Abstract and Learning Objectives

This course focuses on quantitative empirical archival accounting research, covering theoretical, methodological and technical aspects of this research program. The course concentrates on financial accounting issues but also touches on some auditing topics. After this course, participants should

• have a clear understanding about the theoretical foundations of positive and capital market-based financial accounting research,
• understand the methodological approaches to and common pitfalls of empirical archival research designs,
• have acquired information about how to execute empirical archival studies, including the usability and inter-operability of different data sources,
• have become familiar with a collaborative data science workflow using R/Stata and Github,

and, based on their own research proposal, have received constructive feedback on how to design and execute a viable study in the area of quantitative empirical financial accounting research.

Date of event: 04. – 07. September 2018

Location: Berlin

Lecturer:

Prof. Dr. Joachim Gassen (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

To get an overview of the amount of the participation fee and to register for the course, please use this link: http://vhbonline.org/veranstaltungen/prodok/anmeldung/

You can also send an email to prodok(at)vhbonline(dot)org.

The registration deadline is 5. August 2018.

• VHB-ProDok 1809AC01 Syllabus.pdf

Abstract:

Many empirical research projects that use non-experimental data are struggling with the proper identification of causal effects of independent variables (e.g., price, management decisions) on dependent variables (e.g., demand). The reason is that the identification of a causal effect hinges on the untestable assumption that the error term of a model is uncorrelated with the independent variables. If this assumption is not met, a model is plagued by endogeneity.

The topic of endogeneity has received considerable attention, and it is probably the most frequently encountered troublemaker in a review process at an academic journal.

This course, therefore, has the goal of making students familiar with the problem of endogeneity and potential remedies. This implies that it will cover the opportunities and problems associated with traditional approaches (e.g., Instrumental Variable estimation) as well as more recent developments (e.g., Gaussian Copulas). The course will also cover how the data structure (e.g., panel data) can be utilized to address the problem. Because the literature on endogeneity is often quite technical, this course aims at providing an easily accessible approach to this topic. Special emphasis will also be given to understanding when endogeneity indeed poses a real problem as compared to settings in which endogeneity is less likely to be a real threat to the validity of the findings.

After completing this course, students will be able to define and describe endogeneity problems in different empirical settings, they will know how to implement techniques that address endogeneity, and they will be aware of the (dis)advantages of different methods.

Date of event: 19. – 22. September 2018

• VHB-ProDok 1809MS03 Syllabus.pdf

Concepts in behavioral economics such as loss aversion, overconfidence, reciprocity, and inequity aversion are increasingly used to explain deviations from rational behavior in economic decisions. In this PhD course, basic models of behavioral economics and theories used to explain behavior that differs from standard economic assumptions are presented and imparted based on experimental studies.

For this purpose, the essential methodological foundations of experimental economic research are introduced, anchored in scientific theory, and delimited from experimental research of neighboring disciplines. In the further course, experimental studies in particular from the fields of management research and business ethics will be extensively reviewed and discussed in order to present behavioral economics concepts and their effect on economic decisions. In addition, studies on the influence of personality disposition on economic decisions and their measurement in experiments are covered. In order to directly apply the acquired knowledge, the participants will develop their own experimental design and instructions in small groups and present their work in plenary on the last day of the course. Furthermore, there will be an introduction to programming with oTree within several tutorials.

Date of event: 03. – 06. September 2018

Location: Paderborn

Lecturer:

Prof. Dr. René Fahr (Univerität Paderborn)
Dr. Behnud Djawadi (Universität Paderborn)

To get an overview of the amount of the participation fee and to register for the course, please use this link: http://vhbonline.org/veranstaltungen/prodok/anmeldung/

You can also send an email to prodok(at)vhbonline(dot)org.

Registration Deadline: 05. August 2018

• VHB-ProDok 1809MS05 Syllabus.pdf

Abstract

Despite the availability of vast amounts of secondary data, there is little doubt that survey research still plays a major role in business research. Carefully conducted surveys allow researchers to gain an understanding of the nature of and relationships between unobserved conceptual variables and offer insights into consumers’ behavioral intentions. While it may seem easy to create a questionnaire (just ask what you want to know, right?), there are many issues that could turn good intentions into bad results. Designing questionnaires to measure unobserved conceptual variables also requires a sound understanding of measurement theory and the steps involved in the operationalization of constructs. The first part of this course is designed to familiarize participants with the key design choices for good surveys and the principles of measurement theory.

Complementing these topics, the second of the course introduces participants to partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), a method that has recently gained massive dissemination in a variety of business research fields. More precisely, the course aims offers an introduction to PLS-SEM by familiarizing participants with the principles of model estimation and evaluation. Complementing these basic topics, the course also discusses advanced topics related to measurement issues in PLS-SEM (e.g., higher-order modeling, confirmatory tetrad analysis, measurement invariance). Practical applications and the use of the software application SmartPLS 3 (http://www.smartpls.com) are an integral part of this course.

Date of Event: 11. – 14. September 2018

Location:

Freie Universität Berlin
Garystraße 21
14195 Berlin
Room 103

Lecturer:

Prof. Dr. Sascha Raithel (Freie Universität Berlin)
Prof. Dr. Christian M. Ringle (Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg)
Prof. Dr. Marko Sarstedt (Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Megdeburg)

To get an overview of the amount of the participation fee and to register for the course, please use this link: http://vhbonline.org/veranstaltungen/prodok/anmeldung/

You can also send an email to prodok(at)vhbonline(dot)org.

