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2025/2026  BA-BISHO3002U  Advanced Maritime Economics

English Title
Advanced Maritime Economics

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Second Quarter, Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for Global Relations
Course coordinator
  • hovedfagansvarlig
    René Taudal Poulsen - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • CSR and sustainability
  • Methodology and philosophy of science
  • Strategy
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 26-05-2025

Relevant links
Learning objectives
At the end of the course, the students must be able to:
  • Identify and analyze factors that influence the financial, environmental, and social performance of shipping companies.
  • Apply theories and concepts from strategic management, corporate finance, and sustainability studies in a study of shipping company performance.
  • Evaluate the quality of maritime research.
  • Design a study to explore why shipping company performance varies.
Examination
Advanced Maritime Economics:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance, see also the rules about examination forms in the programme regulations.
Individual or group exam Individual oral exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 2-3
Size of written product Max. 30 pages
Assignment type Project
Release of assignment An assigned subject is released in class
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam period Autumn
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Re-examination

Make-up examination (when a student is ill on the date of the regular oral exam) is a 20 minutes individual oral exam based upon the same written group project.

Make-up examination (when a student is ill during the process of writing of the project for the regular exam) is a 20 minutes individual oral exam based on the written project to be handed in at a specified time and date. If a student works alone for the make-up examination, the max number of pages is 10.

Make-up exam (when students fail the regular exam) is a 20 minutes individual oral exam based on a new written project (based on the same exam question). If one person fails, the person should write a report of 10 pages. If two students in a group fail, they should write 20 pages. If all three group members fail, they should write 30 pages.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Advanced Maritime Economics focuses on shipping company performance. The course analyses factors that influence shipping firms’ performance and explores the causes for performance differences. It qualifies students to engage in strategic management processes within shipping companies and prepares them for their subsequent work with their BSc theses.

 

Advanced Maritime Economics covers financial, environmental, and social dimensions of firm performance and discusses to what extent performance along these dimensions align or conflict. The course draws on different analytical lenses from strategic management, corporate finance, and sustainability studies and provides students with analytical tools that may help firms improve their performance.

 

In the course, students also learn how to evaluate the quality of maritime research. They learn how to apply the most common research quality criteria (novelty, rigor, significance, reliability and validity) in assessments of maritime research. They get an opportunity to evaluate several studies on shipping company performance from the syllabus and design their own study on shipping company performance.

 

The course covers a broad spectrum of shipping segments, from container shipping over tankers and dry bulkers to shipping niches, and leverages on previous courses in the International Shipping and Trade program.
Research-based teaching
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
  • Methodology
Research-like activities
  • Development of research questions
  • Data collection
  • Analysis
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
  • Peer review including Peer-to-peer
  • Students conduct independent research-like activities under supervision
Description of the teaching methods
Panopto videos on key concepts will be available on Canvas at the beginning of the semester. The videos will provide students with analytical tools to evaluate different dimensions of shipping company performance and assess the quality of maritime research.

The course has four consecutive days of teaching on campus, which combine classical lectures, student case work, and feedback sessions. Some of the classes will zoom in on selected academic journal articles from the syllabus and evaluate them in terms of research quality.

A guest lecture by a shipping manager will illustrate some of the performance dilemmas that shipping managers face and the ways by which they can improve different aspects of firm performance.
Feedback during the teaching period
Groups of students with 2-3 members are encouraged to submit a 10 pages essay on draft for their exam assignment two weeks before the classes on campus. The teacher will provide written and oral feedback to them during the classes on campus.


Student workload
Lectures 37 hours
Preparation 125 hours
Exam 150 hours
Expected literature

Indicative literature

 

Acciaro, M., & Nair, A. (2018). Alternative Fuels for Shipping: Optimising Fleet Composition under Environmental and Economic Constraints. International Journal of Transport Economics XLV, 3, 439-460.

 

Barney, J. B. (2020). Measuring Firm Performance in a Way that is Consistent with Strategic Management Theory. Academy of Management Discoveries 6(1), 5-7.

 

Clark, T., Foster, L., Sloan, L. & Bryman A. (2023). Bryman’s Social Science Methods. Sixth edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Delen, D., Kuzey, C., & Uyar, A. (2013). Measuring Firm Performance Using Financial Ratios: A Decision Tree Approach. Expert Systems with Applications 40(10), 3970-3983.

 

Epstein, M. J., Buhovac, A. R., & Yuthas, K. (2015). Managing Social, Environmental and Financial Performance Simultaneously. Long Range Planning 48(1), 35-45

 

Jenssen, J. I., & Randøy, T. (2006). The Performance Effect of Innovation in Shipping Companies. Maritime Policy & Management 33(4), 327-343.

 

Kang, H. W., Wang, G. W., Bang, H. S., & Woo, S. H. (2016). Economic Performance and Corporate Financial Management of Shipping Firms. Maritime Economics & Logistics 18, 317-330.

 

Lun, Y. V., Lai, K. H., Wong, C. W., & Cheng, T. C. E. (2014). Green Shipping Practices and Firm Performance. Maritime Policy & Management 41(2), 134-148.

 

Panayides, P. M. (2003). Competitive Strategies and Organizational Performance in Ship Management. Maritime Policy & Management 30(2), 123-140.

 

Poulsen, R.T., Ponte, S. and Lister, J. (2016). Buyer-driven Greening? Cargo-owners and Environmental Upgrading in Maritime Shipping, Geoforum 68(January), 57-68

 

Poulsen, R.T., Viktorelius, M., Varvne, H., Rasmussen, H.B., and von Knorring, H., 2022. Energy Efficiency in Ship Operations: Exploring Voyage Decisions and Decision-Makers, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 102C (January): 103120.

 

Raza, Z. and Woxenius, J. (2023). Customer-driven Sustainable Business Practices and Their Relationships with Environmental and Business Performance—Insights from the European Shipping Industry, Business Strategy and the Environment 32(8), 6138-6153.

 

Sampson, H., Turgo, N., Acejo, I., Ellis, N., & Tang, L. (2019). ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’: The Implications of Lost Autonomy and Trust for Professionals at Sea. Work, Employment and Society 33(4), 648-665.

 

Searcy, C. (2012). Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems: A Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Business Ethics107, 239-253.

 

Stalmokaitė, I., and Hassler, B. (2020). Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Reorientation Towards Decarbonisation in Baltic Sea Shipping. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 37, 187-202.

 
Last updated on 26-05-2025