STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOR
Syllabus
EN
IT
Learning Objectives
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The course aims at providing the essential notions in the field of strategic and entrepreneurial behavior, with a focus on individual entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship. More specifically, the teaching activities will deepen the theoretical and practical issues that affect decision processes in the entrepreneurial context, the organizational challenges related to the management of an entrepreneurial idea, and the specific practices that should be arranged to effectively manage human resources in entrepreneurial ventures. Lastly, yet importantly, attention will be paid to the criteria that inspire the crafting of an effective business plan to formalize and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
The students will develop awareness of the strategic, organizational, and management challenges that are met in the entrepreneurial arena. The main areas of focus will include: 1) "Spotting" and the "identifying" the entrepreneurial opportunities; 2) "assessing" the feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurial opportunities; 3) "arranging" the strategic and management solutions to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities and make them profitable.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
The students will be continuously encouraged to apply the theoretical concepts and tools that are discussed during class activities. Case studies and case experiences, in-depth discussion of virtuous experiences and failures, and role-playing will allow to critically understand the factors that are able to affect decision processes in the entrepreneurial context and acknowledge the determinants of entrepreneurial success.
MAKING JUDGEMENTS:
The students will gain autonomy in making judgement and evaluations related to the consistency and the feasibility of entrepreneurial opportunities. Due to the application of the theoretical and practical tools discussed during class activities, students will be able to gauge the pros and cons of the strategic, organizational and management options that are available to entrepreneurs, paving the way for the exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
The students will improve their communication skills, acquiring the jargon that is used in the entrepreneurial context. The communication skills of students will be stimulated through the discussion of project works that will be developed by teams of students during the teaching activities.
LEARNING SKILLS:
Alongside hard and explicit knowledge, the students will enhance their portfolio of skills through the achievement of soft and tacit skills. The focus on heuristics and the analysis of biases that are likely to directly and indirectly influence entrepreneurial decision making processes will permit to collect useful insights that contribute to the individual and professional growth of students.
The course aims at providing the essential notions in the field of strategic and entrepreneurial behavior, with a focus on individual entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship. More specifically, the teaching activities will deepen the theoretical and practical issues that affect decision processes in the entrepreneurial context, the organizational challenges related to the management of an entrepreneurial idea, and the specific practices that should be arranged to effectively manage human resources in entrepreneurial ventures. Lastly, yet importantly, attention will be paid to the criteria that inspire the crafting of an effective business plan to formalize and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
The students will develop awareness of the strategic, organizational, and management challenges that are met in the entrepreneurial arena. The main areas of focus will include: 1) "Spotting" and the "identifying" the entrepreneurial opportunities; 2) "assessing" the feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurial opportunities; 3) "arranging" the strategic and management solutions to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities and make them profitable.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
The students will be continuously encouraged to apply the theoretical concepts and tools that are discussed during class activities. Case studies and case experiences, in-depth discussion of virtuous experiences and failures, and role-playing will allow to critically understand the factors that are able to affect decision processes in the entrepreneurial context and acknowledge the determinants of entrepreneurial success.
MAKING JUDGEMENTS:
The students will gain autonomy in making judgement and evaluations related to the consistency and the feasibility of entrepreneurial opportunities. Due to the application of the theoretical and practical tools discussed during class activities, students will be able to gauge the pros and cons of the strategic, organizational and management options that are available to entrepreneurs, paving the way for the exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
The students will improve their communication skills, acquiring the jargon that is used in the entrepreneurial context. The communication skills of students will be stimulated through the discussion of project works that will be developed by teams of students during the teaching activities.
LEARNING SKILLS:
Alongside hard and explicit knowledge, the students will enhance their portfolio of skills through the achievement of soft and tacit skills. The focus on heuristics and the analysis of biases that are likely to directly and indirectly influence entrepreneurial decision making processes will permit to collect useful insights that contribute to the individual and professional growth of students.
Prerequisites
None
Program
First Section (3 Credits = 18 hours; 2 hours for each session):
1. Introduction to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behavior;
2. Creativity and innovation;
3. Personality, personal background, and lifestyles;
4. Motivation and learning;
5. Internal and external context and relationships;
6. National culture and organizational culture;
7. Becoming a leader;
8. Growing as entrepreneurial leader;
9. Leadership styles.
Second Section (3 Credits = 18 hours; 2 hours for each session)
