Program Director Contact Details:
Innovation and Entrepreneurship (PG)
Name: Prof Paul Steffens
Phone: +61 8 8313 7512
Email: paul.steffens@adelaide.edu.au

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

The University’s preferred textbook supplier is Unibooks: http://www.unibooks.com.au/ 

Text book:

Fredrick, Howard, O'Connor, Allan and Kuratko, Donald F. (2016). Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process and Practice, 4th Edition. Cengage Learning.
ISBN-13: 978-0-17-035255-0
ISBN-10: 0-17-035255-2

Supplemental Readings:

Alvarez, S.A. and Barney, J.B. (2005) ‘How do entrepreneurs organise firms under conditions of uncertainty?’ Journal of Management, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 776-793.

Barney, Jay B., and William S. Hesterly (2010) Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage Concepts and Case, 3rd Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, New

Barron, J.N. & Hannan, M.T. (2002) ‘Organizational Blueprints for Success in High-Tech Start-ups: Lessons from the Stanford Project on Emerging Companies’, California Management Review, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 8-36.

Churchill, N.C. & Lewis, V.L. (1983) ‘The five stages of business growth’, Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp. 30-50.

Greiner, L.E. (1972) ‘Evolution and revolution as organizations grow’, Harvard Business Review, July-August, pp. 37-46.

Hunter, I. (2005) ‘Risk, persistence and focus: a life cycle of the entrepreneur’, Australian Economic History Review, vol 45, no. 3, pp. 244-272.

Levie, J. & Lichtenstein, G.A. (2010) ‘A terminal Assessment of Stages Theory: Introducing a Dynamic States Approach to Entrepreneurship’, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 317-350.

Ma, H. (1999) ‘Creation and Preemption for Competitive Advantage’ Management Decision, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 259-266.

Martin, Roger L. 2010. 'The Execution Trap', Harvard Business Review, vol. 88, Iss. 7/8, pp. 64-71.

McKaskill, T. (2007) Fast Forward Acquisition Strategies for Entrepreneurs, Wilkinson Publishing, Melbourne, Australia. Chapter 5: pp. 51-64.

Mueller, S., Volery, T. & von Siemens, B. (2012) “What Do Entrepreneurs Actually Do? An Observational Study of Entrepreneurs’ Everyday Behavior in the Start-Up and Growth Stages”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, September, pp. 995-1017.

O’Connor, A. (2001) “Valuation of Technology Businesses‟, Commercialise 2001 Conference, October, Marysville, Australia.

O’Connor A. & Yamin, S. (2011) ‘Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Managing the Paradox of Purpose in Business Model Innovation’, International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 239-255.

Penrose, E. (1995) The Theory of the Growth of the Firm, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 31-42.

Peppard, J. & Rylander, A. (2001) ‘Using an Intellectual Capital Perspective to Design and Implement a Growth Strategy: The Case of Apion’, European Management Journal, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 510-525.

Sarasvathy, S.D. (2005) ‘What makes Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial?’ Darden Business Publishing, Virginia, Social Science Research Network, UVA-ENT-0065, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=909038&download=yes

Stabell, C.B. & Fjeldstad, Ø.D. (1998) ‘Configuring Value for Competitive Advantage: On Chains, Shops and Networks’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 19, pp. 413-437.

Roos, G., Pike, S. & Fernstrom, L. (2005) Managing Intellectual Capital in Practice, Butterworth-Heinemann: Burlington, MA, USA. Jersey, USA. Chapter 3

Library Resources
The University of Adelaide’s Barr Smith Library provides a range of learning resources including texts, journals, periodicals, magazines, and access to online databases and information services. It also offers a virtual library which is accessible via the University’s website. Access to the Library's electronic resources.

Students must complete all course assessment requirements and must attend lectures to be eligible to pass the course.

Course results are subject to moderation by the ECIC Board of Examiners

Assessment 1: The entrepreneur and strategy - Individual assessment item
Weighting: 20%
Submission Details: Online through MyUni

Task:
“New firm growth is unpredictable. There is no order but only chaos. In this context entrepreneurs do not manage their firms but rather respond to challenges from either opportunities or obstacles.”

This assignment requires you to critique the above statement and provide an argument that demonstrates your appreciation of the relationship between the entrepreneur and the context within which they work. You are required to use both academic and general media to support your argument with citations and examples. A better assignment will use course provided reference materials as well as references other than those provided.

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the course topics A to D.

Length and Presentation:
Presentation will be in an essay format which should convince your reader of the merits of your argument. The typical length will be up to a maximum 1,500 words.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
The document should reflect academic standards worthy of a Master level student. The assignment will be assessed on the basis of:
· Presentation and clarity of the aims of your work;
· Complete and balanced view points,
· A well-defined rationale that leads to your conclusion, and;
· Justifiable research that supports your argument.

The assignment will need to demonstrate appropriate use of references. (Use the Harvard referencing system. Guidelines can be found under the heading ‘Harvard author-date referencing style’ at http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/content.php?pid=293787&sid=2477847).



Assessment 2: Value analysis of growth firm – Team assessment item
Weighting: 30%
Submission Details: Online through MyUni.

Task:
This assignment will require you to work in a team of no more than four and select one firm from the 2014 Australian Deloitte Technology Fast 50 report available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/deloitte-technology-fast-50-winners.html

No two teams will select the same company. Each team will submit their chosen case by the conclusion of intensive 1 for approval by the lecturer.

