25E53000 - Researching Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 25.02.2019-12.04.2019
This course space end date is set to 12.04.2019 Search Courses: 25E53000
Topic outline
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES
Topic Exercises – due 20.3. and 10.4.
In association to each topic there are two small exercises (3 points each), which test the comprehension of the topic and help you to develop skills to critically read and evaluate scientific research. These exercises are voluntary. However, if you do not complete them, you will automatically loose the points they are worth, and cannot get the highest grade from the course. Altogether the voluntary exercises amount to a maximum of 60 points of the total 100 points of this course (10 session, 2 exercises in each session, 3 points for each exercise).
The first set of exercises (Topics 1-6) are due Wednesday 20 March, and the second set of exercises (Topics 7-10) are due is due Wednesday 10 April.
Obligatory Assignments – due 20.3. and 10.4.
The course includes two obligatory assignments (20 points each) that allows you to develop your skills as a researcher, and to work on a topic that is of interest to you. The first assignment focuses on Qualitative Research and it is due Wednesday 20 March. The second on Quantitative Research and it is due Wednesday 10 April.
You must complete and pass these assignments in order to pass the course. However, note that they only amount to a maximum of 40 points of the total 100 points of this course. In order to pass the course, you need to collect a minimum of 50 points in the exercises and assignments.
We offer an online feedback session after each of the obligatory assignments; the first on Friday 22 March, and the second on Friday 12 April. The participation is voluntary.
READINGSPlease, see the Materials section for all the readings and research papers that are referred to in the exercises.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Submission formats
Submit all exercises and assignments on MyCourses. Note that the two assignments will be submitted via Turnitin (to check for plagiarism) in MyCourses.
Format
The work must be presented in the following format:
- Font: Times New Roman
- Size: 12
- Spacing: 1.5
- Alignment: justified
- Pages: numbered
- Margins: ‘normal’ in MS Word
- Filename format: SURNAME First Name-Year-ID-ASSIGNMENT INITIALS.docx (example: FARNY Steffen-2018-1234567-A1.docx)
Late/Non-Submissions
- Late assignments will lose 10 points per 24-hour period: this will be enforced as soon as the deadline is missed, as indicated by the timestamp in Turnitin. If an assignment is three or more days late, the grade will be converted to a zero for that assignment.
Referencing and Research Ethics
Citation Style: Harvard Referencing (See Materials section)
Academic excellence and high achievement levels are only possible in an environment where the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity are maintained. Students are expected to abide by the Aalto University Code of Academic Integrity, other relevant codes and regulations, as well as the canons of ethical conduct within the disciplines of business and management education.-
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After getting acquainted with the materials (readings, videos), shortly explain (max 1 page) how theory-building and theory-testing links with qualitative and quantitative research. What is the usefulness of theory in trying to understand something that interests you? Is theory building the opposite of theory testing, or can the two be combined?
Briefly explain your reasoning.
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Shepherd, D.A. 2015.Party On! A call for entrepreneurship research that is more interactive, activity based, cognitively hot, compassionate, and prosocial. Journal of Business Venturing, 30, 489-507.
Briefly describe a theory used in entrepreneurship research, e.g. in Shepherd (2015), that in your opinion has high explanatory power to reason why people become entrepreneurs. Could you think of a rivalling theory and its logical speculation why people become entrepreneurs.
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Mention four different scientific paradigms, and explain the core assumptions/ideas of each paradigm in 2-3 sentence.
Which one do you find most suitable for your own research on entrepreneurship or innovation management?
What is the difference between methodology and research method?
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According to your reading of Munoz and Cohen (2017), which worldview (postpositivist, constructivist, advocacy/participatory, or pragmatic) did they choose?
Imagine the authors had chosen a postpositivist, constructivist, advocacy/participatory, or pragmatic worldview in their study. Briefly discuss the ways that these worldviews could have changed the design of their study.
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After getting acquainted with the materials (readings, videos), formulate five research questions that suit the following research designs (one research question per research design): an ethnography, a hermeneutic study, a phenomenology, a case study, and a grounded theory study.
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Gehman, J., Glaser, V. L., Eisenhardt, K. M., Gioia, D., Langley, A., & Corley, K. G. (2017). Finding theory–method fit: A comparison of three qualitative approaches to theory building. Journal of Management Inquiry, 27(3) 284-300.
Carefully read Gehman et al. (2017) and explain what are differences between Langley, Eisenhardt and Gioia in their methodological approaches to grounded theory research.
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After getting acquainted with the materials (readings, videos), discuss the advantages and disadvantages theoretical knowledge, prolonged stay in a setting and fieldnote templates can have for collecting observation data, for instance, in ethnographic research.
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Stigliani, I., & Ravasi, D. (2012). Organizing thoughts and connecting brains: Material practices and the transition from individual to group-level prospective sensemaking. Academy of Management journal, 55(5), 1232-1259.
Read the “methods” section in Stigliani and Ravasi (2012), and explain how observation data and field notes are collected and used in the analysis. How does observation data help to answer their research question?
