20837 - ORGANIZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

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)

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.