BMGT20160 Business and Social Enterprise

Academic Year 2023/2024

This module is essentially composed of two intertwined parts. The first part tasks you to apply entrepreneurial thinking to identify opportunities and solutions that will make an important positive impact on society: it is an invitation to redefine your environment in a creative and innovative way. In addition to this first part, in the second we addresses issues which become particularly relevant when the firm increases in size and scales up: how to ensure a long-run survival when external environmental conditions change (dynamic capabilities), how to properly balance today's needs with tomorrow's demand (ambidexterity), how to set and maintain a dominant design (network effects), and how to benefit from ideas that originate out of the traditional organizational boundaries (open innovation).

Using course readings, discussions, and case studies, you will be able to identify opportunities to create social value, undertake the initial discovery, research and validation steps required to assess the potential to create a scalable business. In order to achieve this, the module also provides some essential tools on how to set the most appropriate strategic direction of the firm, once it has been created.

Business and Social Enterprise helps you to integrate and apply key management, marketing, finance, and research skills developed in other modules. The module also aims at providing few but essential notions related to the strategic management field, which are expected to be very useful to successfully run both a social and "standard" enterprise. The module is also expected to strengthen your teamwork and creative skills.

The module will be practice-oriented, with several opportunities of interaction and real case discussions. The approach followed will be mostly inductive, i.e. students are guided towards the conception of a general theory starting from specific, real business situations.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completing this module, students will be able to:

1. Articulate and assess some key enterprise models;
2. Conduct independent research to assess the viability of a social enterprise idea;
3. Further deepen team working, creativity, project management and problem solving skills;
4. Demonstrate advanced and professional communication skills;
5. Understand and disentangle the different types of innovation, and the related implications;
6. Get familiar with theoretical models which help explaining and contextualizing technological change;
7. Recognize the different managerial approaches to innovation and how to handle change.

Indicative Module Content:

Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship

Social Issues in a Global Context

Entrepreneurial Logic

Creativity, Innovation & Opportunity Assessment

Customers, Value, Value Proposition, Social Impact

Elevator Pitch

Market Analysis, Opportunity Size

Case Studies

Social Enterprise Organisation Forms

Structures

Scaling

Dynamic Capabilities and Ambidexterity

Network Effects

Open Innovation

Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24

Specified Learning Activities

44

Autonomous Student Learning

48

Total

116

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
IA20060 - Social Entrepreneurship


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Examination: Examination Assessment aimed at assessing students' overall comprehension. 2 hour End of Trimester Exam No Graded No

60

Group Project: Team work Unspecified n/a Graded No

30

Continuous Assessment: Individual Class Participation Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn Yes - 2 Hour
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Book:
Kickul & Lyons (2020)
Understanding Social Entrepreneurship 3rd Edition. New York, Routledge (Selected Chapters that will be indicated during the first lecture)

Cases:
- Adobe systems incorporated (Tripsas, M.)
- IBM network technology (Chapman Wood, R.)
- Transforming company culture at Amgen Italy (Pistilli, L., Pennarola, F.)

Journal Articles:
- Von Hippel, E. (1986). Lead users: a source of novel product concepts. Management science, 32(7), 791-805.
- Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic management journal, 18(7), 509-533.
- Gibson, C. B., & Birkinshaw, J. (2004). The antecedents, consequences, and mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Academy of management Journal, 47(2), 209-226.
Spring
     
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 09:00 - 10:50

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