Universität Wien

040379 KU Contracts and Organizations (MA) (2026S)

8.00 ECTS (8.00 SWS), SPL 4 - Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 50 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 02.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 06.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 09.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 13.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 16.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 20.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 23.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 27.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 13.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 17.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 20.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 24.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 27.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Monday 04.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 08.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 11.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 15.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 18.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 22.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 29.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 01.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Wednesday 03.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 05.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 08.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 12.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 15.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Friday 19.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course delves into the motivation challenges that organizations face in aligning individual and group actions with organizational goals. We will explore how incentive contracts, either formal or informal, can shape the behavior of individuals and influence organizational outcomes. In this course, we will walk through some canonical theoretical models in formal contracts and informal instruments in the presence of incentive and informational frictions. The tentative topics to be covered include risk-incentive trade-offs, motivation-rent extraction trade-offs, moral hazard in teams, relational contracting, incomplete contract, decision-making within organization and organizational design, etc.

Assessment and permitted materials

See below.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Prerequisites: Microeconomics, Game Theory and Basic Knowledge on Constrained Optimization.
Grading: 40% Midterm, 25% Presentation, 25% Term Paper, Attendance&Participation 20%.

Examination topics

All topics covered in class.

Reading list

We will primarily follow the textbook "Contract Theory"(2004, MIT Press, https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262025768/contract-theory) by Bolton and Dewatripont, complemented by reading assignments of academic papers to be updated along the way.

Some additional materials are covered by the following reference books:

[1] Salanié, B. 2017. The Economics of Contracts A Primer, 2nd Edition. MIT Press.
[2] MacLeod, W.B. 2022. Advanced Microeconomics for Contract, Institutional, and Organizational Economics. MIT Press.
[3] Gibbons, R.S. and J. Roberts. 2012. The Handbook of Organizational Economics. Princeton University Press.
[4] Hart, O. 1995. Firms, Contracts, and Financial Structure. Oxford University Press.

For many applications in finance, we will resort to the textbook "The Theory of Corporate Finance" (2006, Princeton University Press, https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691125565/the-theory-of-corporate-finance)

Association in the course directory

E1.3., A.3 Pflicht, B.1.a

Last modified: Mo 27.07.2026 09:26