital platforms and the circular economy.
  • Understanding the paradox of how new forms of production rely on contractual boundaries to limit liability and, at the same time, utilize new technologies and ideologies of governance to extend the effects of governance beyond these boundaries and throughout the value chain.
  • Gaining knowledge and skills to understand the role of law in shaping economic production.
  • Learning to critically assess the effects of different legal frameworks for balancing production-related interests ranging from economic efficiency to sustainability in the form of social, environmental, cultural and economic externalities.
  • Acquiring practical skills for evaluating the legal effects of different kinds of contractual governance and a toolbox for developing appropriate means of governance for diverse production related contexts and tasks.
Course prerequisites
bachelor in business law and economics/law
Examination
Contracts and the Value Chain:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Assignment type Essay
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Autumn
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

The course focuses on the interplay of private governance mechanisms, public law and private law doctrine in creating a rapidly developing legal framework in which all forms of economic production operate. Hence, the course concerns the foundational role of contracts in forming and governing the value chain. New forms of production, such as global value chains, digital platforms, and the circular economy, have utilized new technologies and ideologies of governance to extend the governance effects of contract far beyond privity. This course introduces the development of these new forms of production and how they can be governed. 

The course further elaborates on how contracts can be used to control social, environmental, cultural or economic externalities associated with production and open-up creative ‘safe-spaces’ for sustainability related private governance initiatives. The course provides students with knowledge on supply chain management and governance through contract from a legal perspective. It also provides students with an understanding of the shifting parameters of governance through contract and enables students to make informed decisions on the legal consequences of different modes and techniques of organizing production. 

The course is taught as a "study group" which requires a high degree of student involvement in class and between classes. The teaching, cases and reading materials provide the foundation for the one-week project. The project must provide a scholarly analysis of a relevant case in the industry. 
Description of the teaching methods
The course has 20 hours of contact teaching. Between the classes the students must work with cases and tasks and the reading materials, legislation and other legal sources.

The classes are dialogue based.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback in class through discussions and peer feedback. In particular, students are asked to read material for classes and prepare for and participate in structured, peer-led discussion according to pre-determined instructions.

Feedback between classes through cases, tasks and other blended activities.

Students are asked to prepare a structured learning diary underlining their key take-aways from each weekly module. Focus is on the two-way relationship between societal developments and legal normativity—students are asked to briefly (max one typed page per week) reflect on their understanding of the role of the legal norms at heart of each module in relation to new forms of production.

Students are tasked with take-home activities that they are asked to hand in prior to the following session. These may involve, for example, short analyses (max one page) of the relationships of actors involved in a governance contract.

Students receive personal feedback on their learning diaries, the take-home activities and also on their final essay assignments.

Students will also have at their disposal an electronic discussion board open to any discussion related to the course.
Student workload
class participation 20 hours
blended activities 40 hours
cases 25 hours
preparations for classes 70 hours
exam project 50 hours
Expected literature

collection or compendium of articles, cases and other materials
Last updated on 15-02-2021