ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS MODEL
Syllabus
Obiettivi Formativi
Questo corso mira a offrire una visione completa del processo imprenditoriale, comprendendo quindi come l'imprenditorialità e le idee imprenditoriali possono essere stimolate, formulate, come possono essere trasformate in un modello di business strutturato e infine in imprese e startup. Questo obiettivo viene raggiunto attraverso un approccio di apprendimento esperienziale che consente l'applicazione di strumenti e tecniche analitiche per lo sviluppo di una nuova impresa o una nuova idea imprenditoriale, la strategia di un modello di business e l'agire imprenditoriale. Il ruolo di primo piano dell'imprenditorialità in qualsiasi unità organizzativa o sociale è stato ben documentato e messo in evidenza per anni da uomini d'affari, politici e decisori politici. Allora, perché l'Europa, e quindi l'Italia e gli altri Paesi europei, lottano ancora su queste questioni? Il confronto con gli Stati Uniti o un altro paese leader mondiale mostra che l'Europa come attore principale in relazione alle invenzioni e allo sviluppo scientifico, ma è in ritardo nel concretizzare quelli in attività redditizie e iniziative redditizie.
Ciò richiede una rinnovata attenzione agli studenti e all'intero sistema di istruzione superiore, che possono formare le future generazioni di imprenditori. Avere un'idea brillante può essere una cosa comune, ma creare e far crescere una nuova impresa attorno a questo o implementarla in un contesto organizzativo è un compito che pochi individui sono in grado di realizzare. Questo modulo è stato progettato in modo tale da stimolare gli studenti ad agire in modo più innovativo e ad essere agenti di cambiamento di realtà consolidate o a intraprendere carriere come proprietari/manager, fondamento di una nuova impresa.
OBIETTIVI FORMATIVI
Da uno sguardo più attento al processo imprenditoriale emerge un complesso dominio concettuale di analisi, che mostra intrinseche interdipendenze con altre aree disciplinari, con un innegabile orientamento pratico, aprendosi ad appassionanti scoperte e dibattiti teorici ed empirici.
Ciò implica la necessità di un'impalcatura teorica di base per aumentare la conoscenza e la comprensione degli studenti sugli strumenti rilevanti per la creazione di idee imprenditoriali e imprenditoriali. Tuttavia, oltre a questo, ci si aspetta che uno sviluppo olistico e personale avvenga direttamente nella sfera personale degli studenti e questo è un risultato ancora più importante. In effetti, il modulo vuole fondamentalmente stimolare e sviluppare la capacità degli studenti di pensare in modo innovativo e creativo alle idee di business e agire in modo imprenditoriale per realizzare queste idee. Per questi motivi, il corso si baserà principalmente su esercitazioni pratiche e simulazioni, utilizzando un approccio di apprendimento esperienziale.
Il corso si articola in tre sezioni logicamente consecutive che seguono la struttura di un processo imprenditoriale:
• Sezione I. Creare idee imprenditoriali: agire imprenditoriale
• Sezione II. Strutturare le idee di business: il business model
• Sezione III. Concretizzare idee imprenditoriali: attrarre risorse
Al completamento con successo di questo modulo, presupponendo la frequenza, la partecipazione attiva e il completamento di tutte le valutazioni formative progettate durante il modulo, gli studenti dovrebbero essere in grado di:
CONOSCENZA E COMPRENSIONE:
1. Acquisire e dimostrare una buona comprensione dei concetti generali relativi all'imprenditorialità e alla creazione di idee imprenditoriali in particolare:
1.1 Concetti di base dell'agire imprenditoriale e approcci;
1.2 Il processo imprenditoriale, dall'individuazione dell'opportunità alla crescita dell'impresa;
1.3 Il business model, suoi elementi costitutivi e affinamenti;
1.4. Strumenti per attrarre risorse come il business plan e metodi per accumulare denaro (finanza imprenditoriale).
APPLICARE CONOSCENZE:
2. Essere in grado di sviluppare idee innovative
3. Mostrare la capacità di interpretare ed elaborare un business model, con implicite logiche interne
AUTONOMIA DI GIUDIZIO
3. Essere in grado di elaborare strategie e piani autonomi per sviluppare e realizzare idee imprenditoriali.
4. Mostrare capacità relazionali e imprenditoriali per confrontarsi con situazioni concrete in modo da individuare o creare opportunità
ABILITÀ DI COMUNICAZIONE:
5. Capacità di presentazione e pitching in ragione degli incarichi settimanali, presentazione finale ed esame orale.
CAPACITÀ DI APPRENDERE
6. Capacità di avanzare negli studi di natura imprenditoriale e manageriale
Learning Objectives
This course aims at offering a comprehensive view of the entrepreneurial process, so understanding how entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ideas can be stimulated, formulated, how can then be turned into structured business model and finally into businesses and start-ups. This aim is fulfilled through an experiential learning approach that allows the application of tools and analytical techniques for developing a new venture or new business idea, strategizing a business model, and acting entrepreneurially. The prominent role of entrepreneurship in any organizational or social unit has been well-documented and in the bulk-eye for years from business people and politicians and policy-maker. So, why does Europe, and thus Italy and other European countries still struggle in such matters? The comparison with U.S. or other global leader country shows that Europe as a top player in relation to inventions and scientific development but lags behind in concretize those in viable businesses and profitable initiative.
This calls for a renewed attention to students and the whole higher education system, that may form future generations of entrepreneurs. Having a brilliant idea can be a common thing but creating and growing a new venture around this or implement it in an organizational setting is a task that few individuals are able to accomplish. The entrepreneurship and innovation module has been designed in a way that students be stimulated to act more innovatively and being change agent of established realities or to pursue careers as owner/managers, foundation of new venture.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A complex conceptual domain of analysis emerges from a closer look at the entrepreneurial process, demonstrating inherent interdependences with other subject areas, with an undeniable practical orientation, opening up to exciting theoretical and empirical discoveries and debates.
This implies the necessity of a basic theoretical scaffolding to increase knowledge and understanding of students about relevant tools for entrepreneurship and business ideas creations. However, beyond this, a holistic and personal development is expected to take place directly in the personal students’ sphere and this is an even more important outcome. As a matter of fact, the module fundamentally wants to stimulate and develop students’ capacity to think innovatively and creatively about business ideas and act entrepreneurially to carry out these ideas. For these reasons, the course will be principally based on practical exercises and simulations, using an experiential learning approach.
The course is divided into three logically consecutive sections that follow the structure of an entrepreneurial process:
• Section I. Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
• Section II. Structuring business ideas: The business model
• Section III. Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
Upon successful completion of this module, assuming attendance, active participation, and completion of all formative assessments designed throughout the module, the students should be able to:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
1. Acquire and demonstrate a good understanding of the general concepts related to entrepreneurship and business ideas creation specifically:
1.1 Basic concepts of entrepreneurial acting and approaches;
1.2 The entrepreneurial process, from spotting the opportunity to the growth of the venture;
1.3 The business model, its constituting elements and refinement;
1.4. Tools for attracting resources as the business plan and methods to accrue money (entrepreneurial finance).
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE:
2. Being able to develop innovative ideas
3. Showing the ability to interpret and elaborate a business model, with implied internal logics
MAKING JUDGEMENTS
3. Being able to elaborate autonomous strategies and plans to develop and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
4. Showing relational and entrepreneurial abilities to engage with concrete situations so to spot or create opportunities
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
5. Presentation and pitching skills in reasons of the weekly assignments, final presentation, and oral exam.
LEARNING SKILL
6. Ability to move forward in studies of an entrepreneurial managerial nature.
Prerequisiti
Prerequisites
Programma
Creare idee imprenditoriali: agire imprenditoriale
1 Introduzione e mappa concettuale del modulo
Syllabus, Slides pack 1, Pellegrini et al. (2021)
A. Che cos'è l'imprenditorialità?
B. Decostruire l'imprenditorialità
2 Riconoscimento dell'opportunità
Slides pack 2 Shane & Venkataraman (2000), Sarasvathy (2001), Alvarez & Barney (2007) A. Presentazioni di concetti imprenditoriali
B. Idea imprenditoriale efficace
3 Processo imprenditoriale
Slides pack 3, Bhave (1994) 1. Presentazioni efficaci di idee imprenditoriali
4 Tecniche creative: Sei Cappelli Slides pack 4
A Esercizio dei Sei Cappelli
Sessione II
Strutturare le idee di business: il business model
5 Canvas
Slides pack 5, Business model generator, Ch.1 1. Canvas business case
B. Canvas ideas
6 Le value propostions
Slides pack 6, Value propositions, Ch.1 1. Value propositions business case
B. Value propositions ideas
7 Strategie per il business model
Slides pack 7, Business model generator, Ch.4 1
A Business model refinement business case
B. SWOT e blue ocean strategy refinements
8 Zoom in & out business model
A. Business model creation
Sessione 3
Concretizzare le idee di business: attrarre risorse
9 Business plan
Slides pack 8
A Value propositions business case
10 Entrepreneurial finance Slides pack 8 1. Platform pitch
B. Platform pitch video
11 Wrap up session
12 Wrap up session
A. Seminari ed esercitazioni svolte in classe.
B. Compiti a casa (attività di apprendimento svolte al di fuori della classe, di solito in gruppi o individuali)
Program
Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
1 Introduction and Conceptual map of the module
Syllabus, Slides pack 1, Pellegrini et al. (2021)
A What is entrepreneurship?
B. Deconstructing Entrepreneurship
2 Opportunity recognition
Slides pack 2 Shane & Venkataraman (2000), Sarasvathy (2001), Alvarez & Barney (2007) A. Entrepreneurial concept presentations
B. Effectual business idea
3 Entrepreneurial process
Slides pack 3, Bhave (1994)
A. Effectual business idea presentations
4 Creativity techniques: Six Hats
Slides pack 4
A. Six hats exercise
Section II
Structuring business ideas: The business model
5 Canvas
Slides pack 5, Business model generator, Ch.1
A. Canvas business case
B. Canvas ideas
6 Value propositions
Slides pack 6, Value propositions, Ch.1
A. Value propositions business case
B. Value propositions ideas
7 Strategies for business model
Slides pack 7, Business model generator, Ch.4
A. Business model refinement business case
B. SWOT e blue ocean strategy refinements
8 Zoom in and out business model
B. Business model creation
Section III
Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
9 Business plan
Slides pack 8
A. Value propositions business case
10 Entrepreneurial finance Slides pack 8
A. Platform pitch
B. Platform pitch video
11 Wrap up session and preparation for the exam
12 Wrap up session and preparation for the exam
A= Seminar and exercise activities performed in class.
B= Home assignments (Learning activities performed outside the class, usually in groups or individually)
Testi Adottati
• OSTERWALDER A., & PIGNEUR Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
• OSTERWALDER A., PIGNEUR Y., SMITH A., BERNARDA G., & PAPADAKOS L. (2014), Value Propositions Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
PROGRAMMA DI STUDIO
• Per il libro Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010), l’intero libro deve essere studiato per l’esame.
• Per il libro Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) le seguenti parti devono essere studiate per l’esame:
1. Capitolo 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
2. Capitolo 2: Design (pp. 64-171)
B) Letture obbligatorie per tutti gli studenti (verranno fornite sulla piattaforma web):
• Pellegrini M.M., Ciappei C., Marzi G., Dabić M., & Egri C.P. (2021), A Philosophical Approach to Entrepreneurship Education: A model based on Kantian and Aristotelian thought, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 42(1/2), 203-231.
• Shane S., Venkataraman S. (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”. Academy of Management Review, 25(1): 217-226.
• 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.
• Alvarez, S. A., & Barney, J. B. (2007). Discovery and creation: Alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1‐2), 11-26.
• Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of business venturing, 9(3), 223-242.
• Dushnitsky, G., & Fitza, M. A. (2018). Are we missing the platforms for the crowd? Comparing investment drivers across multiple crowdfunding platforms. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 10, e00100.
Slides e altro materiale saranno disponibili sul sito web del modulo. Il caricamento del materiale verrà effettuato settimanalmente.
Le slide rappresentano solo un supporto per facilitare e riassumere concetti e argomenti e per guidare lo studente nello studio del materiale. UTILIZZARE SOLO LA SLIDES NON garantisce una conoscenza sufficiente per superare con successo l’esame.
Books
• OSTERWALDER A., & PIGNEUR Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
• OSTERWALDER A., PIGNEUR Y., SMITH A., BERNARDA G., & PAPADAKOS L. (2014), Value Propositions Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
STUDY PROGRAM
• As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010), the whole book needs to be prepared for the exam.
• As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
1. Ch.1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
2. Ch.2: Design (pp. 64-171)
B) Mandatory readings for all students (will be provided on the web platform):
• Pellegrini M.M., Ciappei C., Marzi G., Dabić M., & Egri C.P. (2021), A Philosophical Approach to Entrepreneurship Education: A model based on Kantian and Aristotelian thought, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 42(1/2), 203-231.
• Shane S., Venkataraman S. (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”. Academy of Management Review, 25(1): 217-226.
• 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.
• Alvarez, S. A., & Barney, J. B. (2007). Discovery and creation: Alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1‐2), 11-26.
• Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of business venturing, 9(3), 223-242.
• Dushnitsky, G., & Fitza, M. A. (2018). Are we missing the platforms for the crowd? Comparing investment drivers across multiple crowdfunding platforms. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 10, e00100.
Slides and other material will be available on the module web site. The upload of the material will be done weekly.
The slides represent only a support to facilitate you in summarising concepts and topics and to guide you in studying the material. USING THE SLIDE ONLY WILL NOT grant you enough knowledge to an effective and successful preparation for the exam.
