AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims at providing students with an overview of the main tools for market analysis, demand forecasting and statistical models construction. The application context will cover concrete cases of market analysis to support business decisions in the passenger transport sector. The course will be carried out entirely in the computer lab to provide students with specific skills in the management and analysis of datasets. The exercises will be carried out using the most common software for data management and statistical analysis (Excel, R and STATA).

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with an overview of the main tools for market analysis, demand forecasting and the construction of statistical models. The application context will cover real cases of analysis in support of business decisions in the field of maritime passenger transport. The course will be carried out entirely in the computer lab to provide students with specific skills in the management and analysis of datasets, including large ones. The exercises will be carried out using the most common software for data management and statistical analysis (Excel, R and STATA).

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

planning and analysing the results of a sample survey aimed at measuring the satisfaction of a transport service;
managing and analysing company data for market segmentation;
build statistical models.
The course also aims to provide students with the basic knowledge necessary to make them autonomous in the study and subsequent use of the most advanced statistical methodologies.

TEACHING METHODS

The course is structured into a theoretical component and a practical component.

The theoretical part consists of lectures dedicated to presenting quantitative methods for market analysis in the passenger maritime transport sector.

The practical part, carried out in the computer lab, focuses on the guided design of a market analysis based on simulated yet realistic data and predefined scenarios.

Students, organized into small groups, work on:

• defining the research objectives proposed by the instructor;

• developing an analysis plan;

• selecting appropriate quantitative tools and methods (descriptive, predictive, segmentation);

• preparing a technical report with a final presentation.

This activity aims to foster critical thinking, creativity, and strategic thinking.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities  and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Elena Lagomarsino (elena.lagomarsino@unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The detailed course syllabus covers the following topics.

Transportation Statistics Sources and the Principles of Economic and Business Research

Official statistics, primary data, and secondary data
The phases of research on observational data
Tools for representing spatial data
The sample Survey for measuring passenger satisfaction

Recalls on the principles of point and interval estimation
The questionnaire as a tool for measuring economic phenomena
Techniques for constructing rating scales
Probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling techniques
Population stratification
Sampling and non-sampling errors
Evaluation of marketing policies through the construction of interpretative models

Analysis of variance and its non-parametric alternatives
Multiple linear regression: regression diagnostics and problems related to the violation of OLS model assumptions with hints on generalized linear models
Market segmentation: methods of multivariate statistical analysis for customer segmentation aimed at profiling passengers and cruise passengers.

Principal component analysis and factor analysis
Cluster analysis for market segmentation
Business Intelligence Statistical tools for monitoring of customer base and for the construction of growth scenarios

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Notes from the lessons and materials made available on Aulaweb

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester 

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination will take place in oral form through the discussion of a written work.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The verification of the acquired competences will take place both in itinere through the evaluation of individual tests and group works and at the end of the teaching period through a written test.