This course is about entrepreneurship in the already established corporation. Corporate entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, mavericks. No matter what name they go by, these innovators are the pioneering forces within an organization who, largely in a multinational context, spark new enterprises, products, services, and processes to combat increased global competition.

Consequently, this course addresses the particular opportunities and challenges associated with entrepreneurship in the multinational intra-corporate context, and prepares students for successful initiation and development of innovation within organizations.

While based on theory, conceptual frameworks, and empirical findings from entrepreneurship research, the course has a practical orientation. Particular emphasis is placed on developing the skills needed for initiating and developing new business ventures within already established corporate contexts. The main contents and core issues include but are not necessarily limited to: The nature of corporate entrepreneurship, pre-conditions for corporate entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial change processes within the established corporation, and organizational designs for creating the entrepreneurial corporation. As an advanced course emphasis will be placed on the skills needed to promote and manage corporate entrepreneurship including entrepreneurial leadership and HR-enhancing practices in a multinational context.

Having completed the course, students will have deepened their understanding of the nature of corporate entrepreneurship in a multinational context and the specific opportunities and challenges of launching new business ventures within already established corporations. From a practical point of view, participants will:

• have knowledge of what is corporate entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurship within a corporation is similar to or different from start-up entrepreneurship
• be able to assess the degree to which the environment within an established corporation as well as the multinational context in which the corporation is embedded supports or constrains entrepreneurship
• know how to develop, implement and lead innovative business initiatives within already established corporations
• be able to find creative ways to overcome barriers to innovation and entrepreneurship in established corporations
• know how to design organisations with an apposite level of entrepreneurial activity.

Attendance is a firm requirement of this course as many of the learning experiences take place during class and through interactions with peers. The attendance requirement is met if students are present for at least 80% of the scheduled sessions. Students who fail to meet the attendance requirement are de-registered from the course. Missing sessions will affect class participation credits and may also affect other graded components realized during class.

The course is structured along the process of preparing for, implementing, leading and sustaining corporate entrepreneurship in a multinational context.

Learning is achieved through

• lectures,
• interactive exercises,
• group discussion, reflection and presentation,
• individual reflection on literature and input.
• Moreover, through informative, well-researched case studies, students will explore how corporate entrepreneurship helps companies prosper over the long run, gain market share, and stay on the cutting edge of their potential, and how they can lead such CE initiatives in the long-term interest of the organization, that is entrepreneurially, by empowering employees. If the employees aren’t innovating, the company is losing its competitive edge.

• 15% active class participation (individual level)
• 35% presentation CE analysis (group level)
• 50% final exam (individual level)

Prof. Dr. Isabella Hatak

HP: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/persons/7476

Mail: isabella.hatak@wu.ac.at