| CODE | EMA5110 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Entrepreneurship | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | In today’s volatile and increasingly disruptive business environment, understanding what makes entrepreneurship and innovation work is paramount to growing a competitive and profitable business or effective organisation. The challenges of meeting the demands of an ever-changing market, while balancing a customer-centric culture of value creation are similar whether for emerging start-ups or established corporations. Entrepreneurialism is core to value creation and prospecting success; creatively solving problems, and maintaining relevance. This study-unit seeks to equip participants with practical out-of-the-box approaches, as well as the fundamentals to thrive, where others stumble. It provides techniques for cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in start-ups or businesses of all sizes - to recognise and size up opportunity, overcome entrenched challenges and potentially reach past their limitations; gain an alternative perspective for growth. Indicative topics: - Foundations of entrepreneurship and research domain - The nature of entrepreneurial opportunity - Cognition & opportunity recognition - Entrepreneurship decision making (causation, effectuation, bricolage) - Search and sources of innovation: Creating customer-focused new products and services - Sizing up opportunity: Feasibility analyses and planning approaches - Lean start-up approaches, MVPs design & implementation; and the business model canvas - What entrepreneurs (or intraprenueurs) need to know and consider before starting - Entities and organisational forms for enterprise - IP, Legal and funding considerations - Pitching and presenting to a target audience. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims to provide participants with actively-applied theoretical insight into the concepts, processes and frameworks; combined with real-world practical skills required for opportunity recognition and its exploitation - initiating value-creation through new business start-ups or venture formation, and growth. Relevant for start-up concepts, this is equally significant for established businesses and corporates, as they seek regeneration and continued innovation for enduring competitiveness and survival. This study-unit enhances students’ ability and capacity to recognise, stress-test and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities. Approach to delivery: - Designed to be dynamic, interactive and thought-provoking, this unit combines a comprehensive approach to entrepreneurship as a social and economic phenomenon; - Relevant case studies will be discussed to demonstrate the application of theoretical foundations in real-world business scenarios, explore provocative ideas from different perspectives, and guide participants to develop experience-based recommendations to improve their business operations – or enhance the prospects for start-up success; - From time to time, entrepreneurs, business leaders and others from the start-up scene will be invited to share their experiential knowledge or entrepreneurial journey – imparting real-world applied insights on how they navigated through the obstacles, risks, uncertainties and thrills to emerge stronger. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Relate to the emergence of entrepreneurship as a field of research and be in a position to apply theoretical concepts in; - Be aware of important cognitive mechanisms and apply approaches enhancing creative ideation and opportunity recognition; - Analyse and interpret the influence of macro-environment factors and industry characteristics on entrepreneurial opportunity; - Recognise the important role entrepreneurship plays in creating new value and innovative solutions - in the context of start-ups, corporate initiatives, and social ventures - and examine and articulate the prospects for such opportunities; - Identify different opportunities and challenges encountered by start-ups as they progress from concept through launch and into their growth phase; - Ascertain the role of prototyping and MVPs and be in a position to apply such approaches concepts. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify and deploy various tools, techniques and approaches to conduct feasibility analyses for new ventures concepts; and establish a basis for the formulation of effective start-up plans; - Be in a position to identify, access and consider required approaches and resources for a start-up or new venture initiative; - Identify customer needs and evaluate entrepreneurial strategy prospects in terms of value propositions, business models, and competitive strategies; - Explore and consider the different range of organisational forms and funding options available to start-ups; - Be aware of the approaches and legal issues associated with IP protection, risk and other legal implications. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Texts (any core / supporting): • Baron, R. and Hmieleski, K. 'Essentials of Entrepreneurship Second Edition: Changing the World, One Idea at a Time'. Edward Elgar. [textbook] • Scarborough, N. M., & Cornwall, J. R. 'Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management'. London: Pearson. [textbook] • Bessant, J. and Tidd, J. “Innovation and Entrepreneurship”. John Wiley. Aulet, B., 2017. Disciplined entrepreneurship workbook. John Wiley & Sons. Additional reading & resource books: • Blank, S. and Dorf, B., 2020. The startup owner's manual: The step-by-step guide for building a great company. John Wiley & Sons • Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. 'Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers'. John Wiley & Sons • Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G. and Smith, A. 'Value proposition design: How to create products and services customers want'. John Wiley & Sons • Ries, E. 'The lean startup: How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses'. Currency • Ries, E. 'The startup way: how modern companies use entrepreneurial management to transform culture and drive long-term growth'. Currency. Popular business press or periodicals: • The Economist • Harvard Business Review • Inc. Magazine • Fast Company • Forbes • Entrepreneur • Wired • Financial Times • CNBC Business Magazine Suggested thematic academic journals: • Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice • International Small Business Journal • Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal • Journal of Business Venturing • Journal of Entrepreneurship • Journal of International Entrepreneurship • International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Nathaniel P. Massa (Co-ord.) Antonietta Rosiello |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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