Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Credits: 6

Schedule: 04.03.2021 - 08.04.2021

Teacher in charge (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022): Arne Kroeger

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Arne Kroeger

Contact information for the course (valid 05.02.2021-21.12.2112):

Ass. Prof. Dr. Arne Kröger
(arne.kroeger@aalto.fi)

Dr. Johannes
Gartner (johannes.gartner@aalto.fi)

CEFR level (applies in this implementation):

Language of instruction and studies (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022):

Teaching language: English

Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  The workload includes time preparing presentations about selected topics, classroom teaching, peer-evaluations, a case study and preparing the exam.

  Topics:

  • Basics of entrepreneurship
  • Creativity, Idea Development & Innovation
  • Opportunity recognition & Business Model
  • Case Study
  • Venture Funding
  • Venture Growth
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• Applies in this implementation:

  Objectives, relevance for practice and lecture topics

  At the end of this course, students i) are able to describe and discuss basic entrepreneurship and innovation tools, ii) are able to explain the central entrepreneurship frameworks about opportunity recognition, effectuation and business models, iii) are able to apply those frameworks to a real case, iv) are able do understand the fundamentals of technology innovation management and v) are able to make rational adoption or rejection decisions of external innovations.
  

   

  Launching an enterprise has several advantages, such as being your own boss, realizing your own ideas and experiencing greater autonomy in general. However, entrepreneurship is more than founding an enterprise. It is a particular way of thinking and an approach of solving problems and can, therefore, also be practiced in large corporations (corporate entrepreneurship).
  

   

  This course investigates the entrepreneurship process in a consecutive order. It starts with the venture idea which emerges from receiving it from someone else (e.g., via open innovation), accidental discovery or the desire to start a business. The theory of effectuation developed by Saras Sarasvathy (2001) offers an approach how wanna-be entrepreneurs can generate a venture idea. Having created a venture idea, entrepreneurs enter into the process of developing a business opportunity (Vogel, 2017). Peter Vogel (2017) provides a comprehensive overview of attempts to conceptualize the development of business opportunities and develops his own framework that ends with the exploitation of business opportunities. A key contributor for the successful exploitation of a business opportunity is a business model. One of the first conceptualizations of the business model construct is provided by Raphael Amit and Christoph Zott (2001). This article can therefore be seen as a key article for understanding the sources of value creation that determine the success of a new venture. Furthermore, entrepreneurs need funding for growing their enterprise.
  

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  Individual assignments 35%. Team assignments 65%.

• Applies in this implementation:

  Didactic approach and organization

  The course comprises a lecture and a case module The course will take place in MyCourses and will be complemented by Zoom lectures. It contains individual and group work and individual and group assignments and will build on a variety of methods: front teaching (Zoom), video self-study, group work (including peer evaluation), development of MC-questions, and audience response system and a voluntary practising exercise.
  

   
  

   

  Lecture module

   

  Process of the MC-Questions

  During the course, each student is asked to read the article Sarasvathy (2001)  and to develop and upload three MC-questions (in line with the provided format) in the section “Assignment” section in MyCourses until 11.03. at 23:59 pm.
  

  The upload of MC-Questions is mandatory for passing the course but will not be graded.
  
  

  The article of Sarasvathy, S. D. (2001) has gained a lot of traction in entrepreneurship research and practice because it suggested a new approach to starting a business. It therefore gave impetus for effectuation research and is the most frequently cited effectuation article in the entrepreneurship literature.
  

  In the lecture on the 18.03.2021, the students will be randomly assigned to a break-out room, discuss and apply the effectuation theory. Furthermore, 5 randomly chosen MC-Questions will be discussed. The final exam will also contain 3 MC-Questions of the total pool of suggested MC-questions.

   

  Video self-study:

  The videos for self-study and a corresponding slide deck will be available in MyCourses in the section “Materials” from the first lecture on.  Students will have several opportunities to ask questions about the content of the videos. It is highly appreciated if students e-mail their questions to the lecturer two days before the lecture.

   

  Group work (including peer evaluation):

  For the group work, all students will have the same submission deadline and are required to read two scientific articles. This task addresses the learning outcomes ii) and iii). The this purpose students need to familiarize with the two central concepts of Entrepreneurship of Venture Opportunity and Business Models. One approach to familiarize with a concept is to read an article and write an essay about it in which of the content of article is transferred to a real case. Another approach is to read an article and an essay and to judge the transfer of the content of article to a real case. The group work will cover both approaches. The group work will follow four consecutive steps.