Bibliografia
• Kuratko, Donald F. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S. (2009). New Venture Management: The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap. Upper Saddle River (NJ), Pearson Prentice Hall.
• Kim C. W. and Mauborgne R. (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Boston (MA), Harvard Business School Press.
• Blank, S. (2017). Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard business review.
• Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of management Review, 21(1), 135-172.
• Sahlman W. (1996) “Some thoughts on business plans”, HBS, 14 Nov 1996
• Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach. Journal of business venturing, 20(1), 71-91.
Bibliography
• Kuratko, Donald F. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S. (2009). New Venture Management: The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap. Upper Saddle River (NJ), Pearson Prentice Hall.
• Kim C. W. and Mauborgne R. (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Boston (MA), Harvard Business School Press.
• Blank, S. (2017). Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard business review.
• Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of management Review, 21(1), 135-172.
• Sahlman W. (1996) “Some thoughts on business plans”, HBS, 14 Nov 1996
• Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach. Journal of business venturing, 20(1), 71-91.
Modalità di svolgimento
La lezione frontale sarà utilizzata solo per offrire una panoramica sui concetti teorici necessari per facilitare la comprensione dell'esperienza. Tuttavia, questo metodo di insegnamento rappresenta solo una parte limitata del modulo e le lezioni frontali non saranno caratterizzate solo dal trasferimento di conoscenze e concetti, ma piuttosto da una forte interazione tra il docente e gli studenti.
La parte sostanziale del modulo sarà invece focalizzata su attività centrate sullo studente e guidate dallo studente, con una serie di strumenti a supporto del processo di apprendimento esperienziale. Per offrire agli studenti una reale possibilità di sviluppo personale e un assaggio di quella che potrebbe essere una reale situazione aziendale, verranno fornite molte opportunità di lavoro di gruppo e individuale nonché riflessione critica. Ad esempio saranno organizzati esercizi, simulazioni, casi aziendali e presentazioni. Gli studenti dovranno dimostrare capacità di studio indipendenti e iniziativa personale in esercitazioni e seminari, la maggior parte dei quali sono forniti come forum di discussione. Pertanto, c'è una forte enfasi sul dialogo e sull'interazione tra il professore e gli studenti anche per condividere idee ed esperienze. Questi seminari attingeranno molto dall'esperienza e dalle conoscenze degli studenti. Ecco perché il successo dei seminari dipende dalla volontà degli studenti di partecipare. Nella preparazione dei seminari, gli studenti dovrebbero garantire:
• Utilizzo di analisi concettuali pertinenti nell'affrontare le questioni fondamentali di compiti/domande/casi di studio;
• Dimostrare la comprensione dei materiali di lettura rilevanti ed essenziali e, se del caso, anche evidenziare prospettive alternative sulle questioni coinvolte nella discussione;
• Incoraggiare il coinvolgimento globale degli altri membri durante la presentazione.
Gli studenti sono incoraggiati a partecipare attivamente a tutte le lezioni e ad impegnarsi costantemente con i compiti assegnati, poiché ciò faciliterà l’esame finale.
Teaching methods
The frontal lecture will be used only to offer a panoramic view on the theoretical concepts necessary facilitate the understanding of the experience. However, this teaching method represents only a limited part of the module and the lectures will be not just characterized by the transfer of knowledge and concepts but rather a strong interaction between the professor and the students.
The substantial part of the module instead will be focused on student-centered and student-led activities, with a series of tools to support the experiential learning process. To offer to students a true possibility of personal development and a glimpse of what could be a real business situation, many opportunities of group and induvial working and critical reflection will be provided, e.g. exercises, simulations, business cases, and presentations will be organized. Students will be expected to demonstrate independent study skills and personal initiative in workshops and seminars, mostly of which are provided as a forum for discussion. As such, there is a strong emphasis on dialogue and interaction between the professor and the students also to share ideas and experiences. These seminars will draw heavily from the students’ own experience and knowledge. This is why the success of the seminars lies upon the students’ willingness to participate. In preparing for seminars, students should ensure:
• Using relevant conceptual analysis in addressing the core issues of tasks/questions/case studies;
• Demonstrating understanding of the relevant and essential reading materials and, where proper, also highlighting alternative perspectives on the issues involved in the discussion;
• Encouraging the overall involvement of the others member during the seminar.
All students are strongly encouraged to actively participate during lectures and constantly engage with the assignments, since this will facilitate the final exam.
Regolamento Esame
Per tale motivo l’esame si svolge con due modalità:
1. Prove in itinere
Le prove in itinere (facoltative) sono funzionali allo sviluppare passo il progetto imprenditoriale.
In particolare le prove saranno 3:
1. La costruzione di un’idea imprenditoriale usando la logica effettuale (effectuation theory) (seconda settimana)
2. La creazione di un modello di business CANVAS (quarta settimana)
3. La strutturazione delle proposizioni di valore nello specifico con il modello della Value Map (quinta settimana)
Le prove sono facoltative e non obbligatorie, però qualora si voglia utilizzare questa possibilità, sarà necessario partecipare a tutte e tre che andranno a costituire il 50% del voto finale (quindi circa il 12,5% ognuna). Ogni prova verrà valutata in trentesimi con i criteri riportati sotto.
Si può decidere di non partecipare alle prove in itinere e in questo caso il voto finale sarà attributo solo in base alla valutazione ottenuta durante la prova scritta.
Per questi motivi, le prove in itinere mira a verificare una corretta acquisizione delle conoscenze, la capacità di applicare tali conoscenze a casi aziendali concreti e la capacità di esprimere giudizi critici propri. Saranno comunque valutate anche le capacità comunicative, sotto forma di chiarezza, flusso logico, e struttura delle presentazioni/elaborati.
2. Esame scritto (2 ore)
La prova scritta conterrà un caso studio/situazione ipotetica relativa a un’idea o situazione imprenditoriale e quattro domande aperte su argomenti trattati in questo modulo come indicato nel programma. Per il caso di studio/situazione ipotetica, gli studenti devono interpretare il contesto reale offerto ed elaborare strategie personali, secondo quanto appreso dalla teoria, per risolvere il problema. Il problema presentato sarà comunque la creazione di una start-up,e gli studenti dovranno indicare le motivazioni della scelta e la descrizione delle sue caratteristiche in termini di business model (CANVAS) e value proposition. Quello che varierà da esame ad esame sarà la specificità del contesto e l’enfasi maggiore su uno degli elementi evidenziati. Nel caso gli studenti abbiano optato per la valutazione in itinere questa prima parte del compito viene esentate e considerata come assolta con le prove stesse.
Per le domande aperte, ottime risposte sono quelle con un giusto mix tra teoria e pratica, ovvero esempi di business in cui la teoria può essere applicata. Tuttavia, vengono valutate anche le connessioni teoriche tra diversi argomenti/teorie, la capacità criticare e di riflessione sulla validità della teoria e l’elaborazione di strategie per una migliore implementazione.
Per questi motivi, la parte del caso studio mira a sviluppare capacità di giudizio prevalentemente critico. Invece le domande aperte verificano una corretta acquisizione di conoscenze e la capacità di applicare queste conoscenze a casi aziendali concreti. Verranno comunque valutate anche le capacità comunicative, sotto forma di chiarezza e flusso logico e struttura della risposta.
Le prove in itinere e la prova di esame saranno valutata secondo i seguenti criteri:
Non idoneo: importanti carenze e/o inaccuratezze nella conoscenza e comprensione degli argomenti; limitate capacità di analisi e sintesi, frequenti generalizzazioni e limitate capacità critiche e di giudizio, gli argomenti sono esposti in modo non coerente e con linguaggio inappropriato;
18-20: conoscenza e comprensione degli argomenti appena sufficiente con possibili generalizzazioni e imperfezioni; capacità di analisi sintesi e autonomia di giudizio sufficienti, gli argomenti sono esposti in modo frequentemente poco coerente e con un linguaggio poco appropriato/tecnico;
21-23: Conoscenza e comprensione degli argomenti routinaria; Capacità di analisi e sintesi corrette con argomentazione logica sufficientemente coerente e linguaggio appropriato/tecnico
24-26: Discreta conoscenza e comprensione degli argomenti; buone capacità di analisi e sintesi con argomentazioni espresse in modo rigoroso ma con un linguaggio non sempre appropriato/tecnico.
27-29: Conoscenza e comprensione degli argomenti completa; notevoli capacità di analisi e sintesi. Buona autonomia di giudizio. Argomenti esposti in modo rigoroso e con linguaggio appropriato/tecnico
30-30L: Ottimo livello di conoscenza e comprensione approfondita degli argomenti. Ottime capacità di analisi, di sintesi e di autonomia di giudizio. Argomentazioni espresse in modo originale e con linguaggio tecnico appropriato.
Exam Rules
For this reason, the exam is carried out in two ways:
1.Mid-term assessments (Valutazione in Itinere)
The mid-term evaluations (optional) are functional to the development of an entrepreneurial project step by step.
In particular, there will be 3 evaluation:
1. The construction of a business idea using effectuation theory (second week)
2. The creation of a CANVAS business model (fourth week)
3. The structuring of value propositions specifically with the Value Map model (fifth week)
The assessments are optional and not mandatory, but if students want to use this possibility, they will need to participate in all three evaluations. This will make up 50% of the final grade (so about 12.5% each). Each assessment will be graded out of thirty with the criteria described below. It students do not want to participate in the mid-term evaluations, this is possible and simply the final grade is determined by the written exam only.
For these reasons, the mid-term assessments aim to verify a correct acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases and the ability to express critical judgments of one's own. Communication skills will also be assessed, in the form of clarity, logical flow, and structure of presentations/essay.
2. Written exam (two hours)
The written exam will contain one case study/hypothetical situation related to an entrepreneurial idea and four open questions about topics covered in this module as indicated in the syllabus. For the case study/hypothetical situation, the students need to interpret the real context offered and elaborate personal strategies, according to the theory, to solve the problem. The problem presented will be the creation of a start-up and the students will need to explain the reasons for the choice and the description of its characteristics, in terms of business model (CANVAS) and value propositions. From exam to exam the only change will be the specificity of the context offered and a major emphasis on one of the highlighted elements. If students have opted for the mid-term assessments, this first part of the written exam is exempted and considered as fulfilled with the assessment developed.
For the open questions, excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theory and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of the theory, and elaboration of strategies to a better implementation are also evaluated. For these reasons, the case study part aims to develop abilities in making critical judgments mostly; in addition to that, the open questions verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
The mid-terms assessments and the written exam will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Not Successful: important deficiencies and/or inaccuracies in the knowledge and understanding of the topics; limited ability to analyse and synthesise, frequent generalisations and limited critical and judgement skills, the topics are set out inconsistently and with inappropriate language;
18-20: Barely sufficient knowledge and understanding of the topics with possible generalisations and imperfections; sufficient capacity for analysis synthesis and autonomy of judgement, topics are frequently exposed in an incoherent way and with inappropriate/technical language;
21-23: Routine knowledge and understanding of topics; ability to analyse and synthesise correctly with sufficiently coherent logical argumentation and appropriate/technical language;
24-26: Fair knowledge and understanding of the topics; Good analytical and synthetic skills with arguments expressed in a rigorous manner but with language that is not always appropriate/technical;
27-29: Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the topics; considerable capacity for analysis and synthesis. Good autonomy of judgement. Arguments presented in a rigorous manner and with appropriate/technical language;
30-30L: Excellent level of knowledge and thorough understanding of topics. Excellent analytical and synthetic skills and independent judgement. Arguments expressed in an original manner and with appropriate technical language.
Obiettivi Formativi
Questo corso mira a offrire una visione completa del processo imprenditoriale, comprendendo quindi come l'imprenditorialità e le idee imprenditoriali possono essere stimolate, formulate, come possono essere trasformate in un modello di business strutturato e infine in imprese e startup. Questo obiettivo viene raggiunto attraverso un approccio di apprendimento esperienziale che consente l'applicazione di strumenti e tecniche analitiche per lo sviluppo di una nuova impresa o una nuova idea imprenditoriale, la strategia di un modello di business e l'agire imprenditoriale. Il ruolo di primo piano dell'imprenditorialità in qualsiasi unità organizzativa o sociale è stato ben documentato e messo in evidenza per anni da uomini d'affari, politici e decisori politici. Allora, perché l'Europa, e quindi l'Italia e gli altri Paesi europei, lottano ancora su queste questioni? Il confronto con gli Stati Uniti o un altro paese leader mondiale mostra che l'Europa come attore principale in relazione alle invenzioni e allo sviluppo scientifico, ma è in ritardo nel concretizzare quelli in attività redditizie e iniziative redditizie. Ciò richiede una rinnovata attenzione agli studenti e all'intero sistema di istruzione superiore, che possono formare le future generazioni di imprenditori. Avere un'idea brillante può essere una cosa comune, ma creare e far crescere una nuova impresa attorno a questo o implementarla in un contesto organizzativo è un compito che pochi individui sono in grado di realizzare. Questo modulo è stato progettato in modo tale da stimolare gli studenti ad agire in modo più innovativo e ad essere agenti di cambiamento di realtà consolidate o a intraprendere carriere come proprietari/manager, fondamento di una nuova impresa.
OBIETTIVI FORMATIVI
Da uno sguardo più attento al processo imprenditoriale emerge un complesso dominio concettuale di analisi, che mostra intrinseche interdipendenze con altre aree disciplinari, con un innegabile orientamento pratico, aprendosi ad appassionanti scoperte e dibattiti teorici ed empirici.
