Entrepreneurship and Strategy

ORG521 Entrepreneurship and Strategy

Autumn 2024

Spring 2025
  • Topics

    The purpose of this course is to introduce PhD students to key theories and empirical findings regarding performance differences from entrepreneurship. It is located at the intersection of the entrepreneurshipand strategy literatures, where the strategy literature offers a general understanding of performance differences across firms, while the entrepreneurship literature contributes specifics for the entrepreneurial firm and the entrepreneurial setting. The course will start with general theories of competitiveness and performance differences. We will then examine the role of fundamental inputs such as the role of human capital and finance in the entrepreneurial firm, before we move on to address entrepreneurship and business model innovation. The topic of business model innovation is to a considerable extent about relationships outside the firm and forms a natural bridge to discuss sources of performance differences associated with a firm’s external environment. We’ll here expand our focus to both the close environment such as incubators and accelerators, but also the impact of the larger institutional environment the firm is born into. In addition to all of this, we will also address entrepreneurship in established firms, and how this is both similar and different from entrepreneurship in new firms.

  • Learning outcome

    After completing this course the candidate can:

    Knowledge

    • account for theories and constructs about sources of performance differences across firms
    • apply these theories and constructs to entrepreneurship
    • account for key theories and constructs specific to entrepreneurship
    • account for key patterns in empirical findings regarding this relationship

    Skills

    • understand and discuss the degree to which different theories and constructs are complements or substitutes
    • relate new empirical findings to underlying theoretical concepts
    • ability to formulate interesting research questions at the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy

    General competence

    • absorb, communicate, discuss, and evaluate research at the intersection of strategy and entrepreneurship at the research frontier
    • contribute knowledge to strategy discussions in entrepreneurial firms

  • Teaching

    The course is seminar based. This means that course participants will be actively included in presenting material and classroom discussions. The course will be run fully online in 2024.

  • Restricted access

    Maximum number of participants: 25.

    • PhD candidates at NHH
    • PhD candidates at Norwegian institutions
    • PhD candidates at other institutions
    • PhD candidates from the ENGAGE.EU alliance
    • Motivated master’s students at NHH may be admitted after application, but are subject to the approval from the course responsible on a case by case basis

  • Recommended prerequisites

    It is recommended that students are familiar with core theories and constructs in strategy. For those who are not, we will suggest a book to be read in advance

  • Credit reduction due to overlap

    None.

  • Compulsory Activity

    Participation in presenting material and classrom discussions.

    Mandatory attendance. Online attendance will be mandatory.

    Compulsory activities (work requirements) are valid for one semester after the semester they were obtained.

  • Assessment

    Individual 8 hour home exam.

    Re-take is offered the semester after the course was offered for students with valid compulsory activities (work requirements).

  • Grading Scale

    Pass/Fail

  • Literature

    A list of papers will be distributed well before the course starts

  • This is an ENGAGE-course

    This course is offered to PhD candidates from the ENGAGE.EU alliance.

Overview

ECTS Credits
5
Teaching language
English
Semester

Spring. Will be offered spring 2024.

Course dates will be posted on Department of Strategy and Management's web pages.

Course responsible

Professor Lasse B. Lien, Department of Strategy and Management NHH (main responsible)

Professor Peter G. Klein, Department of Entrepreneurship, Baylor University/Department of Strategy and Management NHH