20837 - ORGANIZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 31
Synchronous Blended: Lessons in synchronous mode in the classroom (for a maximum of one hour per credit in remote mode)
Entrepreneurial activities have regained centrality in modern innovative economies, especially by establishing new firms, but also through the continuous starting of new projects in established firms. The course provides concepts and tools for understanding and crafting entrepreneurial structures and strategies, based on forefront research in organization and management, organizational economics, technology and innovation management. More than focusing on which types of products or services to devise and how to bring them to a market, the course distintively focuses on a process and organizational perspective: which decision processes for discovering opportunities, which channels and mechanisms for attracting and governing resources, which ownership and organizational structures fit entrepreneurial firms.
- Theories and sources of entrepreneurship.
- Discovering opportunities and entrepreneurial decision making.
- Attracting and committing human and financial resources to new projects.
- Organization and governance practices for entrepreneurial firms.
- Internal and networked growth strategies.
- Organizing environments for entrepreneurship and innovation (Poles, Parks, Incubators, RIS, Districts etc).
- Elements of Corporate entrepreneurship.
Identify types of entreprenurial initiatives
Understand methods for recognizing opportunities
Distinguish the governance mechanisms for sustaining entrepreneurship
Understand how to manage relations within and around enterprises
Analyse and assess entrepreneurial experiences
Develop entrepreneurial projects and business plans
Analyze and evaluate business plans
Design structures and mechanisms for new ventures
- Face-to-face lectures
- Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
- Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
- Individual assignments
- Group assignments
- Interactive class activities on campus/online (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)
Each session includes a simulation or mini case discussion from which to move toward a conceptual take away
Each module is concluded with a key case study in order to increase the reception and long term retention of the key messages, as well as to contribute to forming a grade via intermediate assignments. The course includes an ENT LAB (a simulation covering various sessions), in which students can experiment some key phases of the entrepreneurial process (project formulation, the ‘pitch’, the relationship with financial investors) contributing to experiential learning and to the teamwork based component of the grade. |
Continuous assessment | Partial exams | General exam | |
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For attending students, evaluation is formed during the course, through individual take-home assignments (wrap-up case analyses in each part of the course), an entrepreneurial project developed in the ‘Ent Lab' in teams, and class participation. In particular: - Case analysis Assignments – Individual Written wrap up case analyses, applying the tools covered in each module: up to 6 points each (= max 18 total points) . Format: ‘Bullet-point’, slide-like; max 3 pages, 1.5 spaced). The analysis should be delivered in BB before the beginning of the class in which it is discussed.
- Entrepreneurial Project: max 10 points (max 7 assigned to the team, + max 3 for quality of individual presentation and responses to questions) The ent.’l project developed in the Lab is presented in class with slides in the last two sessions (schedule tbd, copy of slides to be uploaded in BB Discussion ). The specification of the components of the entrepreneurial team is one of the aspect of the project; should be justified by the nature of the project and is chosen by the students. A maximum of 3 members is suggested (the eventual addition of a 4th member should be justified by the nature of the project). Each member of the team should be present and take part in the presentation.
- Class participation: 1 individual point for continuous and high standing contribution and participation in each module is assigned (= max 3 points)
For non attending students, evaluation is based on an individual written test with structured questions in the official exam dates, based on the adopted book; and an individual written case analysis applying the learned tools to an entrepreneurial experience of their choice (to be delivered in the same session in which the test is taken)
A. Grandori, L. Gaillard, Organizing Entrepreneurship Routledge 2011.