Ciò implica la necessità di un'impalcatura teorica di base per aumentare la conoscenza e la comprensione degli studenti sugli strumenti rilevanti per la creazione di idee imprenditoriali e imprenditoriali. Tuttavia, oltre a questo, ci si aspetta che uno sviluppo olistico e personale avvenga direttamente nella sfera personale degli studenti e questo è un risultato ancora più importante. In effetti, il modulo vuole fondamentalmente stimolare e sviluppare la capacità degli studenti di pensare in modo innovativo e creativo alle idee di business e agire in modo imprenditoriale per realizzare queste idee. Per questi motivi, il corso si baserà principalmente su esercitazioni pratiche e simulazioni, utilizzando un approccio di apprendimento esperienziale.
Il corso si articola in tre sezioni logicamente consecutive che seguono la struttura di un processo imprenditoriale:
• Sezione I. Creare idee imprenditoriali: agire imprenditoriale
• Sezione II. Strutturare le idee di business: il business model
• Sezione III. Concretizzare idee imprenditoriali: attrarre risorse
Al completamento con successo di questo modulo, presupponendo la frequenza, la partecipazione attiva e il completamento di tutte le valutazioni formative progettate durante il modulo, gli studenti dovrebbero essere in grado di:
CONOSCENZA E COMPRENSIONE:
1. Acquisire e dimostrare una buona comprensione dei concetti generali relativi all'imprenditorialità e alla creazione di idee imprenditoriali in particolare:
1.1 Concetti di base dell'agire imprenditoriale e approcci;
1.2 Il processo imprenditoriale, dall'individuazione dell'opportunità alla crescita dell'impresa;
1.3 Il business model, suoi elementi costitutivi e affinamenti;
1.4. Strumenti per attrarre risorse come il business plan e metodi per accumulare denaro (finanza imprenditoriale).
APPLICARE CONOSCENZE:
2. Essere in grado di sviluppare idee innovative
3. Mostrare la capacità di interpretare ed elaborare un business model, con implicite logiche interne
AUTONOMIA DI GIUDIZIO
3. Essere in grado di elaborare strategie e piani autonomi per sviluppare e realizzare idee imprenditoriali.
4. Mostrare capacità relazionali e imprenditoriali per confrontarsi con situazioni concrete in modo da individuare o creare opportunità
ABILITÀ DI COMUNICAZIONE:
5. Capacità di presentazione e pitching in ragione degli incarichi settimanali, presentazione finale ed esame orale.
CAPACITÀ DI APPRENDERE
6. Capacità di avanzare negli studi di natura imprenditoriale e manageriale
Learning Objectives
This course aims at offering a comprehensive view of the entrepreneurial process, so understanding how entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ideas can be stimulated, formulated, how can then be turned into structured business model and finally into businesses and start-ups. This aim is fulfilled through an experiential learning approach that allows the application of tools and analytical techniques for developing a new venture or new business idea, strategizing a business model, and acting entrepreneurially. The prominent role of entrepreneurship in any organizational or social unit has been well-documented and in the bulk-eye for years from business people and politicians and policy-maker. So, why does Europe, and thus Italy and other European countries still struggle in such matters? The comparison with U.S. or other global leader country shows that Europe as a top player in relation to inventions and scientific development but lags behind in concretize those in viable businesses and profitable initiative.
This calls for a renewed attention to students and the whole higher education system, that may form future generations of entrepreneurs. Having a brilliant idea can be a common thing but creating and growing a new venture around this or implement it in an organizational setting is a task that few individuals are able to accomplish. The entrepreneurship and innovation module has been designed in a way that students be stimulated to act more innovatively and being change agent of established realities or to pursue careers as owner/managers, foundation of new venture.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A complex conceptual domain of analysis emerges from a closer look at the entrepreneurial process, demonstrating inherent interdependences with other subject areas, with an undeniable practical orientation, opening up to exciting theoretical and empirical discoveries and debates.
This implies the necessity of a basic theoretical scaffolding to increase knowledge and understanding of students about relevant tools for entrepreneurship and business ideas creations. However, beyond this, a holistic and personal development is expected to take place directly in the personal students’ sphere and this is an even more important outcome. As a matter of fact, the module fundamentally wants to stimulate and develop students’ capacity to think innovatively and creatively about business ideas and act entrepreneurially to carry out these ideas. For these reasons, the course will be principally based on practical exercises and simulations, using an experiential learning approach.
The course is divided into three logically consecutive sections that follow the structure of an entrepreneurial process:
• Section I. Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
• Section II. Structuring business ideas: The business model
• Section III. Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
Upon successful completion of this module, assuming attendance, active participation, and completion of all formative assessments designed throughout the module, the students should be able to:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
1. Acquire and demonstrate a good understanding of the general concepts related to entrepreneurship and business ideas creation specifically:
1.1 Basic concepts of entrepreneurial acting and approaches;
1.2 The entrepreneurial process, from spotting the opportunity to the growth of the venture;
1.3 The business model, its constituting elements and refinement;
1.4. Tools for attracting resources as the business plan and methods to accrue money (entrepreneurial finance).
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE:
2. Being able to develop innovative ideas
3. Showing the ability to interpret and elaborate a business model, with implied internal logics
MAKING JUDGEMENTS
3. Being able to elaborate autonomous strategies and plans to develop and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
4. Showing relational and entrepreneurial abilities to engage with concrete situations so to spot or create opportunities
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
5. Presentation and pitching skills in reasons of the weekly assignments, final presentation, and oral exam.
LEARNING SKILL
6. Ability to move forward in studies of an entrepreneurial managerial nature.
Prerequisiti
Prerequisites
Programma
1.Seminari 1
2.Compiti 2
Sezione I
Creare idee imprenditoriali: agire imprenditoriale
1. Introduzione e mappa concettuale del modulo
Syllabus, Slides pack 1, Pellegrini et al. (2021)
1. Che cos'è l'imprenditorialità?
2. Decostruire l'imprenditorialità
2. Riconoscimento dell'opportunità
Slides pack 2 Shane & Venkataraman (2000), Sarasvathy (2001), Alvarez & Barney (2007)
1. Presentazioni di concetti imprenditoriali
2. Idea imprenditoriale efficace
3. Processo imprenditoriale
Slides pack 3, Bhave (1994)
1. Presentazioni efficaci di idee imprenditoriali
4. Tecniche creative: Sei Cappelli
Slides pack 4
1. Esercizio dei Sei Cappelli
Sessione II
Strutturare le idee di business: il business model
5 Canvas
Slides pack 5, Business model generator, Ch.1
1. Canvas business case
2. Canvas ideas
6 Le value propostions
Slides pack 6, Value propositions, Ch.1
1. Value propositions business case
2. Value propositions ideas
7 Strategie per il business model
Slides pack 7, Business model generator, Ch.4
1. Business model refinement business case
2. SWOT e blue ocean strategy refinements
8 Zoom in & out business model
1. Business model creation
Sessione 3
Concretizzare le idee di business: attrarre risorse
9 Business plan
Slides pack 8
1. Value propositions business case
10 Entrepreneurial finance
Slides pack 8
1. Platform pitch
2. Platform pitch video
11 Presentazioni del modello di business di gruppo
12 Presentazioni del modello di business di gruppo
1. Seminari ed esercitazioni svolte in classe.
2. Compiti a casa (attività di apprendimento svolte al di fuori della classe, di solito in gruppi)
Program
Topic
Material
1.Seminar activities 1
2.Assignments 2
Section I
Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
1 Introduction and Conceptual map of the module
Syllabus, Slides pack 1, Pellegrini et al. (2021)
1. What is entrepreneurship?
2. Deconstructing Entrepreneurship
2 Opportunity recognition
Slides pack 2 Shane & Venkataraman (2000), Sarasvathy (2001), Alvarez & Barney (2007)
1. Entrepreneurial concept presentations
2. Effectual business idea
3 Entrepreneurial process
Slides pack 3, Bhave (1994)
1. Effectual business idea presentations
4 Creativity techniques: Six Hats
Slides pack 4
1. Six hats exercise
Section II
Structuring business ideas: The business model
5 Canvas
Slides pack 5, Business model generator, Ch.1
1. Canvas business case
2. Canvas ideas
6 Value propositions
Slides pack 6, Value propositions, Ch.1
1. Value propositions business case
2. Value propositions ideas
7 Strategies for business model
Slides pack 7, Business model generator, Ch.4
1. Business model refinement business case
2. SWOT e blue ocean strategy refinements
8 Zoom in and out business model
1. Business model creation
Section III
Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
9 Business plan
Slides pack 8
1. Value propositions business case
10 Entrepreneurial finance
Slides pack 8
1. Platform pitch
2. Platform pitch video
11 Group Business model presentations
12 Group Business model presentations
1. Seminar and exercise activities performed in class.
2. Home assignments (Learning activities performed outside the class, usually in groups)
Testi Adottati
• OSTERWALDER A., & PIGNEUR Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
• OSTERWALDER A., PIGNEUR Y., SMITH A., BERNARDA G., & PAPADAKOS L. (2014), Value Propositions Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
PROGRAMMA DI STUDIO DEGLI STUDENTI FREQUENTANTI
• Per il libro Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010) le seguenti parti devono essere studiare per l’esame:
1. Capitolo 1: Canvas (pp. 12-51)
2. Capitolo 4: Strategy (pp. 177-241)
3. Materiale di revisione: gli altri capitoli del libro
• Per il libro Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) le seguenti parti devono essere studiate per l’esame:
1. Capitolo 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
2. Materiale di revisione: Capitolo 2: Design (pp. 64-171)
PROGRAMMA DI STUDIO DEGLI STUDENTI NON FREQUENTANTI
• Per il libro Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010), l’intero libro deve essere studiato per l’esame.
• Per il libro Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) le seguenti parti devono essere studiate per l’esame:
1. Capitolo 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
2. Capitolo 2: Design (pp. 64-171)
B) Letture obbligatorie per tutti gli studenti (verranno fornite sulla piattaforma web):
• Pellegrini M.M., Ciappei C., Marzi G., Dabić M., & Egri C.P. (2021), A Philosophical Approach to Entrepreneurship Education: A model based on Kantian and Aristotelian thought, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 42(1/2), 203-231.
• Shane S., Venkataraman S. (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”. Academy of Management Review, 25(1): 217-226.
• 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.
• Alvarez, S. A., & Barney, J. B. (2007). Discovery and creation: Alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1‐2), 11-26.
• Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of business venturing, 9(3), 223-242.
• Dushnitsky, G., & Fitza, M. A. (2018). Are we missing the platforms for the crowd? Comparing investment drivers across multiple crowdfunding platforms. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 10, e00100.
Slides e altro materiale saranno disponibili sul sito web del modulo. Il caricamento del materiale verrà effettuato settimanalmente.
Le slide rappresentano solo un supporto per facilitare e riassumere concetti e argomenti e per guidare lo studente nello studio del materiale. UTILIZZARE SOLO LA SLIDES NON garantisce una conoscenza sufficiente per superare con successo l’esame.
Books
A) Textbooks:
• OSTERWALDER A., & PIGNEUR Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
• OSTERWALDER A., PIGNEUR Y., SMITH A., BERNARDA G., & PAPADAKOS L. (2014), Value Propositions Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
ATTENDING STUDENTS’ STUDY PROGRAM
• As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
1. Ch. 1: Canvas (pp. 12-51)
2. Ch. 4: Strategy (pp. 177-241)
3. Review material: Other chapters
• As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
1. Ch.1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
2. Review material: Ch.2: Design (pp. 64-171)
NON ATTENDING STUDENTS’ STUDY PROGRAM
• As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010), the whole book needs to be prepared for the exam.
• As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
1. Ch.1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
2. Ch.2: Design (pp. 64-171)
B) Mandatory readings for all students (will be provided on the web platform):
• Pellegrini M.M., Ciappei C., Marzi G., Dabić M., & Egri C.P. (2021), A Philosophical Approach to Entrepreneurship Education: A model based on Kantian and Aristotelian thought, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 42(1/2), 203-231.
• Shane S., Venkataraman S. (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”. Academy of Management Review, 25(1): 217-226.
• 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.
• Alvarez, S. A., & Barney, J. B. (2007). Discovery and creation: Alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1‐2), 11-26.
• Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of business venturing, 9(3), 223-242.
• Dushnitsky, G., & Fitza, M. A. (2018). Are we missing the platforms for the crowd? Comparing investment drivers across multiple crowdfunding platforms. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 10, e00100.
Slides and other material will be available on the module web site. The upload of the material will be done weekly.
The slides represent only a support to facilitate you in summarising concepts and topics and to guide you in studying the material. USING THE SLIDE ONLY WILL NOT grant you enough knowledge to an effective and successful preparation for the exam.
Bibliografia
• Kuratko, Donald F. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S. (2009). New Venture Management: The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap. Upper Saddle River (NJ), Pearson Prentice Hall.
• Kim C. W. and Mauborgne R. (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Boston (MA), Harvard Business School Press.
• Blank, S. (2017). Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard business review.
• Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of management Review, 21(1), 135-172.
• Sahlman W. (1996) “Some thoughts on business plans”, HBS, 14 Nov 1996
• Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach. Journal of business venturing, 20(1), 71-91.
Bibliography
• Kuratko, Donald F. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S. (2009). New Venture Management: The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap. Upper Saddle River (NJ), Pearson Prentice Hall.
• Kim C. W. and Mauborgne R. (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Boston (MA), Harvard Business School Press.
• Blank, S. (2017). Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard business review.
• Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of management Review, 21(1), 135-172.
• Sahlman W. (1996) “Some thoughts on business plans”, HBS, 14 Nov 1996
• Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach. Journal of business venturing, 20(1), 71-91.
Modalità di svolgimento
La lezione frontale sarà utilizzata solo per offrire una panoramica sui concetti teorici necessari per facilitare la comprensione dell'esperienza. Tuttavia, questo metodo di insegnamento rappresenta solo una parte limitata del modulo e le lezioni frontali non saranno caratterizzate solo dal trasferimento di conoscenze e concetti, ma piuttosto da una forte interazione tra il docente e gli studenti.
La parte sostanziale del modulo sarà invece focalizzata su attività centrate sullo studente e guidate dallo studente, con una serie di strumenti a supporto del processo di apprendimento esperienziale. Per offrire agli studenti una reale possibilità di sviluppo personale e un assaggio di quella che potrebbe essere una reale situazione aziendale, verranno fornite molte opportunità di lavoro di gruppo e riflessione critica, ad es. Saranno organizzati esercizi, simulazioni, casi aziendali e presentazioni. Gli studenti dovranno dimostrare capacità di studio indipendenti e iniziativa personale in workshop e seminari, la maggior parte dei quali sono forniti come forum di discussione. Pertanto, c'è una forte enfasi sul dialogo e sull'interazione tra il professore e gli studenti anche per condividere idee ed esperienze. Questi seminari attingeranno molto dall'esperienza e dalle conoscenze degli studenti. Ecco perché il successo dei seminari dipende dalla volontà degli studenti di partecipare. Nella preparazione dei seminari, gli studenti dovrebbero garantire:
• Utilizzo di analisi concettuali pertinenti nell'affrontare le questioni fondamentali di compiti/domande/casi di studio;
• Dimostrare la comprensione dei materiali di lettura rilevanti ed essenziali e, se del caso, anche evidenziare prospettive alternative sulle questioni coinvolte nella discussione;
• Incoraggiare il coinvolgimento globale degli altri membri del gruppo seminariale.
Gli studenti frequentanti sono devono partecipare attivamente a tutte le lezioni e ad impegnarsi costantemente con i compiti di lavoro di gruppo, poiché ciò faciliterà la creazione del saggio finale.
Teaching methods
The frontal lecture will be used only to offer a panoramic view on the theoretical concepts necessary facilitate the understanding of the experience. However, this teaching method represents only a limited part of the module and the lectures will be not just characterized by the transfer of knowledge and concepts but rather a strong interaction between the professor and the students.
The substantial part of the module instead will be focused on student-centered and student-led activities, with a series of tools to support the experiential learning process. To offer to students a true possibility of personal development and a glimpse of what could be a real business situation, many opportunities of group working and critical reflection will be provided, e.g. exercises, simulations, business cases, and presentations will be organized. Students will be expected to demonstrate independent study skills and personal initiative in workshops and seminars, mostly of which are provided as a forum for discussion. As such, there is a strong emphasis on dialogue and interaction between the professor and the students also to share ideas and experiences. These seminars will draw heavily from the students’ own experience and knowledge. This is why the success of the seminars lies upon the students’ willingness to participate. In preparing for seminars, students should ensure:
• Using relevant conceptual analysis in addressing the core issues of tasks/questions/case studies;
• Demonstrating understanding of the relevant and essential reading materials and, where proper, also highlighting alternative perspectives on the issues involved in the discussion;
• Encouraging the overall involvement of the others member of the seminar group.
Attending students must actively participate to all lectures and constantly engage with group work assignments, since this will facilitate the creation of the final essay.
Regolamento Esame
STUDENTI FREQUENTANTI
Per essere considerato uno studente frequentante, il primo passo è la valutazione della frequenza, per favore vedere lo specifico paragrafo. Per completare il portfolio degli studenti, ogni gruppo preparerà una presentazione su un’idea imprenditoriale (valutazione formativa).
1. Valutazione formativa (nessun voto formale)
Tutti gli studenti regolarmente frequentanti sono gentilmente invitati a creare gruppi di lavoro (MINIMO 3 PERSONE – MASSIMO 4/5 PERSONE), direttamente dalla seconda settimana. Lo stesso gruppo dovrebbe svolgere tutte le attività in classe e i compiti a casa.
Tutti questi incarichi formativi mirano a dimostrare la conoscenza e la padronanza delle teorie, la capacità di applicarle a situazioni di vita reale vissute durante il corso dai gruppi, di esprimere giudizi e riflessioni fondati, e non da ultimo di stimolare capacità relazionali per affrontare l'ambiente sociale e gli altri.
Alla fine del modulo, i gruppi saranno invitati a presentare alla classe il loro lavoro finale. Solitamente la presentazione sarà un lavoro elaborato da presentare in 45 minuti strutturato come segue:
1. Apertura con un video pitch, più una o più diapositive introduttive per esprimere chiaramente l'idea di business, ovvero presentare l'idea.
2. Prima parte: il CANVAS aziendale nel suo insieme, ovvero la descrizione e la spiegazione del CANVAS per l'idea imprenditoriale
3. Seconda parte: value proposition e value map, ovvero la descrizione e spiegazione della mappa del valore creata per l'idea di business.
4. Terza parte: strategie di raffinamento, ovvero la descrizione e spiegazione dell'analisi SWOT e i possibili aggiustamenti in relazione ad una strategia blue ocean.
5. Alcune slide di chiusura con le osservazioni finali, ovvero la spiegazione dell'implementazione del modello di business e del motivo per cui avrà successo.
Ogni studente sarà coinvolto nella presentazione vera e propria e nella sua preparazione. La presentazione dovrebbe essere progettata per integrare i concetti appresi durante il modulo.
Questa presentazione per gli studenti frequentanti rappresenta solo un riassunto/riassunto di alcuni esercizi e presentazioni, di natura formativa, già svolti durante il modulo.
Tuttavia, la presentazione finale e il resto del lavoro del corso aiuteranno lo studente a sviluppare le proprie capacità di comunicazione sia in termini di parlare in pubblico che di preparazione di materiali scritti, in modo chiaro e logico. Tuttavia, anche la presentazione non sarà valutata formalmente ma servirà come base per la prova orale.
Questa valutazione formativa mira a verificare una corretta acquisizione delle conoscenze, la capacità di applicare le conoscenze a casi aziendali concreti e la capacità di esprimere giudizi critici propri degli studenti.
2. Elaborato di gruppo (Esame scritto)
L’esame scritto è una relazione di gruppo che deve essere consegnata durante la prima sessione di esami (Aprile). La prova consiste in una relazione collettiva che rifletta sull’idea di Business creata e presentata per la prova formativa. La relazione dovrebbe essere almeno 5000 e dovrebbe commentare gli stessi punti della presentazione:
1. Un paragrafo introduttivo sull’idea del pitch
2. Prima parte: descrizione e spiegazione del CANVAS dell’idea
3. Seconda parte: descrizione e spiegazione della value map (mappa di valore) dell’idea
4. Terza parte: descrizione e spiegazione della SWOT analysis e possibili aggiustamenti in relazione ad una strategia blue ocean.
5. Quarta parte: Spiegazione dell’implementazione dell’idea e del perché sarà di successo.
Per questi motivi, la prova scritta (la relazione di gruppo) mira a verificare una corretta acquisizione delle conoscenze, la capacità di applicare tali conoscenze a casi aziendali concreti e la capacità di esprimere giudizi critici propri. Saranno comunque valutate anche le capacità comunicative, sotto forma di chiarezza, flusso logico, e struttura dell’elaborato.
2. Esame orale
Una prova orale individuale in cui gli studenti saranno chiamati a commentare e integrare i concetti del modulo nell'esperienza reale presentata durante la valutazione formativa. Per gli studenti frequentanti, almeno una domanda sarà direttamente basata sulla valutazione formativa (presentazione di gruppo) svolta durante il modulo. Eventuali domande specifiche verranno indirizzate alle varie sezioni della presentazione, ovvero sulle motivazioni e le evidenze che hanno portato il gruppo a compiere le scelte finali e la soluzione suggerita per il modello di business. Tali domande hanno anche un contenuto teorico ma si basano sulla presentazione di ciascun gruppo. Verrà attribuito un buon voto a chi sarà in grado di analizzare criticamente le decisioni prese dal gruppo.
Oltre a ciò, almeno una domanda sarà anche strutturata come domande aperte/situazioni ipotetiche sulla base del materiale rilevato e degli studi durante il modulo. Ottime risposte sono quelle con un opportuno mix tra teorie ed elementi teorici, pertinenti alle domande, e pratica, ovvero esempi aziendali in cui la teoria può essere applicata. Eppure, questi sono altri aspetti apprezzati da includere in un'ottima risposta: connessioni teoriche tra diversi argomenti/teorie, capacità di criticare e riflettere sulla validità di una teoria, e l'elaborazione di strategie per offrire una soluzione.
La prova orale, quindi, verifica una corretta acquisizione delle conoscenze, la capacità di applicare tali conoscenze a casi aziendali concreti e la capacità di giudizio personale. Verranno comunque valutate anche le capacità comunicative, sotto forma di chiarezza e flusso logico e struttura della risposta.
STUDENTI NON FREQUENTANTI
1. Esame Scritto (individuale durata 2 ore)
La prova scritta conterrà un caso studio/situazione ipotetica relativa a un’idea o situazione imprenditoriale e quattro domande aperte su argomenti trattati in questo modulo come indicato nel programma. Per il caso di studio/situazione ipotetica, gli studenti devono interpretare il contesto reale offerto ed elaborare strategie personali, secondo quanto appreso dalla teoria, per risolvere il problema. Per le domande aperte, ottime risposte sono quelle con un giusto mix tra teoria e pratica, ovvero esempi di business in cui la teoria può essere applicata. Tuttavia, vengono valutate anche le connessioni teoriche tra diversi argomenti/teorie, la capacità criticare e di riflessione sulla validità della teoria e l’elaborazione di strategie per una migliore implementazione. Per questi motivi, la parte del caso studio mira a sviluppare capacità di giudizio prevalentemente critico. Invece le domande aperte verificano una corretta acquisizione di conoscenze e la capacità di applicare queste conoscenze a casi aziendali concreti. Verranno comunque valutate anche le capacità comunicative, sotto forma di chiarezza e flusso logico e struttura della risposta.
Exam Rules
ATTENDING STUDENTS
To be considered an attending student, the first step is the evaluation of the attendance, please see the dedicated paragraph. To complete your student portfolio, each group will prepare a presentation about a business idea (formative assessment).
1. Formative assessment (no formal grade)
All regular attending students are kindly invited to create working groups (MINIMUM 3 PERSONS – MAXIMUM 4/5 PERSONS), directly from the second week. The same group should perform all the in-class activities and home assignments.
All these formative assignments aim at demonstrating knowledge and mastery of the theories, ability in apply them to real-life situations experienced during the course by the groups, making sound judgements and reflections, and not least stimulate relational capabilities to deal with the social environment and the others.
At the end of the module, groups will be asked to present to the class their final work. Usually the presentation will be an elaborated work to be presented in 45 minutes structured as follow:
1. Overture with a pitch video, plus one or more introductory slides to clearly express the business idea, i.e. pitching the idea.
2. First part: business CANVAS as a whole, i.e. the description and explanation of the CANVAS for the business idea
3. Second part: Value propositions and value map, i.e. the description and explanation of the value map created for the business idea.
4. Third part: refinement strategies, i.e. the description and explanation of the SWOT analysis and the possible adjustments in relation to a blue ocean strategy.
5. Few closing slides with final remarks, i.e. explanation of the implementation of the business model and why it will be successful.
Each student will be involved in the actual presentation and its preparation. The presentation should be designed to integrate concepts learnt during the module.
This presentation for attending students represents only a recapitulation/summary of several exercises and presentations, formative in nature, already done during the module.
Yet, the final presentation and the rest of the course work will help student to develop their communication skills both in terms of public-speaking and preparation of written materials, in a clear and logical way. However, also presentation will not be formally evaluated but it will serve as basis for the oral exam.
This formative assessment aims to verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply knowledge to concrete business cases, and the capacity of making students own critical judgments.
2. Group essay (Written exam)
The written exam is an essay, a group work to be submitted during the first exam period (April). The assessment consists in essay based on a collective reflection about the business idea did for the presentation. The essay should be at least 5000 words and should express and comment the same objects of the presentation:
1. An introductory paragraph about pitching the idea.
2. First part: the description and explanation of the CANVAS for the business idea.
3. Second part: the description and explanation of the value map for the business idea.
4. Third part: the description and explanation of the SWOT analysis and the possible adjustments in relation to a blue ocean strategy.
5. Fourth part: Explanation of the implementation of the business model and why it will be successful.
For these reasons, the written exam (the group essay) aims to verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and the capacity of making own critical judgments. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity, logical flow, and structure of the essay elaborated will be also evaluated.
3. Oral exam
An individual oral exam where students will be asked to comment and integrate the concepts of the module into the real experience presented during the formative assessment. For attending students, at least one question will be directly based on the formative assessment (group presentation) done during the module. Possible specific questions will be directed to the several section of the presentation, or on motivation and evidences that led the group to make the final choices and solution suggested for the business model. Such questions have also a theoretical content but are based on the presentation of each group. A good grade will be granted to those able to critical analyse the decisions made by the group.
In addition to this, at least one question will be also structured as an open questions/hypothetical situations based on the material surveyed and studies during the module. Excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theories and theoretical elements, pertinent to the questions, and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, these are other appreciated aspects to be included in an excellent answer: theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of a theory, and the elaboration of strategies to offer a solution.