1. Conceiving an "entrepreneurial idea";
2. The "external" and the "internal" loci of the entrepreneurial idea;
3. A "contingency-based" approach to strategic and organizational entrepreneurial decisions;
4. Making the innovative organization working: the hard and soft organizational choices;
5. Building a strong organizational identify: harvesting the entrepreneurial idea;
6. The strategic and management tool for the success of the entrepreneurial idea;
7. The business plan and the formalization of the entrepreneurial idea;
8. The organizational plan and the implementation of the entrepreneurial idea;
9. The organizational design of entrepreneurial ventures.
1. Introduction to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behavior;
2. Creativity and innovation;
3. Personality, personal background, and lifestyles;
4. Motivation and learning;
5. Internal and external context and relationships;
6. National culture and organizational culture;
7. Becoming a leader;
8. Growing as entrepreneurial leader;
9. Leadership styles.
Second Section (3 Credits = 18 hours; 2 hours for each session)
1. Conceiving an "entrepreneurial idea";
2. The "external" and the "internal" loci of the entrepreneurial idea;
3. A "contingency-based" approach to strategic and organizational entrepreneurial decisions;
4. Making the innovative organization working: the hard and soft organizational choices;
5. Building a strong organizational identify: harvesting the entrepreneurial idea;
6. The strategic and management tool for the success of the entrepreneurial idea;
7. The business plan and the formalization of the entrepreneurial idea;
8. The organizational plan and the implementation of the entrepreneurial idea;
9. The organizational design of entrepreneurial ventures.
Books
Hisrich, R., Peters, M., e Shepherd, D. (2020), Entrepreneurship, 11th Edition. McGraw Hill. ISBN13: 9781260913507
Bibliography
Foss, Nicolai J. and Klein, P. G. (2012) Organizing entrepreneurial judgment. A new approach to the firm. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781139021173
Lianne, T. (2017) The Entrepreneurial Paradox. Examining the Interplay between Entrepreneurial and Management Thinking. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 978-1-137-56949-3
Lianne, T. (2017) The Entrepreneurial Paradox. Examining the Interplay between Entrepreneurial and Management Thinking. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 978-1-137-56949-3
Teaching methods
Teaching activities will be delivered face to face. An active learning approach will be used. Alongside case studies, case experiences and role playing, students will be encouraged to build team and to participate in project work activities
Exam Rules
The exam will consist in either a written (first exam session) or an oral exam (exam sessions after the first one). More specifically, the students will be asked to answer to 6 open ended questions. They will be evaluated according to their ability to discuss the topics dealt with and to provide original conceptual and practical insights.
The following criteria will be used for assessing students' performance:
0 point: The student is unable to effectively discuss the main issues reported in the questions. Theoretical knowledge is not adequately exploited to articulate convincing propositions and arguments. No insights are provided drawing on examples which may enhance the understanding of the topics dealt with in the question.
Not sufficient (<18): The student provides fragmented notions which allows her/him to address some superficial issues touched by the questions. Theoretical knowledge is poorly exploited to articulate convincing propositions and arguments. Limited insights are provided drawing on examples which may enhance the understanding of the topics dealt with in the question.
Sufficient (18/22): The student provides some notions which allows her/him to address the key issues dealt with in the questions. Theoretical knowledge is adequately exploited to articulate convincing propositions and arguments. Some insights are provided drawing on examples which may enhance the understanding of the topics dealt with in the question.
Adequate (23/25): The student provides adequate notions which allows her/him to address most of the issues dealt with in the questions. Theoretical knowledge is effectively used to articulate convincing propositions and arguments. Good insights are argued drawing on examples which enhance the understanding of the topics dealt with in the question.
Good (26/28): The student completely addresses the issues contemplated in the question. The student is proficient in using theoretical knowledge to critically frame the answer and are able to draw insights from connecting different topics discussed in the textbook. Fitting insights are provided drawing on adequately developed practical examples.
Excellent (29/30): The student completely addresses the issues contemplated in the question. The student uses a wide array of conceptual tools to investigate the teaching topics. Practical examples are discussed in a critical way to provide multifaceted perspectives to comprehensively address the issues touched by the question.
The following criteria will be used for assessing students' performance:
0 point: The student is unable to effectively discuss the main issues reported in the questions. Theoretical knowledge is not adequately exploited to articulate convincing propositions and arguments. No insights are provided drawing on examples which may enhance the understanding of the topics dealt with in the question.
Not sufficient (<18): The student provides fragmented notions which allows her/him to address some superficial issues touched by the questions. Theoretical knowledge is poorly exploited to articulate convincing propositions and arguments. Limited insights are provided drawing on examples which may enhance the understanding of the topics dealt with in the question.
Sufficient (18/22): The student provides some notions which allows her/him to address the key issues dealt with in the questions. Theoretical knowledge is adequately exploited to articulate convincing propositions and arguments. Some insights are provided drawing on examples which may enhance the understanding of the topics dealt with in the question.
Adequate (23/25): The student provides adequate notions which allows her/him to address most of the issues dealt with in the questions. Theoretical knowledge is effectively used to articulate convincing propositions and arguments. Good insights are argued drawing on examples which enhance the understanding of the topics dealt with in the question.
Good (26/28): The student completely addresses the issues contemplated in the question. The student is proficient in using theoretical knowledge to critically frame the answer and are able to draw insights from connecting different topics discussed in the textbook. Fitting insights are provided drawing on adequately developed practical examples.
Excellent (29/30): The student completely addresses the issues contemplated in the question. The student uses a wide array of conceptual tools to investigate the teaching topics. Practical examples are discussed in a critical way to provide multifaceted perspectives to comprehensively address the issues touched by the question.