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2026/2027  BA-BHAAV2625U  Incentives and Behavior in Organizations

English Title
Incentives and Behavior in Organizations

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for General Management
Programme Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Orsola Garofalo - Department of Strategy and Innovation (SI)
Main academic disciplines
  • Management
  • Methodology and philosophy of science
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 30-01-2026

Relevant links
Learning objectives
The aim of this course is twofold: (1) to get familiar with various core concepts, theories, empirical and experimental applications within the field of economics of organization; (2) to be able to apply these concepts to every-day organizational phenomena within firms. The focus of the applications will be on human resource management (motivating and rewarding of both employees and executives) and corporate control.
At the end of the course students should be able to:
  • Explain core theories of motivation from economics and psychology;
  • Assess the relevance of economic and psychological factors on motivation, performance and turnout.
  • . Analyze optimal reward schemes to foster individual intrinsic motivation at work, from both a theoretical and an empirical perspectives;
  • Critically evaluate the most important empirical and experimental insights in this field from the main findings and implications;
  • Formulate and operationalize a research question related to incentives in organizations, for which one or more of the experimental methods introduced in the course is suitable.
  • Select experimental designs that are appropriate for analyzing a specific research question.
Examination
Incentives and Behavior in Organizations:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Written sit-in exam on CBS' computers
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 3 hours
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter and Winter
Aids Closed book: no aids
However, at all written sit-in exams the student has access to the basic IT application package (Microsoft Office365 (minus Excel), document camera and paper, 7-zip file manager, Adobe Reader DC, PDF24, Texlive, VLC player, Windows Media Player – ATTENTION no sound allowed), and the student is allowed to bring simple writing and drawing utensils (non-digital). PLEASE NOTE: Students are not allowed to communicate with others during the exam.
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
The number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination may warrant that it most appropriately be held as an oral examination. The programme office will inform the students if the make-up examination/re-take examination instead is held as an oral examination including a second examiner or external examiner.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

One of the most important challenges of firm owners is to motivate firm managers to behave in line with firm value maximization. Managers, in turn, face the challenge to motivate their employees to work hard and do the right things. This is often a challenge, because managers and employees typically have conflicting objectives, and the performance of employees is not always easy to measure. How should performance be measured and what are the most efficient incentives to enhance employees' and executives' motivation? Economics is a powerful tool to analyze conflicts of interest between managers and employees (or owners and managers), evaluate the consequences of such conflicts, and explore the optimal design of incentives. This course covers important principles of incentives in organizations. We will discuss crucial issues and possible solutions for improving the effectiveness of work as well as the experience and behavior of people at work (eg, by improving the well-being of individuals in organizations, their intrinsic motivation to work hard and correctly and by mitigating the temptations of unethical behaviors). We will explore the effects of rewards and performance-related pay on individual performance and behavior in the workplace; the causes and the consequences of employees' and executives' turnover; the determinants and effects of unethical behaviors in organizations. We will also discuss possible gender issues in organizations and gender differences in performance and motivation.  
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
  • Classic and basic theory
  • Methodology
Research-like activities
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
Description of the teaching methods
Teaching includes a mix of theory inputs, practical examples, interactive group work.
Feedback during the teaching period
Office hours
Student workload
Teaching 38 hours
Reading of the required text 120 hours
Exam reading and review 50 hours
Last updated on 30-01-2026