Course 2021-2022 a.y.

• During the introductory part of the course you will learn to distinguish small and medium enterprises from larger business organizations, not only from the quantitative point of view, but also by analyzing the uniqueness of managerial processes characterizing SMEs. You will learn to distinguish “life-style SMEs” and “growth-oriented SMEs”, We will analyse the impact of the entrepreneur and of the owning family on SMEs' strategic choices, the issue of resources and competences endowment of SMEs, as well as the “stay or grow” dilemma.
• The core part of the course is dedicated to the growth strategy for SMEs. We will start by discussing the competitive positioning alternatives for SMEs and the growth options. Our next focus will be on the internationalization of SMEs (adaptation of business models, foreign markets selection, entry modes to foreign markets) and on the use of networks to implement and to accelerate growth.
• The third part of the course is dedicated to the digital growth of SMEs.

• Define the key characteristics (qualitative and quantitative) of an SME
• Identify the strategic positioning alternatives for an SME
• Identify the possible growth options for an SMEA
• Assess the feasibility of possible growth options for an SME, with a particular focus on the international growth
• Describe the impact of the macroeconomic and institutional economic context, as well as the role of industrial districts and firm's networks on the SME's competitive performance
• Identify the key elements of digital strategy for an SME

• Work in international teams under time pressure
• Quickly define possible strategic options for an SME for further in-depth analysis.
• Analytically link firm's and industry characteristics to define the strategic positioning and growth options for an SME.
• Evaluate strategic feasibility of the growth strategy for an SME
• Evaluate advantages and disadvantages, for an SME, to rely on external sources of competitive advantage (firm's networks)
• Simulate the discussion of the feasibility of strategic growth possibilities for an SME, with a focus on international and digital growth

• Online lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Exercises (exercises, database, software etc.)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Group assignments

• Online lectures (recorded): pre-recorded online lectures will be posted 1-2 days in advance before the scheduled time, as the content of online lectures and pre-readings (indicated in syllabus) will be mandatory to work on in-class group assignments for attending students during live online lectures, as well as for the final exam for both attending and non-attending students
• Online lectures (live); dedicated to the application of theoretical concepts and frameworks discussed during recorded lectures through live in-class assignments (in small groups)  
• Guest speaker's talks: we expect several entrepreneurs and business development managers to bring in class their experience to discuss strategic decisions related to the creation and growth of an SME
• Exercises, case studies, incidents: during online live lectures small groups will work on assignments structured around cases, practical examples and guest speakers talks; duration of each assignment/exercise: from 30 to 50 minutes
• Group assignments: attending students are expected to complete, in small groups, graded in-class group assignments as described above, allowing them to accumulate up to half of the final grade, if all 10 (ten) assignments are successfully completed with the maximum grade. Small groups will be created randomly for each assignment, enabling attending students to have networking opportunities with the majority of their classmates by the end of the course.

• 50% of the grade - “attending student points” - attending students are exepected to work on short cases or assignments given by the instructor during online live sessions. After 30-50 minutes of in-class discussion, small groups submit their assignments via elearning platform in real time and then make pilot presentations of their findings or solutions. Successful completion of all 10 (ten) assignments allows attending students to accumulate up to 16 points of the final grade. The first four in-class assignments are evaluated from 0 to 1 point, the next six assignments are evaluated from 0 to 2 points. The attending student status is achieved after a student who participated to the in-class assignments accumulated a minimum of 8 out of 16 points. The “attending student” status is valid until September 2022 exam session (September session included).
• 50% of the grade - “final exam points”. The final written exam will consist of multiple choice questions:
  • “CORE QUESTIONS” 16 questions (1 point for each question) - for all attending students.
  • optional “ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS” 8 questions (1 point for each question) - only for those attending students who accumulated between 8 and 15 "attending student points" for the in-class assignments and who are willing to improve their final grades. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS are optional. For example, a student who accumulated 10 out of 16 maximum "attending student points" is given a possibility to answer to the first 6 out of 8 ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.

The assessment of non-attending students, independently of the year of the course attendance,  consists of final written exam. The exam consists of 31 multiple-choice questions aiming to test the student’s knowledge of key theoretical frameworks and definitions discussed during recorded online sessions and contained in the obligatory readings indicated in syllabus.

• Online recorded sessions (mandatory for the preparation for all attending students)
• Slides and students' own lecture notes
• Cases and readings as indicated in syllabus (posted via elearning platform).

• P.BURNS, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. 
• Online recorded sessions
• Readings (not case studies) as indicated in syllabus and posted via elearning platform.