This course focuses on market analysis and is conducted in cooperation with our corporate partner, Gruber Forst, an Austrian forestry enterprise. Gruber Forst is currently seeking new investment opportunities in adjacent markets outside their core forestry operations. An in-depth attractiveness assessment of the spruce needle oil (“Fichtennadelöl”) market will be the focus of this course and inform Gruber Forst’s investment decision. In particular, market size estimation, competitor and customer research, price and product benchmarking, market trends and barriers to entry will form key analytical pieces shaping the investment decisions.

We will assign each country-market to two student teams, which will then compete to provide the most relevant analysis and recommendation in the mid-term and final presentations.

Tentative schedule:

·       1. Lecture: Course and project introduction with Gruber Forst [in-person]

·       2. Coaching session [online]

·       3. Mid-term presentation [in-person]

·       4. Coaching session [online]

·       5. Finale presentation [in-person]

After completing this project students will have:

• developed a strategic toolkit to analyze complex, real-life investment opportunities
• applied theoretical frameworks to aspects of market attractiveness
• learned how to structure their storyline for investors and C-Level management
• improved their presentation and project management skills

Students will be able to:

• critically assess business opportunities and logically structure their investment hypotheses
• organize teamwork and structure their workload
• improve their communication and presentation skills in front of a corporate partner
• convincingly and coherently pitch their recommendations in a practitioner-oriented and professional manner

Students have to attend at least 80% of the scheduled sessions in order to meet the attendance requirements. However, there is a compulsory attendance for sessions 1,3, and 5. Further, it is not possible to collect participation points in case of absence.

Classes will be interactive. The course will be taught in a blended format (lectures and presentations are in-person, coaching sessions are online). The principal teaching methods used will be lectures, group presentations, discussions and coaching with feedback for the groups.

The course grade will be determined as follows:

- Participation (20%)

- Mid Term Presentation (30%)

- Final Presentation (40%)

- Peer Rating (10%)

As a basic principle, all members of a group receive one grade for the group work. I expect that each group member contributes equally to the project work. The peer-rating is included in the assessment of the individual performance.

Grading scheme: <60% =5; 60-69%=4; 70-79%=3; 80-89%=2; 90-100%=1.

Prerequisites for WU students: completed course 1 (Foundations) and course 2 (Applications). The course is open to all exchange students with an interest in international business.

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