Entrepreneurship & Innovation: A Social and Economic Process
Definitions of enterprise, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs and innovation; The myths of entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurs and innovation as catalysts for economic and social change; Snapshots of entrepreneurial activity at the global, national and local level and encouraging entrepreneurial activity.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Appreciate the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation to a healthy economy
2. Define the key terms entrepreneur, entrepreneurship and innovation
3. Understand the difference between managers, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial managers
4. Understand the concepts and key theories relating to entrepreneurship
5. Understand policy tools employed to encourage entrepreneurial activity
The Entrepreneur: Mind and Action
Psychological and social trait theories of entrepreneurship; Environmental factors likely to trigger enterprising behaviour; the role of creativity and achievement drive and concepts for evaluating individual entrepreneurial traits.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Examine the psychological and social trait theories of entrepreneurship
2. Consider the environmental factors likely to trigger enterprising behaviour
3. Complete an entrepreneurial self-assessment
4. Ability to relate theories of entrepreneurship to individual vocational and professional context
The Entrepreneurial Process
Creativity and its links to enterprise, the three stage process of entrepreneurship; Opportunity screening; Innovation and competitive advantage; Acquiring resources – financing ventures and the role of family, friends and fools; Team building for entrepreneurial growth.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Consider the role of creativity in entrepreneurship and innovation
2. Understand the entrepreneurship process and relate this to a case examples
3. Understand and make use of opportunity screening frameworks
4. Recognise the need to develop support networks to provide resources for enterprise opportunities.
Intrapreneurship
New venture creation in established organisations; The intrapreneurial process; The middle manager as an entrepreneur; The roles of sponsors and climate makers.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Consider the process of intrapreneurship
2. Understand the difference between managers and entrepreneurial managers
3. Understand the impact of organisational structure and culture on creativity and enterprise in the firm
4. Ability to relate these understandings to a case example
Small Business & Family Business
Overview of the small business sector; Differences between entrepreneurs and owner-managers; The entrepreneurial growth cycle of small firms; The need for collaborative support networks; The need for strategic thinking; The need for strong balance of strategy, structure and resources.
Learning outcomes:
1. Consider the difference between ‘lifestylers’ and entrepreneurs
2. Understand the entrepreneurial growth cycle of SME’s
3. Understand the role of support networks in small business development
4. Understand the need for owner-managers to balance strategy, structure and resources
5. Ability to apply these concepts to a case example
Adoption and Diffusion of Innovation
Theories of adoption and diffusion; Diffusion is a social and economic process; Selection of the lead customer; Pathways to market and assessing the market take rate; Barriers to market entry and substitution threats; Strategic alliances to enhance innovation diffusion.
Learning outcomes:
1. Understand the process of innovation diffusion
2. Review theories of adoption and diffusion
3. Understand the role of support networks in small business development
4. Understand the need for owner-managers to balance strategy, structure and resources
5. Ability to apply these concepts to a case example
Entrepreneurial Vision versus the Planning Ethos
Planning versus serendipity; Integration of analysis and action; Flexibility and changing course; Building a vision into new ventures; The role, pros and cons of business planning; Use of Business Planning concepts at all kinds of organizations; The contexts behind new ventures.
Learning Outcomes
1. Understand the role and relevance of planning
2. Understand how to integrate analysis and vision
3. Appreciate how entrepreneurs find value
4. Identify skill requirements/matches for new ventures
Financing the Venture
Scale and role of venture capital; Boom and bust cycles in venture capital; Classes of capital (boot strapping to IPO); Exit and value harvest; The importance of venture teams; venture capital in a global marketplace; the relationship between funding and innovation.
Learning Outcomes
1. Understand how new ventures are financed
2. Understand how to position new ventures for appropriate funding
3. Appreciate global funding networks and venture capital
4. Understand the role of venture capital in innovation and commercialisation
Technology, Technopreneurs and Disruptive Innovations
The conditions for radical innovation (substantial change to core offer in product and/or process); The need to balance technology push with market pull; disruptive versus sustaining technologies; what to own and what to share; the strategic significance of disruptive technology; Creating new market space.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Understand how to identify emergent, disruptive technologies
2. Understand whether ventures need to spin out new ventures or can capture their value
3. Appreciate the pivotal role of customers
4. Understand how new ventures can ‘create new market space’
5. Appreciate how Innovation Management frameworks intersect with and contradict with Strategy and Marketing frameworks
6. Understand how innovation occurs in products and services as well as technology – at all stages and sizes of ventures
Intellectual Property Management and Commercialisation
The role of Intellectual Property in the innovation process; Types of IP; The protection of intellectual property; Assessing the technical feasibility of the innovation; Securing rent returns to innovation investment; Working within the network; Public policy toward commercialisation.
Learning outcomes:
1. Understand the nature of IP, IP Rights
2. Review basic legal frameworks and sources of IP protection
3. Understand the relationship between IP, innovation and business growth
4. Understand the process of commercialisation
5. Review government policy support for commercialisation.
Building team and the company leadership
Corporate structure and governance for high growth firms; Early stage teams and late stage teams; Pick the people you need not the people you can afford; Importance of the team.
Learning outcomes:
1. Examine the role of advisory and management boards
2. Understand the importance of corporate governance
3. Understand the importance of building a team for venture growth
4. Consider different types of team development in fast growth ventures
5. Understand the relationship between innovation and culture. |