Thus, the oral exam verifies a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and personal judgment capacity. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
1. Individual written exam (2 hours)
The written exam will contain one case study/hypothetical situation related to an entrepreneurial idea or a real case and four open questions about topics covered in this module as indicated in the syllabus. For the case study/hypothetical situation, the students need to interpret the real context offered and elaborate personal strategies, according to the theory, to solve the problem. For the open questions, excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theory and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of the theory, and elaboration of strategies to a better implementation are also evaluated. For these reasons, the case study part aims to develop abilities in making critical judgments mostly; in addition to that, the open questions verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
Aggiornato A.A. 2021-2022
Entrepreneurship and Business Model (ENT & BM)
(Prof. Massimiliano Pellegrini)
Responsible for the module and teaching assistants:
Prof. Massimiliano Pellegrini
Email: massimiliano.pellegrini@uniroma2.it
Office Hours: Thursday 4pm- 6pm*
*In relation to the Anti-Covid regulation the office hours will be done on the Microsoft TEAMS platform. Nevertheless, booking an appointment via email is always necessary and due to the flexibility of the platform, the professor may arrange also integrative sessions.
Room: 3C-4, 3rd floor Building B
Please book an appointment via email also for other time
Pre-requisites for the Course:
None.
Course description
This course aims at offering a comprehensive view of the entrepreneurial process, so understanding how entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ideas can be stimulated, formulated, how can then be turned into structured business model and finally into businesses and start-ups. This aim is fulfilled through an experiential learning approach that allows the application of tools and analytical techniques for developing a new venture or new business idea, strategizing a business model, and acting entrepreneurially. The prominent role of entrepreneurship in any organizational or social unit has been well-documented and in the bulk-eye for years from business people and politicians and policy-maker. So, why does Europe, and thus Italy and other European countries still struggle in such matters? The comparison with U.S. or other global leader country shows that Europe as a top player in relation to inventions and scientific development but lags behind in concretize those in viable businesses and profitable initiative.
This calls for a renewed attention to students and the whole higher education system, that may form future generations of entrepreneurs. Having a brilliant idea can be a common thing but creating and growing a new venture around this or implement it in an organizational setting is a task that few individuals are able to accomplish. The entrepreneurship and innovation module has been designed in a way that students be stimulate to act more innovatively and being change agent of established realities or to pursue careers as owner/managers, foundation of new venture.
Learning Objectives
A complex conceptual domain of analysis emerges from a closer look at the entrepreneurial process, demonstrating inherent interdependences with other subject areas, with an undeniable practical orientation, opening up to exciting theoretical and empirical discoveries and debates.
This implies the necessity of a basic theoretical scaffolding to increase knowledge and understanding of students about relevant tools for entrepreneurship and business ideas creations. However, beyond this, a holistic and personal development is expected to take place directly in the personal students’ sphere and this is an even more important outcome. As a matter of fact, the module fundamentally wants to stimulate and develop students’ capacity to think innovatively and creatively about business ideas and act entrepreneurially to carry out these ideas. For these reasons, the course will be principally based on practical exercises and simulations, using an experiential learning approach.
The course is divided into three logically consecutive sections that follow the structure of an entrepreneurial process:
- Section I. Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
- Section II. Structuring business ideas: The business model
- Section III. Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
Upon successful completion of this module, assuming attendance, active participation, and completion of all formative assessments designed throughout the module, the students should be able to:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
- Acquire and demonstrate a good understanding of the general concepts related to entrepreneurship and business ideas creation specifically:
1.1 Basic concepts of entrepreneurial acting and approaches;
1.2 The entrepreneurial process, from spotting the opportunity to the growth of the venture;
1.3 The business model, its constituting elements and refinement;
1.4. Tools for attracting resources as the business plan and methods to accrue money (entrepreneurial finance).
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE:
- Being able to develop innovative ideas
- Showing the ability to interpret and elaborate a business model, with implied internal logics
MAKING JUDGEMENTS
- Being able to elaborate autonomous strategies and plans to develop and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
- Showing relational and entrepreneurial abilities to engage with concrete situations so to spot or create opportunities
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
- Presentation and pitching skills in reasons of the weekly assignments, final presentation, and oral exam.
Teaching methods
The whole module will blend formal lectures, indeed a few, cases, workshops and videos and group work. It will place emphasis on developing critical skills of analysis, strategic choices and implementation of innovative business ideas. Methods will include critical reading and thinking; engagement with new business ideas/opportunities from case studies and presentations/pitches; conceptual development of models and theories of entrepreneurial practice; peer-interaction; secondary data research and analysis.
The frontal lecture will be used only to offer a panoramic view on the theoretical concepts necessary facilitate the understanding of the experience. However, this teaching method represents only a limited part of the module and the lectures will be not just characterized by the transfer of knowledge and concepts but rather a strong interaction between the professor and the students.
The substantial part of the module instead will be focused on student-centered and student-led activities, with a series of tools to support the experiential learning process. To offer to students a true possibility of personal development and a glimpse of what could be a real business situation, many opportunity of group working and critical reflection will be provided, e.g. exercises, simulations, business cases, and presentations will be organized. Students will be expected to demonstrate independent study skills and personal initiative in workshops and seminars, mostly of which are provided as a forum for discussion. As such, there is a strong emphasis on dialogue and interaction between the professor and the students also to share ideas and experiences. These seminars will draw heavily from the students’ own experience and knowledge. This is why the success of the seminars lies upon the students’ willingness to participate. In preparing for seminars, students should ensure:
- Using relevant conceptual analysis in addressing the core issues of tasks/questions/case studies;
- Demonstrating understanding of the relevant and essential reading materials and, where proper, also highlighting alternative perspectives on the issues involved in the discussion;
- Encouraging the overall involvement of the others member of the seminar group.
Attending students are strongly encouraged to actively participate to all lectures and constantly engage with group work assignments, since this will facilitate the creation of the final essay.
In addition, attending students must execute ALL home assignment.
Main References
- A) Textbooks:
- Osterwalder A., & Pigneur Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
- Osterwalder A., Pigneur Y., Smith A., Bernarda G., & Papadakos (2014), Value Propositions Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
Attending students’ study program
- As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- Ch. 1: Canvas (pp. 12-51)
- Ch. 4: Strategy (pp. 177-241)
- As review material Other chapters
- As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
- Review material Ch.2: Design (pp. 64-171)
Non Attending students’ study program
- As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010), the whole book needs to be prepared for the exam.
- As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
- 2: Design (pp. 64-171)
- B) Mandatory readings for all students (will be provided on the web platform):
- Pellegrini M.M., Ciappei C., Marzi G., Dabić M., & Egri C.P. (2021), A Philosophical Approach to Entrepreneurship Education: A model based on Kantian and Aristotelian thought, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 42(1/2), 203-231.
- Shane S., Venkataraman S. (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”. Academy of Management Review, 25(1): 217-226.
- 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.
- Alvarez, S. A., & Barney, J. B. (2007). Discovery and creation: Alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1‐2), 11-26.
- Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of business venturing, 9(3), 223-242.
- Dushnitsky, G., & Fitza, M. A. (2018). Are we missing the platforms for the crowd? Comparing investment drivers across multiple crowdfunding platforms. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 10, e00100.
- C) Supplementary Materials of interest
- Kuratko, Donald F. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S. (2009). New Venture Management: The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap. Upper Saddle River (NJ), Pearson Prentice Hall.
- Kim C. W. and Mauborgne R. (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Boston (MA), Harvard Business School Press.
- Blank, S. (2017). Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard business review.
- Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of management Review, 21(1), 135-172.
- Sahlman W. (1996) “Some thoughts on business plans”, HBS, 14 Nov 1996
- Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach. Journal of business venturing, 20(1), 71-91.
Slides and other material will be available on the module web site. The upload of the material will be done weekly.
The slides represent only a support to facilitate you in summarising concepts and topics and to guide you in studying the material. USING THE SLIDE ONLY WILL NOT grant you enough knowledge to an effective and successful preparation for the exam.
Attendance
Due to the module design and the learning approach, attendance is prominent. To be considered attending students and so to receive the opportunity to present, students need to complete all home assignments given during the module. Contrary, they will be not granted to access to the presentation and thus students will be not considered as attending.
Exam procedure (please consider this as provisional and may subject to revision according to Covid-19 regulations)
The purpose of the whole module an opportunity for students to apply what has been learned to a concrete business idea.
Attending Students
To be considered an attending student, the first step is the evaluation of the attendance, i.e. submitting ALL home assignments (group or individual assignments) during the module. To complete your student portfolio, each group will prepare a presentation about a business idea (formative assessment).
- Formative assessment (no formal grade)
All regular attending students are kindly invited to create working groups (MINIMUM 3 PERSONS – MAXIMUM 4/5 PERSONS), directly from the second week. The same group should perform all the in-class activities and home assignments.
All these formative assignments aim at demonstrating knowledge and mastery of the theories, ability in apply them to real-life situations experienced during the course by the groups, making sound judgements and reflections, and not least stimulate relational capabilities to deal with the social environment and the others.
At the end of the module, groups will be asked to present to the class their final work. Usually the presentation will be an elaborated work to be presented in 45 minutes structured as follow:
- Overture with a pitch video, plus one or more introductory slides to clearly express the business idea, i.e. pitching the idea.
- First part: business CANVAS as a whole, i.e. the description and explanation of the CANVAS for the business idea
- Second part: Value propositions and value map, i.e. the description and explanation of the value map created for the business idea.
- Third part: refinement strategies, i.e. the description and explanation of the SWOT analysis and the possible adjustments in relation to a blue ocean strategy.
- Few closing slides with final remarks, i.e. explanation of the implementation of the business model and why it will be successful.
Each student will be involved in the actual presentation and its preparation. The presentation should be designed to integrate concepts learnt during the module.
This presentation for attending students represents only a recapitulation/summary of several exercises and presentations, formative in nature, already done during the module.
Yet, the final presentation and the rest of the course work will help student to develop their communication skills both in terms of public-speaking and preparation of written materials, in a clear and logical way. However, also presentation will not be formally evaluated but it will serve as basis for the oral exam.
This formative assessment aims to verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply knowledge to concrete business cases, and the capacity of making students own critical judgments.
- Written exam
The written exam is an essay, a group work to be submitted during the pre-exam period. The assessment consists in essay based on a collective reflection about the business idea did for the presentation. The essay should be at least 2500 words and should express and comment the same objects of the presentation:
- An introductory paragraph about pitching the idea.
- First part: the description and explanation of the CANVAS for the business idea.
- Second part: the description and explanation of the value map for the business idea.
- Third part: the description and explanation of the SWOT analysis and the possible adjustments in relation to a blue ocean strategy.
- Fourth part: Explanation of the implementation of the business model and why it will be successful.
For these reasons, the written exam (the group essay) aims to verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and the capacity of making own critical judgments. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity, logical flow, and structure of the essay elaborated will be also evaluated.
- Oral exam
An individual oral exam where students will be asked to comment and integrate the concepts of the module into the real experience presented during the formative assessment. For attending students, at least one question will be directly based on the formative assessment (group presentation) done during the module. Possible specific questions will be directed to the several section of the presentation, or on motivation and evidences that led the group to make the final choices and solution suggested for the business model. Such questions have also a theoretical content but are based on the presentation of each group. A good grade will be granted to those able to critical analyse the decisions made by the group.
In addition to this, at least one question will be also structured as an open questions/hypothetical situations based on the material surveyed and studies during the module. Excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theories and theoretical elements, pertinent to the questions, and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, these are other appreciated aspects to be included in an excellent answer: theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of a theory, and the elaboration of strategies to offer a solution.
Thus, the oral exam verifies a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and personal judgment capacity. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
Non attending students
- Individual written exam (3 hours)
The written exam will contain one case study/hypothetical situation related to an entrepreneurial idea or a real case and four open questions about topics covered in this module as indicated in the syllabus. For the case study/hypothetical situation, the students need to interpret the real context offered and elaborate personal strategies, according to the theory, to solve the problem. For the open questions, excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theory and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of the theory, and elaboration of strategies to a better implementation are also evaluated. For these reasons, the case study part aims to develop abilities in making critical judgments mostly; in addition to that, the open questions verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
Analytical Syllabus
|
|
Topic |
Material |
1.Seminar activities1 2.Assignments2
|
|
Section I Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
|
|||
|
1 |
Introduction and Conceptual map of the module |
Syllabus, Slides pack 1, Pellegrini et al. (2021) |
1. What is entrepreneurship? 2. Deconstructing Entrepreneurship
|
|
2 |
Opportunity recognition |
Slides pack 2 Shane & Venkataraman (2000), Sarasvathy (2001), Alvarez & Barney (2007) |
1. Entrepreneurial concept presentations 2. Effectual business idea
|
|
3 |
Entrepreneurial process |
Slides pack 3, Bhave (1994) |
1. Effectual business idea presentations |
|
4 |
Creativity techniques: Six Hats |
Slides pack 4 |
1. Six hats exercise |
|
Section II Structuring business ideas: The business model
|
|||
|
5 |
Canvas |
Slides pack 5, Business model generator, Ch.1 |
1. Canvas business case 2. Canvas ideas |
|
6 |
Value propositions |
Slides pack 6, Value propositions, Ch.1 |
1. Value propositions business case 2. Value propositions ideas
|
|
7 |
Strategies for business model |
Slides pack 7, Business model generator, Ch.4 |
1. Business model refinement business case 2. SWOT e blue ocean strategy refinements
|
|
8 |
Zoom in and out business model |
|
1. Business model creation |
|
Section III Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
|
|||
|
9 |
Business plan |
Slides pack 8 |
1. Value propositions business case |
|
10 |
Entrepreneurial finance |
Slides pack 8 |
1. Platform pitch 2. Platform pitch video |
|
|
|||
|
11 |
Group Business model presentations |
|
|
|
12 |
Group Business model presentations |
|
|
|
1. Seminar and exercise activities performed in class. 2. Home assignments (Learning activities performed outside the class, usually in groups) |
|||
Aggiornato A.A. 2021-2022
Entrepreneurship and Business Model (ENT & BM)
(Prof. Massimiliano Pellegrini)
Responsible for the module and teaching assistants:
Prof. Massimiliano Pellegrini
Email: massimiliano.pellegrini@uniroma2.it
Office Hours: Thursday 4pm- 6pm*
*In relation to the Anti-Covid regulation the office hours will be done on the Microsoft TEAMS platform. Nevertheless, booking an appointment via email is always necessary and due to the flexibility of the platform, the professor may arrange also integrative sessions.
