GRA 3164 Developing and Organizing Entrepreneurial Ventures

GRA 3164 Developing and Organizing Entrepreneurial Ventures

Course code: 
GRA 3164
Department: 
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Øystein D. Fjeldstad
Course name in Norwegian: 
Developing and Organizing Entrepreneurial Ventures
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Semester: 
2025 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

Entrepreneurs and corporate innovators face significant leadership and organizational challenges such as deciding on and developing the firm's business model, recruiting and leading an entrepreneurial team, leading explorative and experimental work on a shoestring budget, and building an organization from scratch. Successful entrepreneurship requires an understanding of these challenges and a set of leadership skills to overcome them.  The course will give students knowledge and understanding of theory and practice of business models, agile design and development, leadership and organizing in entrepreneurial settings and prepare them for careers in start-ups, scale-ups, and corporate innovation efforts.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

Upon completion of the course, students should have knowledge of:

  • DIfferent types of business models and their application in entrepreneurial ventures
  • The leadership challenges and requirements of start-ups, scale-ups, and corporate innovation efforts
  • Leadership and development of people and teams in entrepreneurial settings
  • Methods for leading and organizing innovative projects
  • Decision making in entrepreneurial settings
  • The role of technology in leadership and collaboration
  • Organizational development and design of entrepreneurial efforts of different types and stages of development
Learning outcomes - Skills

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

  • Identify and develop different types of business models, the drivers of their performance, and important strategic choices
  • Identify leadership challenges and requirements as well as apply relevant leadership practices
  • Assess and choose appropriate processes, methods, and tools for different innovation challenges, as well as to know the basics of how to lead them
  • Identify and make strategic decisions
  • Assess and choose effective ways to organize start-ups, scale-ups, and corporate innovation efforts
General Competence

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to reflect and apply knowledge and skills across diverse contexts on:

  • The use of theories and models to solve business development, leadership and organizational problems in start-ups, scale-ups, and corporate innovation efforts
  • Approaches to collaboration, management and organization of work in an international context
  • Impact of digitalization
  • Personal career development path
Course content

The course covers the following topics:

  • Different types of business models and related strategic issues and potential actions
  • The leadership capabilities of an entrepreneur: start-ups, scale-ups, and corporate innovation and the different leadership capabilities they require
  • Building a team and leading people
  • Decision making in entrepreneurial settings
  • Leading and organizing innovative projects: introduction to Agile, Lean Startup, rapid prototyping, and Design Thinking methods
  • Organizing start-ups, scale-ups, and corporate innovation: the fundamentals of organization design
Teaching and learning activities

The course will combine academic rigor and practical relevance through research-based and academic-grade practitioner literature, student involvement, problem solving, and practical exercises in and between lectures. Leading reflective practitioners will be involved in the development and teaching of the course.

Students have to read assigned literature and cases before each class and be prepared for class discussions.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Additional information

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.

All parts of the assessment must be passed in order to get a grade in the course.

Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Disclaimer

Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Submission PDF
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
60
Grouping: 
Group/Individual (1 - 4)
Duration: 
1 Semester(s)
Comment: 
Written group project report on one of two topics:
- Develop a business model and organizational development plan for an entrepreneurial effort
- Conduct an assessment of the business model and organization of an entrepreneurial effort
Exam code: 
GRA 31642
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Submission other than PDF
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
40
Grouping: 
Group/Individual (1 - 4)
Duration: 
1 Semester(s)
Comment: 
Video presentation (groups 1-4) plus individual written discussions on videos and class material. Links to the written discussion will be provided by course coordinator.
Exam code: 
GRA 31643
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
Total weight: 
100
Sum workload: 
0

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.