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Consider a research phenomenon of interest (e.g. your thesis topic, or the one you choose in Assignment 1), and design three very brief interview guides: one for an unstructured interview, one for a semi-structured interview and one for a structured interview. In your opinion, which one is most suitable for studying your research phenomenon?
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Alvesson, M. (2003). Beyond neopositivists, romantics, and localists: A reflexive approach to interviews in organizational research. Academy of management review, 28(1), 13-33.
Roulston, K. (2010). Considering quality in qualitative interviewing. Qualitative Research, 10(2), 199-228.
After reading Alvesson (2003) and Roulston (2010), discuss the authors’ different understandings of assuring ‘quality’ in interviews, in conducting social science research.
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If you were to code interviews / observation data, explain how you would proceed. How do you decide when to stop coding the data? Explain your rationale.
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Farny, S, Kibler, E., Hai, S., & P. Landoni (2018), ‘Volunteer Retention in ProSocial Venturing: The Role of Emotional Connectivity’, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258718769055
Carefully read the methodology section of Farny et al. (2018), and explain when do the authors apply an inductive, an abductive or a deductive logic in analysing their data.
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Take a look at two databases that are freely available and offer interesting data for entrepreneurship and innovation management researchers: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS).
- https://www.gemconsortium.org/data
- https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/innovation/facts-figures/scoreboards_en
Give a brief (max 1 page) account on your impressions on one or bothof the databases. What kind of data is available? How is the data collected? What do you find interesting in the database?
If you are interested to learn more about databases, see for example:
Wennberg, K. 2005. Entrepreneurship research through databases: Measurement and design issues. New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, 8(2), 9-19.
Available online: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/NEJE-08-02-2005-B002
- https://www.gemconsortium.org/data
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Kuckertz, A. & Wagner, M. 2010. The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions — Investigating the role of business experience. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(5), 524-539.
Read the Data, Measures and Limitations sections of the article by Kuckertz and Wagner (2010), and answer the questions on it:
- What kind of data does the study use? How well do the authors describe the process of data collection?
- Do they assess the validity and reliability of the data, and its potential limitations?
- Would you have ideas for improving the data (e.g. do you think they should have used different data, or collect more data)?
- What kind of data does the study use? How well do the authors describe the process of data collection?
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After getting acquainted with the materials (readings, videos), explain briefly (max 1 page) why it is important to pay due attention to the empirical research design when either conducting research, or reading a research report or article.
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Kibler, E., Salmivaara, V., Stenholm, P., & Terjesen, S. 2018. The Evaluative Legitimacy of Social Entrepreneurship in Capitalist Welfare Systems. Journal of World Business, 53(6), 944-957.
Read the Theory and hypotheses, and Research design and method sections of the article by Kibler et al., (2018), and answer the questions on it:
- What kind of theory/-ies do the authors use to build their model and ground their hypotheses?
- How do they operationalise their model into variables (DV, IV, control)?
- Would you have ideas for improving the process of building a bridge between the theory and the empirics (e.g. do you think they argue their hypotheses convincingly, do the variables fit well with the concepts, and could they have included other control variables)?
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After getting acquainted with the materials (readings, videos), explain briefly (max 1 page) what is the purpose of data visualisation, descriptive and inferential statistics.
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Cardon, M. S. & Kirk, C. P. 2013. Entrepreneurial passion as mediator of the self‐efficacy to persistence relationship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(5), 1027-1050.
Read the Results and Limitations sections of the article by Cardon and Kirk (2013), and answer the questions on it:
- How do the authors analyse their data; which analytical techniques do they use?
- Do you think the authors sufficiently justify why they have chosen these methods?
- How do the authors analyse their data; which analytical techniques do they use?
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Kirsch, D. A., Goldfarb B. & Gera, A. 2009. Form or Substance? The Role of Business Plans in Venture Capital Decision Making. Strategic Management Journal, 30(5), 487-515.
Bowers, B. (2009). Investors Pay Business Plans Little Heed, Study Finds. The New York Times.
Look at the Introduction, Discussion, Conclusion sections of the research paper by Kirsch et al. (2009) as well as The New York Times newspaper article ‘Investors Pay Business Plans Little Heed, Study Finds’, that refers to the study by Kirsch et al. Describe briefly your impression on the differences in reporting research to the academic audience and in the media. Are there any problematic issues, or specific advantages in the way in which the newspaper article discusses the study?
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Mehrotra, V., Morck, R., Shim, J. & Wiwattanakantang, Y. 2011. Must Love Kill the Family Firm? Some Exploratory Evidence. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(6), 1121-1148.
Read the Introduction, Empirical Findings and Conclusions sections of the article by Mehrotra et al (2011), and explain briefly (max 1 page) the insight delivered by this study.
- What was the motivation for this study, why did the authors feel it was needed?
- What is the research question they wish to answer?
- What are the key findings of the research paper?
- What is your impression of this research; is it well-grounded and does it offer relevant implications?