   

  Step 1: Team formation

  Students are asked to form groups of min. 3 and max. 5 students themselves and to indicate their team formation in the Group Choice Module in myCourses until 08.03. at 23:59 pm.

  The groups will perform different tasks (see below for further details). They can connect with each other via MyCourses (General Discussion Module on the course homepage) and work on the tasks online or in face-to-face meetings.

   

  Step 2: Development phase

  Each group will be randomly assigned to one of two cohorts: Venture Opportunity or Business Models. Depending on the assigned cohort, the groups are supposed to answer one of the following questions:

   

  Cohort	Article	Task
  Venture Opportunity	Vogel, P. 2017. From venture idea to venture opportunity. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 41(6): 943-971.	Please illustrate the “Venture Opportunity Development and Exploitation stage” (as outline in Vogel, ETP 2016) for a freely chosen enterprise in Finland.*
  Business Model	Amit, R. & Zott, C. 2001. Value creation in e-business. Strategic Management Journal, 22: 493-520.	Please explain the framework “Sources of value creation” (Amit & Zott, SMJ 2001) for a freely chosen enterprise in Finland.*

   

  Depending on the assigned task, each group will prepare an essay of 1500-2000 words + 5 PPT slides (excl. cover page and references) in which the essay is visualized. Afterwards, each group uploads the essay and the PPT slides – if possible in 1 document – in a PDF format in MyCourses in the section “Assignments” (max. size of the file is 10 MB).
  
  

  The deadline for uploading the essay and presentation is 22.03. at 23:59 pm.

   

  Step 3: Evaluation phase

  After the 22.03. at 23:59 pm, the evaluation round starts. In this round, each essay and presentation of one group from the development round is evaluated by one assigned group of the cohort. The lecturer will send the evaluation excel file and the essay
  and presentation of the group that is supposed to evaluate its peers.
  

  
  

  Afterwards, each group uploads their completed excel file in MyCourses with their group name: "Group Name“, example: “1. Group.xlsx” in the section “Assignments” until 29.03. at 23:59 pm.

  The submissions and evaluations will be reviewed by the lecturer afterwards and the grades adjusted if necessary to assure fairness and comparability.

   

  Step 4: Presentation

  Each group from the development phase will present is essay in the lecture on the 01.04. to its peers.
  

  
  

  4.4 Final Exam on 08.04.2021 at 9:15-10:15

  The final exam of the lecture module will be a one hour open book online exam in MyCourses of 33 MC questions. It can contain questions about everything that has been uploaded in MyCourses.

  There will be a Re-Exam on the 21.04.2021.

  
  

  Case Module

  The aim of the course is to introduce the participants to the fundamentals of technology innovation management. The focus is on adoption or rejection decisions of external innovations and the successful implementation of these in a company. The following
  topics are dealt with within the module:

  • Emerging vs disruptive technologies
  • Analysis of market development, market dynamics, trends and hypes
  • Innovation diffusion, adoption and acceptance Model
  • Methods for creating technology forecasts/assessments
  • Technology monitoring and potential identification

  
  

  Preparatory work

  • The course builds on the Harvard Bang & Olufsen case, which you need to study before March 25th (download available at MyCourses).

  Online lecture

  • You are required to participate in the online lecture and to be able to apply the B&O case in the in-class discussion.

  Groupwork assignment

  • You then need to write a full analysis of an emerging technology in groups with a length of 1500 words per student. Details are provided during the Zoom session on March 25
  • The groups will be the teams as in the lecture module.

Workload

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  1. Classroom hours 17 h
  2. Preparation of individual assignments 42 h
  3. Preparation of group work assignments 101 h

• Applies in this implementation:

  Assessment of the course

  The final grade will be calculated as follows:
  

   

  Group assignments	Grade achieved in the development round	15%
  	Case lecture + Long essay	50%
  Individual assignment	Final MC-Exam	35%
  Total:		100%

  
  

DETAILS

Study Material

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  The materials necessary for completing the course will be available on MyCourses. Students can also
  use the following textbook to support their learning:

  Zacharakis, Andrew, William Bygrave, Andrew Corbett, 2016. Entrepreneurship, 4th Edition. Wiley.
  For the chapter Creativity, Idea Development and Innovation.

  Bessant, John R., Tidd, Joe 2015. Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 3th Edition. Wiley.

