Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation 5 credits

The objective of this course is to understand why and how established organisations engage in entrepreneurship and innovation. Organisations today often strive for agility and innovativeness, all the while remaining performant in their established operations. Given that many companies wish to be at the leading edge when it comes to corporate entrepreneurship and innovation activities, it is important to understand what these activities are, how they are implemented in organisations, and what their potential, if any, is for business impact. This course has three modules. At its foundation, the resource-based view of the firm presents an academic lens to explain why individual organisations engage in activities to develop their innovation capabilities. Zooming in, forms of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation are presented, such as R&D/NPD departments, corporate venturing, and business model adaptation. The role of organisational culture on the adoption of innovative practices is also discussed. Zooming out, organisational isomorphism, symbolic action, and shifting ideologies of control offer alternative frameworks to explain why and how organisations engage in corporate entrepreneurship and innovation. Upon completion, you will have gained an appreciation of the complex and often contradictory goals of organisational performance and innovation. You will build the strategic perspective needed to appreciate and evaluate different types of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives within organisations. Most importantly, you can critically analyse how corporate entrepreneurship and innovation activities are influenced by industrial and societal trends, and account for their implications on firms’ capabilities. <br> **Connection to Research ** This course invites you to critically engage with research by presenting different academic frameworks to look at corporate entrepreneurship and innovation. It draws on contemporary literature that takes for granted the benefits of these activities but also engages with classic articles that contest the consequentialist view of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation on firm performance. **Connection to Practice ** In an age of entrepreneurship and innovation, you are taught different forms of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation activities, and how they can be structured within organisations. You are also asked to apply a critical lens to whether, and how, such activities can impact firm performance. **Connection to Ethics, Responsibility, Sustainability (ERS) ** To develop responsible management practices, you are trained to face the complex, contradictory, and often ambiguous nature of decision-making and strategic planning for corporate entrepreneurship and innovation.