Room: 3C-4, 3rd floor Building B
Please book an appointment via email also for other time
Pre-requisites for the Course:
None.
Course description
This course aims at offering a comprehensive view of the entrepreneurial process, so understanding how entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ideas can be stimulated, formulated, how can then be turned into structured business model and finally into businesses and start-ups. This aim is fulfilled through an experiential learning approach that allows the application of tools and analytical techniques for developing a new venture or new business idea, strategizing a business model, and acting entrepreneurially. The prominent role of entrepreneurship in any organizational or social unit has been well-documented and in the bulk-eye for years from business people and politicians and policy-maker. So, why does Europe, and thus Italy and other European countries still struggle in such matters? The comparison with U.S. or other global leader country shows that Europe as a top player in relation to inventions and scientific development but lags behind in concretize those in viable businesses and profitable initiative.
This calls for a renewed attention to students and the whole higher education system, that may form future generations of entrepreneurs. Having a brilliant idea can be a common thing but creating and growing a new venture around this or implement it in an organizational setting is a task that few individuals are able to accomplish. The entrepreneurship and innovation module has been designed in a way that students be stimulate to act more innovatively and being change agent of established realities or to pursue careers as owner/managers, foundation of new venture.
Learning Objectives
A complex conceptual domain of analysis emerges from a closer look at the entrepreneurial process, demonstrating inherent interdependences with other subject areas, with an undeniable practical orientation, opening up to exciting theoretical and empirical discoveries and debates.
This implies the necessity of a basic theoretical scaffolding to increase knowledge and understanding of students about relevant tools for entrepreneurship and business ideas creations. However, beyond this, a holistic and personal development is expected to take place directly in the personal students’ sphere and this is an even more important outcome. As a matter of fact, the module fundamentally wants to stimulate and develop students’ capacity to think innovatively and creatively about business ideas and act entrepreneurially to carry out these ideas. For these reasons, the course will be principally based on practical exercises and simulations, using an experiential learning approach.
The course is divided into three logically consecutive sections that follow the structure of an entrepreneurial process:
- Section I. Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
- Section II. Structuring business ideas: The business model
- Section III. Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
Upon successful completion of this module, assuming attendance, active participation, and completion of all formative assessments designed throughout the module, the students should be able to:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
- Acquire and demonstrate a good understanding of the general concepts related to entrepreneurship and business ideas creation specifically:
1.1 Basic concepts of entrepreneurial acting and approaches;
1.2 The entrepreneurial process, from spotting the opportunity to the growth of the venture;
1.3 The business model, its constituting elements and refinement;
1.4. Tools for attracting resources as the business plan and methods to accrue money (entrepreneurial finance).
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE:
- Being able to develop innovative ideas
- Showing the ability to interpret and elaborate a business model, with implied internal logics
MAKING JUDGEMENTS
- Being able to elaborate autonomous strategies and plans to develop and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
- Showing relational and entrepreneurial abilities to engage with concrete situations so to spot or create opportunities
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
- Presentation and pitching skills in reasons of the weekly assignments, final presentation, and oral exam.
Teaching methods
The whole module will blend formal lectures, indeed a few, cases, workshops and videos and group work. It will place emphasis on developing critical skills of analysis, strategic choices and implementation of innovative business ideas. Methods will include critical reading and thinking; engagement with new business ideas/opportunities from case studies and presentations/pitches; conceptual development of models and theories of entrepreneurial practice; peer-interaction; secondary data research and analysis.
The frontal lecture will be used only to offer a panoramic view on the theoretical concepts necessary facilitate the understanding of the experience. However, this teaching method represents only a limited part of the module and the lectures will be not just characterized by the transfer of knowledge and concepts but rather a strong interaction between the professor and the students.
The substantial part of the module instead will be focused on student-centered and student-led activities, with a series of tools to support the experiential learning process. To offer to students a true possibility of personal development and a glimpse of what could be a real business situation, many opportunity of group working and critical reflection will be provided, e.g. exercises, simulations, business cases, and presentations will be organized. Students will be expected to demonstrate independent study skills and personal initiative in workshops and seminars, mostly of which are provided as a forum for discussion. As such, there is a strong emphasis on dialogue and interaction between the professor and the students also to share ideas and experiences. These seminars will draw heavily from the students’ own experience and knowledge. This is why the success of the seminars lies upon the students’ willingness to participate. In preparing for seminars, students should ensure:
- Using relevant conceptual analysis in addressing the core issues of tasks/questions/case studies;
- Demonstrating understanding of the relevant and essential reading materials and, where proper, also highlighting alternative perspectives on the issues involved in the discussion;
- Encouraging the overall involvement of the others member of the seminar group.
Attending students are strongly encouraged to actively participate to all lectures and constantly engage with group work assignments, since this will facilitate the creation of the final essay.
In addition, attending students must execute ALL home assignment.
Main References
- A) Textbooks:
- Osterwalder A., & Pigneur Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
- Osterwalder A., Pigneur Y., Smith A., Bernarda G., & Papadakos (2014), Value Propositions Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
Attending students’ study program
- As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- Ch. 1: Canvas (pp. 12-51)
- Ch. 4: Strategy (pp. 177-241)
- As review material Other chapters
- As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
- Review material Ch.2: Design (pp. 64-171)
Non Attending students’ study program
- As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010), the whole book needs to be prepared for the exam.
- As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
- 2: Design (pp. 64-171)
- B) Mandatory readings for all students (will be provided on the web platform):
- Pellegrini M.M., Ciappei C., Marzi G., Dabić M., & Egri C.P. (2021), A Philosophical Approach to Entrepreneurship Education: A model based on Kantian and Aristotelian thought, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 42(1/2), 203-231.
- Shane S., Venkataraman S. (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”. Academy of Management Review, 25(1): 217-226.
- 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.
- Alvarez, S. A., & Barney, J. B. (2007). Discovery and creation: Alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1‐2), 11-26.
- Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of business venturing, 9(3), 223-242.
- Dushnitsky, G., & Fitza, M. A. (2018). Are we missing the platforms for the crowd? Comparing investment drivers across multiple crowdfunding platforms. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 10, e00100.
- C) Supplementary Materials of interest
- Kuratko, Donald F. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S. (2009). New Venture Management: The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap. Upper Saddle River (NJ), Pearson Prentice Hall.
- Kim C. W. and Mauborgne R. (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Boston (MA), Harvard Business School Press.
- Blank, S. (2017). Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard business review.
- Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of management Review, 21(1), 135-172.
- Sahlman W. (1996) “Some thoughts on business plans”, HBS, 14 Nov 1996
- Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach. Journal of business venturing, 20(1), 71-91.
Slides and other material will be available on the module web site. The upload of the material will be done weekly.
The slides represent only a support to facilitate you in summarising concepts and topics and to guide you in studying the material. USING THE SLIDE ONLY WILL NOT grant you enough knowledge to an effective and successful preparation for the exam.
Attendance
Due to the module design and the learning approach, attendance is prominent. To be considered attending students and so to receive the opportunity to present, students need to complete all home assignments given during the module. Contrary, they will be not granted to access to the presentation and thus students will be not considered as attending.
Exam procedure (please consider this as provisional and may subject to revision according to Covid-19 regulations)
The purpose of the whole module an opportunity for students to apply what has been learned to a concrete business idea.
Attending Students
To be considered an attending student, the first step is the evaluation of the attendance, i.e. submitting ALL home assignments (group or individual assignments) during the module. To complete your student portfolio, each group will prepare a presentation about a business idea (formative assessment).
- Formative assessment (no formal grade)
All regular attending students are kindly invited to create working groups (MINIMUM 3 PERSONS – MAXIMUM 4/5 PERSONS), directly from the second week. The same group should perform all the in-class activities and home assignments.
All these formative assignments aim at demonstrating knowledge and mastery of the theories, ability in apply them to real-life situations experienced during the course by the groups, making sound judgements and reflections, and not least stimulate relational capabilities to deal with the social environment and the others.
At the end of the module, groups will be asked to present to the class their final work. Usually the presentation will be an elaborated work to be presented in 45 minutes structured as follow:
- Overture with a pitch video, plus one or more introductory slides to clearly express the business idea, i.e. pitching the idea.
- First part: business CANVAS as a whole, i.e. the description and explanation of the CANVAS for the business idea
- Second part: Value propositions and value map, i.e. the description and explanation of the value map created for the business idea.
- Third part: refinement strategies, i.e. the description and explanation of the SWOT analysis and the possible adjustments in relation to a blue ocean strategy.
- Few closing slides with final remarks, i.e. explanation of the implementation of the business model and why it will be successful.
Each student will be involved in the actual presentation and its preparation. The presentation should be designed to integrate concepts learnt during the module.
This presentation for attending students represents only a recapitulation/summary of several exercises and presentations, formative in nature, already done during the module.
Yet, the final presentation and the rest of the course work will help student to develop their communication skills both in terms of public-speaking and preparation of written materials, in a clear and logical way. However, also presentation will not be formally evaluated but it will serve as basis for the oral exam.
This formative assessment aims to verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply knowledge to concrete business cases, and the capacity of making students own critical judgments.
- Written exam
The written exam is an essay, a group work to be submitted during the pre-exam period. The assessment consists in essay based on a collective reflection about the business idea did for the presentation. The essay should be at least 2500 words and should express and comment the same objects of the presentation:
- An introductory paragraph about pitching the idea.
- First part: the description and explanation of the CANVAS for the business idea.
- Second part: the description and explanation of the value map for the business idea.
- Third part: the description and explanation of the SWOT analysis and the possible adjustments in relation to a blue ocean strategy.
- Fourth part: Explanation of the implementation of the business model and why it will be successful.
For these reasons, the written exam (the group essay) aims to verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and the capacity of making own critical judgments. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity, logical flow, and structure of the essay elaborated will be also evaluated.
- Oral exam
An individual oral exam where students will be asked to comment and integrate the concepts of the module into the real experience presented during the formative assessment. For attending students, at least one question will be directly based on the formative assessment (group presentation) done during the module. Possible specific questions will be directed to the several section of the presentation, or on motivation and evidences that led the group to make the final choices and solution suggested for the business model. Such questions have also a theoretical content but are based on the presentation of each group. A good grade will be granted to those able to critical analyse the decisions made by the group.
In addition to this, at least one question will be also structured as an open questions/hypothetical situations based on the material surveyed and studies during the module. Excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theories and theoretical elements, pertinent to the questions, and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, these are other appreciated aspects to be included in an excellent answer: theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of a theory, and the elaboration of strategies to offer a solution.
Thus, the oral exam verifies a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and personal judgment capacity. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
Non attending students
- Individual written exam (3 hours)
The written exam will contain one case study/hypothetical situation related to an entrepreneurial idea or a real case and four open questions about topics covered in this module as indicated in the syllabus. For the case study/hypothetical situation, the students need to interpret the real context offered and elaborate personal strategies, according to the theory, to solve the problem. For the open questions, excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theory and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of the theory, and elaboration of strategies to a better implementation are also evaluated. For these reasons, the case study part aims to develop abilities in making critical judgments mostly; in addition to that, the open questions verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
Analytical Syllabus
|
|
Topic |
Material |
1.Seminar activities1 2.Assignments2
|
|
Section I Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
|
|||
|
1 |
Introduction and Conceptual map of the module |
Syllabus, Slides pack 1, Pellegrini et al. (2021) |
1. What is entrepreneurship? 2. Deconstructing Entrepreneurship
|
|
2 |
Opportunity recognition |
Slides pack 2 Shane & Venkataraman (2000), Sarasvathy (2001), Alvarez & Barney (2007) |
1. Entrepreneurial concept presentations 2. Effectual business idea
|
|
3 |
Entrepreneurial process |
Slides pack 3, Bhave (1994) |
1. Effectual business idea presentations |
|
4 |
Creativity techniques: Six Hats |
Slides pack 4 |
1. Six hats exercise |
|
Section II Structuring business ideas: The business model
|
|||
|
5 |
Canvas |
Slides pack 5, Business model generator, Ch.1 |
1. Canvas business case 2. Canvas ideas |
|
6 |
Value propositions |
Slides pack 6, Value propositions, Ch.1 |
1. Value propositions business case 2. Value propositions ideas
|
|
7 |
Strategies for business model |
Slides pack 7, Business model generator, Ch.4 |
1. Business model refinement business case 2. SWOT e blue ocean strategy refinements
|
|
8 |
Zoom in and out business model |
|
1. Business model creation |
|
Section III Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
|
|||
|
9 |
Business plan |
Slides pack 8 |
1. Value propositions business case |
|
10 |
Entrepreneurial finance |
Slides pack 8 |
1. Platform pitch 2. Platform pitch video |
|
|
|||
|
11 |
Group Business model presentations |
|
|
|
12 |
Group Business model presentations |
|
|
|
1. Seminar and exercise activities performed in class. 2. Home assignments (Learning activities performed outside the class, usually in groups) |
|||
Aggiornato A.A. 2020-2021
Entrepreneurship and Business Model (ENT & BM)
(Prof. Massimiliano Pellegrini)
Responsible for the module and teaching assistants:
Prof. Massimiliano Pellegrini
Email: massimiliano.pellegrini@uniroma2.it
Office Hours: Thursday 4pm- 6pm*
*In relation to the Anti-Covid regulation the office hours will be done on the Microsoft TEAMS platform. Nevertheless, booking an appointment via email is always necessary and due to the flexibility of the platform, the professor may arrange also integrative sessions.