• Applies in this implementation:

  Literature

  Compulsory
  literature (uploaded in MyCourses in the section “Materials”)

  • Amit, R. & Zott, C. 2001. Value creation in e-business. Strategic Management Journal, 22: 493-520.
  • Austin, R. D. & Beyersdorfer, D. (2007). Bang & Olufsen: design driven innovation. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.
  • Sarasvathy, S. D. 2001. Causation and Effectuation: Toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. Academy of Management Review, 26(2): 243-263.
  • Swanson, E. B. (2012). The managers guide to IT innovation waves. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(2), 75.
  • Vogel, P. 2017. From venture idea to venture opportunity. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 41(6): 943-971.

   
  

  Titles of relevant journals in the field

  • Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice
  • Journal of Business Venturing
  • Entrepreneurship & Regional Development
  • Academy of Management Journal
  • Academy of Management Review

  
  

Prerequisites

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  No prerequisites necessary

Registration for Courses

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  Registration via WebOodi ends 7 days before the period starts.

• Applies in this implementation:

  Navigation in MyCourses

  MyCourses is an essential part of this course, and students are required to use it frequently.

   

  Course Homepage:

  • Table with submission deadlines
  • Group choice module
  • Final MC exam will be posted here
  • Results of the final MC exam will be posted here

   

  Section Materials:

  • Article for MC Questions
  • Articles for Group Assignment
  • 4 lecture Videos in which the essential knowledge is explained
  • Lecture Slides

   

  Assignments:

  • Assignment Uploaded MC-Questions
  • Assignment “Development Phase”: essays and presentations and assessments
  • Assignment “Evaluation Phase”: assessments
    
    

  Voluntary practising exercise:

  • 17 MCQ questions with explanations and examples to help clear concepts

  
  

SDG: Sustainable Development Goals

8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

12 Responsible Production and Consumption

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  The maximum number of students admitted to the course is 100. Priority is given to
  (1) BSc students studying in the specialisation of Management, and
  (2) BSc students studying in a minor study package in Management.

   

  
  
  

• Applies in this implementation:

  Navigation in MyCourses

  MyCourses is an essential part of this course, and students are required to use it frequently.

   

  Course Homepage:

  • Table with submission deadlines
  • Group choice module
  • Final MC exam will be posted here
  • Results of the final MC exam will be posted here

   

  Section Materials:

  • Article for MC Questions
  • Articles for Group Assignment
  • 4 lecture Videos in which the essential knowledge is explained
  • Lecture Slides

   

  Assignments:

  • Assignment Uploaded MC-Questions
  • Assignment “Development Phase”: essays and presentations and assessments
  • Assignment “Evaluation Phase”: assessments
    
    

  Voluntary practising exercise:

  • 17 MCQ questions with explanations and examples to help clear concepts

  
  

Details on the schedule

• Applies in this implementation:

  Lectures, Formats, Content & Submission Deadlines

  
  

  Lecture date	Format	Content
  04.03.	Zoom lecture (9:15-12:00)	Practicalities Basics of Entrepreneurship Creativity, Idea Development & Innovation
  11.03.	MyCourses, self-study, group work	Watching and understanding the videos about the essential entrepreneurship and innovation management knowledge Preparation of intermediate assignment (group work, assigned cohorts/articles applied to a freely chosen Finish enterprise or an enterprise from https://blog.thehub.io/blog/15-impact-startups-in-finland-to-keep -an-eye-on-in-2019/)
  18.03.	Zoom lecture (9:15-11:30)	Discussion of the effectuation model in smaller groups 5 audience response system questions (randomly selected from the pool) + discussion afterwards Audience response system questions on the videos Opportunity to ask questions about the videos
  25.03.	MyCourses, self-study	Watching and understanding the videos about the essential entrepreneurship and innovation management knowledge
  01.04.	Zoom lecture (9:15-11:30)	Presentation and feedback of presentations à max. 20 minutes Opportunity to ask questions about the videos and the exam
  08.04.	MyCourses (9:15-10:15)	MC-Online Exam
  21.04.	MyCourses (9:15-10:15)	MC-Online Re-Exam

  
  
  
  

  Deadlines	Tasks to Pass the Course (details see below)
  08.03. at 23:59 pm	Indicate team formation in Group Choice Module in MyCourses
  11.03. at 23:59 pm	Submission of 3 MC-Questions about the article “Sarasvathy, 2001”
  22.03. at 23:59 pm	Submission of essays: 1500-2000 words + 5 PPT slides (excl. cover page and references)
  29.03. at 23:59 pm	Submission of Evaluations: Review criteria + Grades of the essays and presentations + 3 suggestions for improving the presentation
  01.04. at 09:15 am	Presentation of the Essay from the Development Round
  08.04. at 09:15 am	Final exam
  15.04. at 23:59	Submission of Technology – and Innovationmanagement group work.

   

  
  

Description

Registration and further information