The team will need to use the tools and techniques discussed in this course to analyse their chosen business and the respective competitive environment to provide:

1. A background and overview of the business and the competitive environment

2. A reasoned determination of the customer value creating logic of the firm

3. An assessment of the critical resources and capabilities that provide a competitive advantage

4. A report that characterises the extent to which these resources are defensible in each firms competitive environment

5. An analysis that explains the extent to which the competitive advantage underpins the growth of the firm

6. A discussion that synthesises the analysis and concludes how your chosen firm’s industry and competitive environment relates to or influences business model design for competitive advantage.

You will be further required to use your findings and knowledge of the case for the second day of the second intensive workshop. The workshop material is not part of assignment 2 but will be a practice case for your assignment 3.

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the course topics D to H.

Length and Presentation:
Presentation will be in report format. The typical length will be a maximum of 3500 words plus appendices as deemed necessary.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
· The level of detail provided that demonstrates understanding of the key issues and techniques involved in analysing a firm’s value logic and competitive position.
· Evidence of critical analysis of the issues and concepts.
· Demonstration of an understanding of; the relative importance of resources and capabilities, how these resources and capabilities relate to the firm’s business model and the extent to which they contribute to competitive advantage.
· Clarity of expression and good use of language.
· Logical planning, structure and sequence of presenting your findings.
· Overall presentation including correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and referencing.



Assessment 3: Young Firm Growth Case Application – Individual assessment item.
Weighting: 50%
Submission Details: Online through MyUni

Task:
This assessment item is an individual assignment that focuses on the application of the strategic design tools. Complemented by your own research, you are required to consider a growth venture proposition using, as a minimum, the competitive advantage, business model, intellectual capital, and resource based strategy tools and perspectives covered in this course. You are not permitted to use the same firm as your team case study.

Your chosen case will be a young firm; a start-up or new firm of not more than 3 years old. Alternatively it could be a new division or a new spin-out firm from a corporate or university providing it is creating a new market position not previously held. Analysis of established firms (more than three years old) that do not have a new market position intent will not be permissible cases. If in doubt about your case, check with your lecturer.

You are required to:
§ Describe the venture detailing its background and core business.
§ Define a startegic intent and the customer value logic (chain, shop or network) for the venture.
§ Using resource based theory, assess and recommend the potential competitive advantage of the venture.
§ Design and document the intellectual capital resources required to ground the competitive advantage for the growth of the venture.
§ Articulate the intellectual capital resources and capabilities currently available to the venture and those that are yet to be acquired (a gap analysis) detailing short term strategies of capability and/or resource acquisition. Use the IC Navigator and Effector plot for your analysis.
§ Propose a long term resource based strategy for the venture describing the growth of core assets that will be critical for the venture to maintain a unique competitive position and competitive advantage. Be specific about the action steps for the firm.
§ Develop a set of principles that will guide the entrepreneur in managing the acquisition and growth of key intellectual capital resources to form the basis of a three year plan.

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the course topics I to P.

Length and Presentation:
Presentation will be in report format. The typical length will be a maximum of 3000 words plus appendices as deemed necessary.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
The report will be judged on its structure, presentation, content, integration and synthesis of course materials. Please note that the academic assessment can only make judgement on the educational validity and not the actual business or project strategy. The mark will reflect your learning and will not be an indicator of the merit of the strategy.
The standards by which the assignment will be assessed include:
· The level of detail provided that demonstrates understanding of the techniques involved in examining a young firm’s value logic, competitive advantage, competitive value position and resource transformations.
· Demonstration of an understanding of; the relative importance of resource stocks, how these stocks relate to the firm’s competitive position and the extent to which they contribute to competitive advantage.
· Evidence of critical analysis of the issues and concepts.
· Clear articulation of a set of guiding principles for the entrepreneur that support the development of the proposed competitive position and advantage.
· The extent to which the entrepreneur’s strategy has integrity and legitimacy with the proposed strategic position and advantage.
· Overall presentation including, clarity of expression and good use of language, correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and referencing, logical structure and sequence of presenting your findings.

• Assignment Submission:  Assignments should not be emailed to the instructor; they must be lodged via the MyUni Course site (unless specified to do both). Note that assignments may be processed via TURNITIN, which is an online plagiarism prevention tool.
• Cover Sheet:  Please submit, separate to your assignment, the completed University of Adelaide Assessment Cover Sheet providing details of yourself and your team members (if applicable), your assignment, the course, date submitted, etc. as well as the declaration signed by you that this is your (your team’s) work.  Note that the declaration on any electronically submitted assignment will be deemed to have the same authority as a signed declaration.
• Backup Copy of Assignments:  You are advised to keep a copy of your assignments in case the submitted copy goes missing.  Please ensure that all assignment pages are numbered. If your assignment contains confidential information, you should discuss any concerns with the Course Lecturer prior to submission.
• Extensions of Time:  Any request for an extension of time for the submission of an assignment should be made well before the due date of the assignment to the Course Lecturer.  Normally, extensions will only be granted for a maximum of two weeks from the original assignment submission date.  Extensions will only be granted in cases of genuine extenuating circumstances and proof, such as a doctor’s certificate, may be required.
• Failure to submit: Failure to submit an assignment on time or by the agreed extension deadline may result in penalties and may incur a fail grade.  Note that a late penalty of 5% of the total available marks for that assessment item will be incurred each day an assignment is handed in late (Unless otherwise stated in 'Assessment Related Requirements' or 'Assessment Detail' above).  Assignments handed in after 14 days from the due submission date will fail even if a 100% mark is granted for the work.