PhD seminar: Empirical Studies in Ethical Decision-Making: Multi-method approaches

The course is aimed at doctoral candidates and advanced Master’s students from all management disciplines including Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, Marketing and Advertising, Supply Chain Management, Financial Management and Accounting, Strategic Management.

Instructor:	Prof. Dr. habil. Gari Walkowitz
Language:	English
Participants:	max. tbd

Objective

Knowledge Objectives
By the end of the course, students will:
1. Understand key theories and frameworks in behavioral economics, experimental economics, and social
psychology as they relate to ethical decision-making.
2. Gain familiarity with ethical decision-making models and how they apply to management and behavioral ethics.
3. Be aware of the ethical limitations and biases in ethical decision-making.
4. Be aware of ethical considerations and challenges when designing behavioral studies involving human subjects.
5. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of various empirical approaches for studying ethical behavior.
 

Skills Objectives
By the end of the course, students will:
1. Be able to design and implement ethical decision-making studies using multi-method approaches.
2. Develop skills in creating and refining study designs, including the use of laboratory experiments, vignette
studies, surveys, and questionnaires.
3. Learn to analyze empirical data using appropriate statistical tools and techniques.
4. Enhance skills in writing and presenting research findings clearly and coherently, with a particular focus on
ethical implications.
 

Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, students will:
1. Develop a research proposal for an empirical study addressing an ethically relevant issue within their academic
field.
2. Have the ability to critically evaluate the validity and reliability of study designs, particularly in the context of
ethical decision-making research.
3. Be able to synthesize research from various fields (behavioral economics, experimental economics, social
psychology) to inform empirical study designs.
4. Cultivate a deep understanding of how individual and contextual factors shape ethical decision-making
processes.

 

 

Syllabus: Empirical Studies in Ethical Decision-Making: Multi-method approaches

Location

Campus Munich, TUM School of Management, Online

Application process

Write to Gari Walkowitz no later than May 31, 2025 to sign up (gari.walkowitz(at)tum.de). Please state your primary research area and main methodological approach. Mention also what motivates you to sign up for this course, and whether you plan to run an empirical study with an ethical reference. If you have an ethics-related research question or idea for a study design that you would like to see as an assignment, include a brief proposal in your application. If you have any introductory readings, feel free to suggest these, too. Please make sure you can attend the full course
before signing up. From a pedagogical perspective and out of fairness toward the other participants, you should not miss any part of the course for any reason.

Core readings

1. Bazerman, M. H., & Tenbrunsel, A. E. (2011). Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What’s Right and What to Do About It. Princeton University Press.
2. Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263-291.
3. Falk, A., & Heckman, J. J. (2009). Lab experiments are a major source of knowledge in the social sciences. Science, 326(5952), 535-538.
4. Barter, C., & Renold, E. (1999). The use of vignettes in qualitative research. Social Research Update, 25(9), 1-6.
5. Davis, D. D., & Holt, C. A. (2021). Experimental economics. Princeton university press.

Course procedures

The seminar is scheduled to be in July 2025. More information: tdb 

Assessment

The assessment is based on the class assignments.

Reference

Course description here