Room: 3C-3, 3rd floor Building B
Please book an appointment via email also for other time
Mohammad Fakhar-Manesh (teaching assistant)
E-mail: mohammad.fakhar.manesh@uniroma2.it (to be contacted only for inquiries regarding attendance and material)
Guglielmo Giuggioli (teaching assistant)
E-mail: guglielmo.giuggioli@uniroma2.it (to be contacted only for inquiries regarding attendance and material)
Pre-requisites for the Course:
None.
Course description
This course aims at offering a comprehensive view of the entrepreneurial process, so understanding how entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ideas can be stimulated, formulated, how can then be turned into structured business model and finally into businesses and start-ups. This aim is fulfilled through an experiential learning approach that allows the application of tools and analytical techniques for developing a new venture or new business idea, strategizing a business model, and acting entrepreneurially. The prominent role of entrepreneurship in any organizational or social unit has been well-documented and in the bulk-eye for years from business people and politicians and policy-maker. So, why does Europe, and thus Italy and other European countries still struggle in such matters? The comparison with U.S. or other global leader country shows that Europe as a top player in relation to inventions and scientific development but lags behind in concretize those in viable businesses and profitable initiative.
This calls for a renewed attention to students and the whole higher education system, that may form future generations of entrepreneurs. Having a brilliant idea can be a common thing but creating and growing a new venture around this or implement it in an organizational setting is a task that few individuals are able to accomplish. The entrepreneurship and innovation module has been designed in a way that students be stimulate to act more innovatively and being change agent of established realities or to pursue careers as owner/managers, foundation of new venture.
Learning Objectives
A complex conceptual domain of analysis emerges from a closer look at the entrepreneurial process, demonstrating inherent interdependences with other subject areas, with an undeniable practical orientation, opening up to exciting theoretical and empirical discoveries and debates.
This implies the necessity of a basic theoretical scaffolding to increase knowledge and understanding of students about relevant tools for entrepreneurship and business ideas creations. However, beyond this, a holistic and personal development is expected to take place directly in the personal students’ sphere and this is an even more important outcome. As a matter of fact, the module fundamentally wants to stimulate and develop students’ capacity to think innovatively and creatively about business ideas and act entrepreneurially to carry out these ideas. For these reasons, the course will be principally based on practical exercises and simulations, using an experiential learning approach.
The course is divided into three logically consecutive sections that follow the structure of an entrepreneurial process:
- Section I. Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
- Section II. Structuring business ideas: The business model
- Section III. Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
Upon successful completion of this module, assuming attendance, active participation, and completion of all formative assessments designed throughout the module, the students should be able to:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
- Acquire and demonstrate a good understanding of the general concepts related to entrepreneurship and business ideas creation specifically:
1.1 Basic concepts of entrepreneurial acting and approaches;
1.2 The entrepreneurial process, from spotting the opportunity to the growth of the venture;
1.3 The business model, its constituting elements and refinement;
1.4. Tools for attracting resources as the business plan and methods to accrue money (entrepreneurial finance).
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE:
- Being able to develop innovative ideas
- Showing the ability to interpret and elaborate a business model, with implied internal logics
MAKING JUDGEMENTS
- Being able to elaborate autonomous strategies and plans to develop and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
- Showing relational and entrepreneurial abilities to engage with concrete situations so to spot or create opportunities
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
- Presentation and pitching skills in reasons of the weekly assignments, final presentation, and oral exam.
Teaching methods
The whole module will blend formal lectures, indeed a few, cases, workshops and videos and group work. It will place emphasis on developing critical skills of analysis, strategic choices and implementation of innovative business ideas. Methods will include critical reading and thinking; engagement with new business ideas/opportunities from case studies and presentations/pitches; conceptual development of models and theories of entrepreneurial practice; peer-interaction; secondary data research and analysis.
The frontal lecture will be used only to offer a panoramic view on the theoretical concepts necessary facilitate the understanding of the experience. However, this teaching method represents only a limited part of the module and the lectures will be not just characterized by the transfer of knowledge and concepts but rather a strong interaction between the professor and the students.
The substantial part of the module instead will be focused on student-centered and student-led activities, with a series of tools to support the experiential learning process. To offer to students a true possibility of personal development and a glimpse of what could be a real business situation, many opportunity of group working and critical reflection will be provided, e.g. exercises, simulations, business cases, and presentations will be organized. Students will be expected to demonstrate independent study skills and personal initiative in workshops and seminars, mostly of which are provided as a forum for discussion. As such, there is a strong emphasis on dialogue and interaction between the professor and the students also to share ideas and experiences. These seminars will draw heavily from the students’ own experience and knowledge. This is why the success of the seminars lies upon the students’ willingness to participate. In preparing for seminars, students should ensure:
- Using relevant conceptual analysis in addressing the core issues of tasks/questions/case studies;
- Demonstrating understanding of the relevant and essential reading materials and, where proper, also highlighting alternative perspectives on the issues involved in the discussion;
- Encouraging the overall involvement of the others member of the seminar group.
Attending students are strongly encouraged to actively participate to all lectures and constantly engage with group work assignments, since this will facilitate the creation of the final essay.
In addition, attending students must execute ALL home assignment.
Main References
- A) Textbooks:
- Osterwalder A., & Pigneur Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
- Osterwalder A., Pigneur Y., Smith A., Bernarda G., & Papadakos (2014), Value Propositions Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
Attending students’ study program
- As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- Ch. 1: Canvas (pp. 12-51)
- Ch. 4: Strategy (pp. 177-241)
- As review material Other chapters
- As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
- Review material Ch.2: Design (pp. 64-171)
Non Attending students’ study program
- As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010), the whole book needs to be prepared for the exam.
- As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
- 2: Design (pp. 64-171)
- B) Mandatory readings for all students (will be provided on the web platform):
- Pellegrini M.M., Ciappei C., Marzi G., Dabić M., & Egri C.P. (2021), A Philosophical Approach to Entrepreneurship Education: A model based on Kantian and Aristotelian thought, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 42(1/2), 203-231.
- Shane S., Venkataraman S. (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”. Academy of Management Review, 25(1): 217-226.
- 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.
- Alvarez, S. A., & Barney, J. B. (2007). Discovery and creation: Alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1‐2), 11-26.
- Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of business venturing, 9(3), 223-242.
- C) Supplementary Materials of interest
- Kuratko, Donald F. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S. (2009). New Venture Management: The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap. Upper Saddle River (NJ), Pearson Prentice Hall.
- Kim C. W. and Mauborgne R. (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Boston (MA), Harvard Business School Press.
- Blank, S. (2017). Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard business review.
- Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of management Review, 21(1), 135-172.
- Sahlman W. (1996) “Some thoughts on business plans”, HBS, 14 Nov 1996
- Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach. Journal of business venturing, 20(1), 71-91.
Slides and other material will be available on the module web site. The upload of the material will be done weekly.
The slides represent only a support to facilitate you in summarising concepts and topics and to guide you in studying the material. USING THE SLIDE ONLY WILL NOT grant you enough knowledge to an effective and successful preparation for the exam.
Attendance
Due to the module design and the learning approach, attendance is prominent. To be considered attending students and so to receive the opportunity to present the group business idea, each student should submit all home assignments.
Exam procedure
The purpose of the whole module an opportunity for students to apply what has been learned to a concrete business idea.
Attending Students
To be considered an attending student, the first step is the evaluation of the attendance, i.e. submitting ALL home assignments (group assignments) during the module. To complete your student portfolio, each group will prepare a presentation about a business idea (formative assessment).
- Formative assessment (no formal grade)
All regular attending students are kindly invited to create working groups (MINIMUM 3 PERSONS – MAXIMUM 4/5 PERSONS), directly from the second week. The same group should perform all the in-class activities and home assignments.
All these formative assignments aim at demonstrating knowledge and mastery of the theories, ability in apply them to real-life situations experienced during the course by the groups, making sound judgements and reflections, and not least stimulate relational capabilities to deal with the social environment and the others.
At the end of the module, groups will be asked to present to the class their final work. Usually the presentation will be an elaborated work to be presented in 45 minutes structured as follow:
- Overture with a pitch video, plus one or more introductory slides to clearly express the business idea, i.e. pitching the idea.
- First part: business CANVAS as a whole, i.e. the description and explanation of the CANVAS for the business idea
- Second part: Value propositions and value map, i.e. the description and explanation of the value map created for the business idea.
- Third part: refinement strategies, i.e. the description and explanation of the SWOT analysis and the possible adjustments in relation to a blue ocean strategy.
- Few closing slides with final remarks, i.e. explanation of the implementation of the business model and why it will be successful.
Each student will be involved in the actual presentation and its preparation. The presentation should be designed to integrate concepts learnt during the module.
This presentation for attending students represents only a recapitulation/summary of several exercises and presentations, formative in nature, already done during the module.
Yet, the final presentation and the rest of the course work will help student to develop their communication skills both in terms of public-speaking and preparation of written materials, in a clear and logical way. However, also presentation will not be formally evaluated but it will serve as basis for the oral exam.
This formative assessment aims to verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply knowledge to concrete business cases, and the capacity of making students own critical judgments.
- Oral exam
An individual oral exam where students will be asked to comment and integrate the concepts of the module into the real experience presented during the formative assessment. For attending students, at least one question will be directly based on the formative assessment (group presentation) done during the module. Possible specific questions will be directed to the several section of the presentation, or on motivation and evidences that led the group to make the final choices and solution suggested for the business model. Such questions have also a theoretical content but are based on the presentation of each group. A good grade will be granted to those able to critical analyse the decisions made by the group.
In addition to this, at least one question will be also structured as an open questions/hypothetical situations based on the material surveyed and studies during the module. Excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theories and theoretical elements, pertinent to the questions, and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, these are other appreciated aspects to be included in an excellent answer: theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of a theory, and the elaboration of strategies to offer a solution.
Thus, the oral exam verifies a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and personal judgment capacity. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
Non attending students
- Oral exam
All other students will be considered non attending students. The exam will consist in an individual oral exam where students will be asked to comment and integrate the concepts of the module applied to real cases. Thus a first set of questions will be questions and hypothetical situations similarly to what is requested to attending students. For this reason, excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theories and theoretical elements, pertinent to the questions, and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, these are other appreciated aspects to be included in an excellent answer: theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of a theory, and the elaboration of strategies to offer a solution.
In addition to that, however there will be also purely theoretical questions that aims to inquiring the level of understanding of the theoretical concepts surveyed during the module. Excellent answers to this type of questions are those that are able to presented a full-rounded theoretical panorama about the concept, thus the cover of all aspects presented in the material of the module.
Thus, the oral exam verifies a strong and proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and partially personal judgment capacity. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
Analytical Syllabus
|
|
Topic |
Material |
1.Seminar activities1 2.Assignments2
|
|
Section I Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
|
|||
|
1 |
Introduction and Conceptual map of the module |
Syllabus, Slides pack 1, Pellegrini et al. (2021) |
1. What is entrepreneurship? 2. Deconstructing Entrepreneurship
|
|
2 |
Opportunity recognition |
Slides pack 2 Shane & Venkataraman (2000), Sarasvathy (2001), Alvarez & Barney (2007) |
1. Entrepreneurial concept presentations 2. Effectual business idea
|
|
3 |
Entrepreneurial process |
Slides pack 3, Bhave (1994) |
1. Effectual business idea presentations |
|
4 |
Creativity techniques: Six Hats |
Slides pack 4 |
1. Six hats exercise |
|
Section II Structuring business ideas: The business model
|
|||
|
5 |
Canvas |
Slides pack 5, Business model generator, Ch.1 |
1. Canvas business case 2. Canvas ideas |
|
6 |
Value propositions |
Slides pack 6, Value propositions, Ch.1 |
1. Value propositions business case 2. Value propositions ideas
|
|
7 |
Strategies for business model |
Slides pack 7, Business model generator, Ch.4 |
1. Business model refinement business case 2. SWOT e blue ocean strategy refinements
|
|
8 |
Zoom in and out business model |
|
1. Business model creation |
|
Section III Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
|
|||
|
9 |
Business plan |
Slides pack 8 |
1. Value propositions business case |
|
10 |
Entrepreneurial finance |
Slides pack 8 |
1. Platform pitch 2. Platform pitch video |
|
|
|||
|
11 |
Group Business model presentations |
|
|
|
12 |
Group Business model presentations |
|
|
|
1. Seminar and exercise activities performed in class. 2. Home assignments (Learning activities performed outside the class, usually in groups) |
|||
Aggiornato A.A. 2020-2021
Entrepreneurship and Business Model (ENT & BM)
(Prof. Massimiliano Pellegrini)
Responsible for the module and teaching assistants:
Prof. Massimiliano Pellegrini
Email: massimiliano.pellegrini@uniroma2.it
Office Hours: Thursday 4pm- 6pm*
*In relation to the Anti-Covid regulation the office hours will be done on the Microsoft TEAMS platform. Nevertheless, booking an appointment via email is always necessary and due to the flexibility of the platform, the professor may arrange also integrative sessions.
