course-schedule

Entrepreneurship - Cultural Entrepreneurship (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Laura Fey

Termin:
14-täglich | Donnerstag | 14:15 - 17:45 | 02.04.2024 - 05.07.2024 | C 40.108 Seminarraum

Inhalt: This is a bi-weekly undergraduate seminar that provides an overview of cultural entrepreneurship and introduces students to fundamental questions and approaches to the study of creating and legitimizing cultural organizations. Cultural entrepreneurship is a set of approaches for understanding entrepreneurial action that is based on similar cultural processes. Culture is at the foundation of entrepreneurship in two ways, a) entrepreneurs create and form organizations based on culture (culture as resource) and b) the legitimization and survival of organizations is based on the evaluation by audiences like society. Cultural entrepreneurship is an active and fast developing area of research in the social sciences, with challenges and opportunities for organizations as well as society. This course is broad and aims to give students an overview of cultural entrepreneurship by encouraging them to apply theoretical and empirical ideas to their own life. Each introduced idea should be examined with the following questions in mind: how do I understand the topic for myself? How does it matter for my own life and my friends? what is/are the overarching question(s) with which the idea is concerned? What are the key concepts? What are the assumptions about causal forces? How far is the empirical evidence convincing? A sub theme that you should consider is why some ideas seem to convince you more than others. That is, pay attention to the crafting and composition of ideas from YouTube videos to academic papers. Lastly, this course is about reflecting on your experiences and to formulate your own research questions and perspectives.

Entrepreneurship - Issues of Culture and Identity in New Ventures and Organizational Development (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Boukje Cnossen

Inhalt: Shared cultural ideas, meanings, beliefs, and concepts of “who we are” influence how people in an organization think, feel, and act. Organizations are also arenas where people perform and negotiate various work and non-work identities. Yet, organizations rarely simply passively observe such processes, but also actively seek to control and manage socialization and identification. This seminar will provide an introduction to organizational culture and identity, covering both theoretical foundations and their practical application to issues such as leading employees, managing innovation, and designing sustainable organizations. Building on an overview of the main approaches to organizational culture and identity, the seminar will examine a number of thematic issues such as socialization, identification, critical approaches to culture, identity and control, the relationship of work and non-work identities, and occupational identities. The seminar is based on student assignments (group work) designed to enhance students’ ability to think analytically and to develop a comprehensive understanding of the cultural dynamics of organizations.

Entrepreneurship - Conspiracy entrepreneurship & the business of polarization (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Lena Kostuj

Inhalt: Most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of various types of conspiracy theories and disinformation via social media accelerated, thus triggering polarization processes (Bennett & Livingston, 2020), leading to situations in which debates become clustered into opposite poles. The deterioration of spaces for open exchange threatens social groups on different scales – be they teams, small organizations, larger corporations, or even democratic society as a whole – in their likelihood to exchange views and opinions, thereby fostering constructive conversation and building trust. A significant organizational phenomenon in that context is the rise of so-called 'conspiracy entrepreneurs' (Birchall 2021). Conspiracy entrepreneurs are not only influential opinion leaders and makers, but they keep finding ways to profit from societal polarization and the accompanying decreased trust in democracy – they become multipliers for disinformation and conspiracy theories to thrive, with significant consequences. Examples of conspiracy entrepreneurs such as Alex Jones in the US or Ken Jebsen in Germany have shown that these actors and their content not only find an audience but also a market. Conspiracy entrepreneurs sell counter-cultural claims that are deeply connected with their self-branding and are often offered alongside actual products. They sell solutions to problems that cannot be grasped and answers to questions that cannot be answered, oftentimes, putting themselves at the center of attention by making polarizing claims. In this seminar, we will explore the emerging phenomenon of 'conspiracy entrepreneurship' by, on the one hand, looking at the existing (and related) literature, and, on the other hand, by taking a closer look at examples that we may encounter online and in public discourses.

Entrepreneurship - Digital Transformation (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Stefanie Habersang

Termin:
14-täglich | Donnerstag | 14:15 - 17:45 | 02.04.2024 - 05.07.2024 | C 14.001 Seminarraum

Inhalt: The emergence of digital technologies, digital platforms and digital infrastructures has transformed innovation and entrepreneurship significantly. Beyond simply opening new opportunities for (corporate) entrepreneurs, digital technologies have broader implications for value creation and value capture. Studies have shown how digital technologies fuel new forms of entrepreneurial initiatives that cross traditional industry/sectoral boundaries, embrace networks, ecosystems, and communities, integrate digital and non-digital assets, and accelerate the inception, scaling and evolution of new ventures. Studies have also documented the ways by which established large companies engage in forms of corporate entrepreneurship to redefine themselves and radically restructure their innovation strategies and practices to respond to digitization. It is undeniable that new digital technologies transform the nature of uncertainty inherent in entrepreneurship thereby, encouraging a radical rethink of how individuals, organizations, and collectives pursue creative endeavors. Importantly, digitization of innovation and entrepreneurship holds implications at a broader regional/national and societal levels with the potential to inform policy making entities and other stakeholders. Studies have indicated how digitization can translate into innovation productivity gains, increased regional entrepreneurial activity, and broader economic and social gains. Similarly, digital infrastructures and platforms have allowed for the emergence of new work structures that redefine industry/sectoral boundaries and shape local and regional economic health. The following selected topics will be discussed and worked on in the seminar: (1) Digital business models (2) Scaling a digital business model (3) Openness in digital business models (4) Managing the digital ecosystem (5) Digitalization and corporate entrepreneurship (6) Guest lecture

Entrepreneurship - Entrepreneurship in Action: The Case of Alumni Activities (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Sünje von Helldorff, Saskia Poth

Inhalt: Entrepreneurship is more than just founding a new venture. It involves creativity and play, and it is implied in every project and even in the mundane parts of everyday work. In this seminar, we will discuss and experience this way of understanding entrepreneurship based on the conceptualization of alumni activities.

