CASE-BASED METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHING BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION

This study focuses on the application of the case method to a lecture-based undergraduate course held at the Faculty of Engineering (University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU). The target subject was "Business Competitiveness and Innovation", which is a compulsory discipline studied in the third year of the undergraduate programme in Industrial Management Engineering. The case-based methodology was thoroughly explained to the students, and a particular case entitled "a successful company in decline" was selected. This paper presents the conclusions from this experience, focusing on student satisfaction. The students successfully undertook the detailed work of explaining the relationships among events in the case, identifying options, evaluating choices, and predicting the effects actions will have on the company's future. The assessment and evaluation system was duly accepted by the students.