ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND STRATEGY-1

Over recent years there has been a growing focus on how new firms are created. A person becomes an entrepreneur when he/she identifies a new market opportunity and transforms it into reality by defining a project and by involving all necessary resources (capital, competences, human resources, suppliers, complementors, distribution players, customers, territory, etc.). This process hence implies both the capability (of creative type) to identify new business combinations, and the capability (of relational nature) to convince various actors, and finally the capability (of organizational ? management nature) to define a coherent and sustainable business model in order to ensure the operation and growth of the firm.
This course aims at providing conceptual and operational tools as well as an appropriate language in order to better understand and develop the capabilities to act in entrepreneurial and strategic processes.

With respect to entrepreneurial processes, students will increase the degree of awareness over: the relationship between capabilities to analyze the competitive environment and cognitive aspects (capability to see new combinations) and the critical elements to develop a value proposition and its related business model. Students will acquire capabilities of understanding a market, business prototyping, test and improvement.

Knowledge of the main characteristics of the firm, its main economic and financial aspects (e.g. costs, revenues, in-out financial flows).

Entrepreneurship between theory and practice
Entrepreneurs’ mindset and characteristics
Entrepreneurial ecosystems, accelerators and incubators
Designing Value Propositions: consumer profile, value map, achieving fit, prototyping, starting points, understanding customers, choosing the appropriate business model
Testing and Lean Startup approaches

Osterwalder A., Pigneur Y., Bernarda G., Smith A. (2014), Value Proposition Design, Wiley (MAIN TEXTBOOK)

Shane S., Venkatraman S. (2000), The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 25, No. 1, Jan., pp. 217-226 (ARTICLE)

Kauffman Foundation, What are Entrepreneurial Ecosystems?, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building Playbook 3.0, https://www.kauffman.org/ecosystem-playbook-draft-3/ecosystems/ (PAPER)

Stangler D., Bell Masterson J. (2015), Measuring an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Kauffman Foundation (PAPER)

Slides and additional materials provided by teacher in Moodle

Written exam on all topics of the module, carried out in synergy with module 2 contents. The exam consists in a mix between multiple choice and open questions, however with highly focused replies expected, calling for an accurate study.

Lectures.
Guest speakers.
Optional tasks with bonus points for grade

English

written