Registration deadline: 24. August 2018

• VHB-ProDok 1809MUE03 Syllabus.pdf

Abstract:

Starting from a solid theoretical foundation, this course provides students with an understanding of important empirical methods and their application in asset pricing. It covers both the classical approaches based on Fama and MacBeth (1973) and Black, Jensen and Scholes (1972) – which are still widely used in current research – and GMM-based estimation methods.

The course intends to enable students to plan and carry out empirical research in asset pricing on their own and prepares for an empirical PhD thesis in this area of finance.

Date of Event: 14 – 17 August 2018

Ort:

MLP Campus
Alte Heerstraße 40
69168 Wiesloch

Lecturer:

Prof. Dr. Joachim Grammig (Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen)
Prof. Dr. Erik Theissen (Universität Mannheim)

To get an overview of the amount of the participation fee and to register for the course, please use this link: http://vhbonline.org/veranstaltungen/prodok/anmeldung/

You can also send an email to prodok(at)vhbonline(dot)org.

Registration Deadline: 15. Juli 2018

• VHB-ProDok 1808FI01 Syllabus.pdf

Abstract

This course is a doctoral level seminar on the major theoretical approaches in the field of strategic management. The main objective of the course is to familiarize doctoral students with the basic assumptions, concepts and theories underlying the field. In essence, we want to help doctoral students to become independent scholars who are knowledgeable on the major theories in the field of strategy. We typically start with reading the seminal work on the topic, followed by examining several recent empirical applications of the theory. The course is comprehensive, encompassing the following domains: Overview of the field of Strategic Management, Industrial Organization Approaches to Strategy, Resource-based View Approaches to Strategy, Transaction Cost Economics and Vertical Integration, Real Options and Sequential Decision Making, Principal-Agent Theory and Corporate Governance, Top Executives and the Upper-Echelons Perspective, the Governance Performance Relationship.

Date of Event: 11. – 14. Juni 2018

Location:

FU Berlin
FB Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften
Fabeckstraße 23-25
Holzlaube 1. OG, Raum 1.2001

Lecturer:

To get an overview of the amount of the participation fee and to register for the course, please use this link: http://vhbonline.org/veranstaltungen/prodok/anmeldung/

You can also send an email to prodok(at)vhbonline(dot)org.

Registration Deadline: 13. Mai 2018

• VHB-ProDok 1806MG01 Syllabus.pdf

Abstract

The purpose of this course is to provide advanced insights into experimental research in management and financial accounting topics. Therefore, this course covers recent experimental studies from financial and managerial accounting areas that apply behavioral decision theory, psychology, and economics to address a variety of accounting research questions. This includes published research, as well as working papers, mainly from leading accounting researchers in the field.

The goals of this course are

• to deepen students’ understanding of experimental research, particularly in the field of accounting,
• to help students develop the skills necessary to critically evaluate such research,
• to help students develop rigorous experimental designs for conducting their own research,
• to challenge the limits of the experimental research method for accounting research questions.

Date of Event: 12. – 15. Juni 2018

KPMG AG
Ganghoferstr. 29
80339 München

Lecturer:

To get an overview of the amount of the participation fee and to register for the course, please use this link: http://vhbonline.org/veranstaltungen/prodok/anmeldung/

You can also send an email to prodok(at)vhbonline(dot)org.

Registration Deadline: 13. Mai 2018

• VHB-ProDok 1806AC02 Syllabus neu 1.pdf

This class focuses on planning and conducting design science research on Ph.D. level. It is intended to provide state-of-the art methodological competences for all Ph.D. students in business whose research is not solely descriptive/explanatory, but also comprises components where artefacts are purposefully designed and evaluated.

While Design Science Research is very common in Information Systems research, purposeful artefact design and evaluation are found in many other business research fields like, e.g., General Management, Operations Management/Management Science, Accounting/Controlling, Business Education, or Marketing. While Design Science is often conducted implicitly, the methodological discourse in the Information Systems has led to a high level of reflection and to the availability of a large number of reference publications and cases, so that examples and cases will often originate from this domain. It should however be noted that Design Science as a paradigm is applicable and is used in nearly all business research fields. As a consequence, this class is not only part of the Information Systems ProDok curriculum, but intentionally being positioned as cross-domain class.

The goal of the class is to provide Ph.D. students with insights and capabilities that enable them to plan and conduct independent Design Science research. To achieve this goal, students will engage in a number of activities in preparation and during this three-day course, including preparatory readings, lectures, presentations, project work, and in-class discussions. The course format offers an interactive learning experience and the unique opportunity to obtain individualized feedback from leading IS researchers as well as develop preliminary research designs for their own Ph.D. projects.

Date of Event: 5 – 8 June 2018

Location: Universität St. Gallen

Lecturer:

To get an overview of the amount of the participation fee and to register for the course, please use this link: http://vhbonline.org/veranstaltungen/prodok/anmeldung/

You can also send an email to prodok@vhbonline.org.

Registration Deadline: 6 May 2018

• VHB-ProDok 1806MS01 Syllabus.pdf