Room: 3C-3, 3rd floor Building B
Please book an appointment via email also for other time
Mohammad Fakhar-Manesh (teaching assistant)
E-mail: mohammad.fakhar.manesh@uniroma2.it (to be contacted only for inquiries regarding attendance and material)
Guglielmo Giuggioli (teaching assistant)
E-mail: guglielmo.giuggioli@uniroma2.it (to be contacted only for inquiries regarding attendance and material)
Pre-requisites for the Course:
None.
Course description
This course aims at offering a comprehensive view of the entrepreneurial process, so understanding how entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ideas can be stimulated, formulated, how can then be turned into structured business model and finally into businesses and start-ups. This aim is fulfilled through an experiential learning approach that allows the application of tools and analytical techniques for developing a new venture or new business idea, strategizing a business model, and acting entrepreneurially. The prominent role of entrepreneurship in any organizational or social unit has been well-documented and in the bulk-eye for years from business people and politicians and policy-maker. So, why does Europe, and thus Italy and other European countries still struggle in such matters? The comparison with U.S. or other global leader country shows that Europe as a top player in relation to inventions and scientific development but lags behind in concretize those in viable businesses and profitable initiative.
This calls for a renewed attention to students and the whole higher education system, that may form future generations of entrepreneurs. Having a brilliant idea can be a common thing but creating and growing a new venture around this or implement it in an organizational setting is a task that few individuals are able to accomplish. The entrepreneurship and innovation module has been designed in a way that students be stimulate to act more innovatively and being change agent of established realities or to pursue careers as owner/managers, foundation of new venture.
Learning Objectives
A complex conceptual domain of analysis emerges from a closer look at the entrepreneurial process, demonstrating inherent interdependences with other subject areas, with an undeniable practical orientation, opening up to exciting theoretical and empirical discoveries and debates.
This implies the necessity of a basic theoretical scaffolding to increase knowledge and understanding of students about relevant tools for entrepreneurship and business ideas creations. However, beyond this, a holistic and personal development is expected to take place directly in the personal students’ sphere and this is an even more important outcome. As a matter of fact, the module fundamentally wants to stimulate and develop students’ capacity to think innovatively and creatively about business ideas and act entrepreneurially to carry out these ideas. For these reasons, the course will be principally based on practical exercises and simulations, using an experiential learning approach.
The course is divided into three logically consecutive sections that follow the structure of an entrepreneurial process:
- Section I. Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
- Section II. Structuring business ideas: The business model
- Section III. Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
Upon successful completion of this module, assuming attendance, active participation, and completion of all formative assessments designed throughout the module, the students should be able to:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
- Acquire and demonstrate a good understanding of the general concepts related to entrepreneurship and business ideas creation specifically:
1.1 Basic concepts of entrepreneurial acting and approaches;
1.2 The entrepreneurial process, from spotting the opportunity to the growth of the venture;
1.3 The business model, its constituting elements and refinement;
1.4. Tools for attracting resources as the business plan and methods to accrue money (entrepreneurial finance).
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE:
- Being able to develop innovative ideas
- Showing the ability to interpret and elaborate a business model, with implied internal logics
MAKING JUDGEMENTS
- Being able to elaborate autonomous strategies and plans to develop and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
- Showing relational and entrepreneurial abilities to engage with concrete situations so to spot or create opportunities
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
- Presentation and pitching skills in reasons of the weekly assignments, final presentation, and oral exam.
Teaching methods
The whole module will blend formal lectures, indeed a few, cases, workshops and videos and group work. It will place emphasis on developing critical skills of analysis, strategic choices and implementation of innovative business ideas. Methods will include critical reading and thinking; engagement with new business ideas/opportunities from case studies and presentations/pitches; conceptual development of models and theories of entrepreneurial practice; peer-interaction; secondary data research and analysis.
The frontal lecture will be used only to offer a panoramic view on the theoretical concepts necessary facilitate the understanding of the experience. However, this teaching method represents only a limited part of the module and the lectures will be not just characterized by the transfer of knowledge and concepts but rather a strong interaction between the professor and the students.
The substantial part of the module instead will be focused on student-centered and student-led activities, with a series of tools to support the experiential learning process. To offer to students a true possibility of personal development and a glimpse of what could be a real business situation, many opportunity of group working and critical reflection will be provided, e.g. exercises, simulations, business cases, and presentations will be organized. Students will be expected to demonstrate independent study skills and personal initiative in workshops and seminars, mostly of which are provided as a forum for discussion. As such, there is a strong emphasis on dialogue and interaction between the professor and the students also to share ideas and experiences. These seminars will draw heavily from the students’ own experience and knowledge. This is why the success of the seminars lies upon the students’ willingness to participate. In preparing for seminars, students should ensure:
- Using relevant conceptual analysis in addressing the core issues of tasks/questions/case studies;
- Demonstrating understanding of the relevant and essential reading materials and, where proper, also highlighting alternative perspectives on the issues involved in the discussion;
- Encouraging the overall involvement of the others member of the seminar group.
Attending students are strongly encouraged to actively participate to all lectures and constantly engage with group work assignments, since this will facilitate the creation of the final essay.
In addition, attending students must execute ALL home assignment.
Main References
- A) Textbooks:
- Osterwalder A., & Pigneur Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
- Osterwalder A., Pigneur Y., Smith A., Bernarda G., & Papadakos (2014), Value Propositions Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley & Sons Inc.
Attending students’ study program
- As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- Ch. 1: Canvas (pp. 12-51)
- Ch. 4: Strategy (pp. 177-241)
- As review material Other chapters
- As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
- Review material Ch.2: Design (pp. 64-171)
Non Attending students’ study program
- As for the book Business Model Generation (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010), the whole book needs to be prepared for the exam.
- As for the book Value Propositions Design (Osterwalder et al., 2014) the following parts need to be prepared for the exam:
- 1: Canvas (pp. 1-63)
- 2: Design (pp. 64-171)
- B) Mandatory readings for all students (will be provided on the web platform):
- Pellegrini M.M., Ciappei C., Marzi G., Dabić M., & Egri C.P. (2021), A Philosophical Approach to Entrepreneurship Education: A model based on Kantian and Aristotelian thought, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 42(1/2), 203-231.
- Shane S., Venkataraman S. (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”. Academy of Management Review, 25(1): 217-226.
- 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.
- Alvarez, S. A., & Barney, J. B. (2007). Discovery and creation: Alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1‐2), 11-26.
- Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of business venturing, 9(3), 223-242.
- C) Supplementary Materials of interest
- Kuratko, Donald F. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S. (2009). New Venture Management: The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap. Upper Saddle River (NJ), Pearson Prentice Hall.
- Kim C. W. and Mauborgne R. (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Boston (MA), Harvard Business School Press.
- Blank, S. (2017). Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard business review.
- Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of management Review, 21(1), 135-172.
- Sahlman W. (1996) “Some thoughts on business plans”, HBS, 14 Nov 1996
- Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach. Journal of business venturing, 20(1), 71-91.
Slides and other material will be available on the module web site. The upload of the material will be done weekly.
The slides represent only a support to facilitate you in summarising concepts and topics and to guide you in studying the material. USING THE SLIDE ONLY WILL NOT grant you enough knowledge to an effective and successful preparation for the exam.
Attendance
Due to the module design and the learning approach, attendance is prominent. To be considered attending students and so to receive the opportunity to present the group business idea, each student should submit all home assignments.
Exam procedure
The purpose of the whole module an opportunity for students to apply what has been learned to a concrete business idea.
Attending Students
To be considered an attending student, the first step is the evaluation of the attendance, i.e. submitting ALL home assignments (group assignments) during the module. To complete your student portfolio, each group will prepare a presentation about a business idea (formative assessment).
- Formative assessment (no formal grade)
All regular attending students are kindly invited to create working groups (MINIMUM 3 PERSONS – MAXIMUM 4/5 PERSONS), directly from the second week. The same group should perform all the in-class activities and home assignments.
All these formative assignments aim at demonstrating knowledge and mastery of the theories, ability in apply them to real-life situations experienced during the course by the groups, making sound judgements and reflections, and not least stimulate relational capabilities to deal with the social environment and the others.
At the end of the module, groups will be asked to present to the class their final work. Usually the presentation will be an elaborated work to be presented in 45 minutes structured as follow:
- Overture with a pitch video, plus one or more introductory slides to clearly express the business idea, i.e. pitching the idea.
- First part: business CANVAS as a whole, i.e. the description and explanation of the CANVAS for the business idea
- Second part: Value propositions and value map, i.e. the description and explanation of the value map created for the business idea.
- Third part: refinement strategies, i.e. the description and explanation of the SWOT analysis and the possible adjustments in relation to a blue ocean strategy.
- Few closing slides with final remarks, i.e. explanation of the implementation of the business model and why it will be successful.
Each student will be involved in the actual presentation and its preparation. The presentation should be designed to integrate concepts learnt during the module.
This presentation for attending students represents only a recapitulation/summary of several exercises and presentations, formative in nature, already done during the module.
Yet, the final presentation and the rest of the course work will help student to develop their communication skills both in terms of public-speaking and preparation of written materials, in a clear and logical way. However, also presentation will not be formally evaluated but it will serve as basis for the oral exam.
This formative assessment aims to verify a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply knowledge to concrete business cases, and the capacity of making students own critical judgments.
- Oral exam
An individual oral exam where students will be asked to comment and integrate the concepts of the module into the real experience presented during the formative assessment. For attending students, at least one question will be directly based on the formative assessment (group presentation) done during the module. Possible specific questions will be directed to the several section of the presentation, or on motivation and evidences that led the group to make the final choices and solution suggested for the business model. Such questions have also a theoretical content but are based on the presentation of each group. A good grade will be granted to those able to critical analyse the decisions made by the group.
In addition to this, at least one question will be also structured as an open questions/hypothetical situations based on the material surveyed and studies during the module. Excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theories and theoretical elements, pertinent to the questions, and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, these are other appreciated aspects to be included in an excellent answer: theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of a theory, and the elaboration of strategies to offer a solution.
Thus, the oral exam verifies a proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and personal judgment capacity. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
Non attending students
- Oral exam
All other students will be considered non attending students. The exam will consist in an individual oral exam where students will be asked to comment and integrate the concepts of the module applied to real cases. Thus a first set of questions will be questions and hypothetical situations similarly to what is requested to attending students. For this reason, excellent answers are those with an appropriate mix between theories and theoretical elements, pertinent to the questions, and practice, i.e. business examples in which the theory can be applied. Yet, these are other appreciated aspects to be included in an excellent answer: theoretical connections among different topics/theories, the ability to criticize and reflect upon the validity of a theory, and the elaboration of strategies to offer a solution.
In addition to that, however there will be also purely theoretical questions that aims to inquiring the level of understanding of the theoretical concepts surveyed during the module. Excellent answers to this type of questions are those that are able to presented a full-rounded theoretical panorama about the concept, thus the cover of all aspects presented in the material of the module.
Thus, the oral exam verifies a strong and proper acquisition of knowledge, the ability to apply this knowledge to concrete business cases, and partially personal judgment capacity. Yet, the communication skills, in the form of clarity and logic flow and structure of the answer will be also evaluated.
Analytical Syllabus
|
|
Topic |
Material |
1.Seminar activities1 2.Assignments2
|
|
Section I Creating business ideas: Entrepreneurial acting
|
|||
|
1 |
Introduction and Conceptual map of the module |
Syllabus, Slides pack 1, Pellegrini et al. (2021) |
1. What is entrepreneurship? 2. Deconstructing Entrepreneurship
|
|
2 |
Opportunity recognition |
Slides pack 2 Shane & Venkataraman (2000), Sarasvathy (2001), Alvarez & Barney (2007) |
1. Entrepreneurial concept presentations 2. Effectual business idea
|
|
3 |
Entrepreneurial process |
Slides pack 3, Bhave (1994) |
1. Effectual business idea presentations |
|
4 |
Creativity techniques: Six Hats |
Slides pack 4 |
1. Six hats exercise |
|
Section II Structuring business ideas: The business model
|
|||
|
5 |
Canvas |
Slides pack 5, Business model generator, Ch.1 |
1. Canvas business case 2. Canvas ideas |
|
6 |
Value propositions |
Slides pack 6, Value propositions, Ch.1 |
1. Value propositions business case 2. Value propositions ideas
|
|
7 |
Strategies for business model |
Slides pack 7, Business model generator, Ch.4 |
1. Business model refinement business case 2. SWOT e blue ocean strategy refinements
|
|
8 |
Zoom in and out business model |
|
1. Business model creation |
|
Section III Concretizing business ideas: Attract resources
|
|||
|
9 |
Business plan |
Slides pack 8 |
1. Value propositions business case |
|
10 |
Entrepreneurial finance |
Slides pack 8 |
1. Platform pitch 2. Platform pitch video |
|
|
|||
|
11 |
Group Business model presentations |
|
|
|
12 |
Group Business model presentations |
|
|
|
1. Seminar and exercise activities performed in class. 2. Home assignments (Learning activities performed outside the class, usually in groups) |
|||