Please note! Course description is confirmed for two academic years, which means that in general, e.g. Learning outcomes, assessment methods and key content stays unchanged. However, via course syllabus, it is possible to specify or change the course execution in each realization of the course, such as how the contact sessions are organized, assessment methods weighted or materials used.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Credits: 6
Schedule: 08.05.2021 - 12.06.2021
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Arne Kroeger
Contact information for the course (valid 20.04.2021-21.12.2112):
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 (applies in this implementation):
CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD
Content
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 oppor-tunity 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), acci-dental 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 busi-ness 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
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 “Assign-ment” section in MyCourses until 15.05. 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 re-search 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 22.05.2021, 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 11.05. 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 for-mat in MyCourses in the section “Assignments” (max. size of the file is 10 MB).
The deadline for uploading the essay and presentation is 22.05. at 23:59 pm.
Step 3: Evaluation phase
After the 24.05. 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 in the sec-tion “Assignments” until 29.05. 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 05.06. to its peers.
4.4 Final Exam on 12.06.2021 at 10:15-11:15
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 re-exams on 28.08.2021. and on 28.10.2021, each at 10:15-11:15.
Case Module
The aim of the case module 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 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 be-fore May 29th (download available here).
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 June 19
- The groups will be the teams as in the lecture module.
Workload
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 + Essay
50%
Individual assignment
Final MC-Exam
35%
Total:
100%
DETAILS
Study Material
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 (download).
- 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
FURTHER INFORMATION
Details on the schedule
Applies in this implementation:
Lectures, Formats, Content & Submission Deadlines
Lecture date
Format
Content
08.05.
Zoom lecture
(10:15-13:15)
- Practicalities
- Basics of Entrepreneurship
- Creativity, Idea Development &
Innovation
15.05.
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
22.05.
Zoom lecture
(10:15-12:30)
- Discussion of the effectuation model in smaller groups
- 5 audience response system questions (randomly selected from the pool) + discussion afterwards
- In-class practicing tasks
- Opportunity to ask questions about the videos
29.05.
Zoom lecture
(10:15-12:30)
- Case Study: Technology & Innovation Management
05.06.
Zoom lecture
(10:15-12:30)
- Presentation and feedback of presentations à max. 20 minutes
- Opportunity to ask questions about the videos and the exam
12.06.
MyCourses
(10:15-11:15)
- MC-Online Exam
28.08.
MyCourses
(10:15-11:15)
- 1st MC-Online Re-Exam
28.10.
MyCourses
(10:15-11:15)
- 2nd MC-Online Re-Exam
Deadlines
Tasks to Pass the Course (details see below)
11.05. at 23:59 pm
Indicate team formation in Group Choice Module in MyCourses
15.05. at 23:59 pm
Submission of 3 MC-Questions about the article “Sarasvathy, 2001”
22.05. at 23:59 pm
Submission of essays: 1500-2000 words + 5 PPT slides (excl. cover page and ref-erences)
29.05. at 23:59 pm
Submission of Evaluations: Review criteria + Grades of the essays and presenta-tions + 3 suggestions for improving the presentation
05.06. at 10:15 am
Presentation of the Essay from the Development Round
12.06. at 10:15 am
Final exam
19.06. at 23:59 pm
Submission of Technology – and Innovationmanagement group work.
28.08. at 10:15 am
1. Re-exam
28.10. at 10:15 am
2. Re-exam