Entrepreneurship - Entrepreneurship in Times of Crisis (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Elke Schüßler

Termin:
wöchentlich | Montag | 10:15 - 11:45 | 02.04.2024 - 05.07.2024 | C 6.317 Seminarraum

Inhalt: Catastrophies like the Covid-19 pandemic starting in 2020 or the Russian invasion of the Ukraine in 2022 are major crisis events on a global scale, confirming the frequently mentioned volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of modern economies and societies. Dealing with large-scale and disruptive crisis events may be the “new normal” for businesses, public administrations and civil society organizations around the world given the quickly advancing climate crisis and resulting mass migration, food shortages, growing inequality and war. This course examines the role of various forms of entrepreneurship - social, institutional, cultural, but also profit-driven or corporate - in such a "polycrisis" situation and on different levels of analysis: local, national and transnational. It hereby also reflects on the notion of entrepreneurship itself as a concept in crisis: can entrepreneurship contribute in a positive way to dealing with crises, or does it contribute in substantive ways to these crises?

Entrepreneurship - Global Scaling Callenge (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Elke Schüßler

Inhalt: For the first time, Leuphana University students can participate in the Global Scaling Challenge. The Global Scaling Challenge is an international student competition about real-life firms that currently face the challenge of scaling globally. Student teams will develop, present, and discuss their suggestion for a scaling strategy with the entrepreneurs and an expert jury. Find more information here: https://www.mgt.unm.edu/global-scaling-challenge/ What’s in it for you? As a student of IBAE you can compete with teams from around the globe and your input can make a real difference for the participating firms. You will be given mentorship and hence can develop your knowledge and skills in addressing real-life entrepreneurial challenges. Additionally, the total prize money is $35,000, and successful student teams can win a share. How to participate? A maximum number of eight students can register for the Global Scaling Challenge. To be considered, you need to express your interest by sending a short motivation letter and transcript of records to Prof. Elke Schüßler (elke.schuessler@leuphana.de) until February 9th 2024. Selections will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis while also taking into account the quality of the applications. Once selected, you will be registered for the course Elective Entrepreneurship “Entrepreneurship - Global Scaling Callenge (S) . You will get 5 credit points for participating in this course. Key dates: You have to reserve the following course dates in your calendar: Regional qualifier event: March 6th, 9-5. Main event: April 26-27, 9-5. In addition, you have to be prepared to work in your team in preparation to these events. The GSC is hosted by the University of New Mexico, Grenoble Ecole de Management and JKU Linz. Prof Daniela Maresch (Grenoble Ecole de Management) reports from the 2023 GSC: “The Global Scaling Challenge was a great success in my entrepreneurship and strategy courses! Last year, over a three-day period, 24 international student teams worked with three, real, high-tech companies to help them plan a viable growth strategy and virtually presented that strategy to a blue-ribbon panel of company senior executives, venture investors, and other industry and academic leaders. This Challenge has proven to be transformational for students and faculty alike.”

Entrepreneurship - Grand Challenges & Citizen Entrepreneurship (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Leonie Anika Eising

Termin:
14-täglich | Montag | 08:15 - 11:45 | 09.04.2024 - 05.07.2024 | C 11.308 Seminarraum

Inhalt: As the world faces growing grand challenges, such as climate change, resource scarcity, armed conflicts and many more, one approach to tackle these challenges may be “active citizenship“. The idea is that every citizen makes use of his or her skills and put them to work in a meaningful way to explore new ways of addressing social problems. If these citizen activists organize themselves in a business-like structure to achieve a certain goal, we speak of "citizen entrepreneurship". Using tools as online networking, private-public partnerships, corporate engagement or social entrepreneurship, these entrepreneurs strive for sustainable, systemic solutions in their community. Rather than short-term fixes and hand-me-down charity, they aim to build empowering communities and impactful organizations rather than fostering dependency. In this course, you learn about citizen entrepreneurship by using examples, discussing case studies and performing a practical assignment. Find out how much active citizenship lies within you and your environment and how to start a citizen initiative or explore a citizen entrepreneurship initiative in-depth to enrich the research field. How much potential does citizen entrepreneurship have for solving grand challenges? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the concept? Together we will find out. Citizen Entrepreneurship encompasses citizens' inclusion, integration, and engagement in the entrepreneurial process. As a conceptual framework, it represents a comprehensive view of how individuals within a community or society participate in entrepreneurship beyond the traditional profit-driven model. Citizen entrepreneurs create economic and social value by addressing local problems (e.g., in a city), often resulting from unsustainable development. The concept includes elements of, e.g., social or sustainable entrepreneurship, but it is not yet widely researched and represented in the literature.

Entrepreneurship - Researching Organization and Entrepreneurship through Ethnographic Methods (Seminar)