2023/2024
Ecosystems of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'
Type:
Mago-Lego
Delivered by:
Department of Educational Programmes
When:
2 module
Open to:
students of all HSE University campuses
Instructors:
Dirk Meissner
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Contact hours:
32
Course Syllabus
Abstract
Innovation-driven entrepreneurs engage in the creation, diffusion and use of knowledge within economic systems through the introduction of new products and services, technologies and business models. Yet, these individuals and firms rely on complementary resources and a diversity of agents and institutions that conform their respective business environments. In this respect, Ecosystems of Entrepreneurship and Innovation stand for territory-based contexts that involve multiple elements shaping individual’s proclivity and skillsets to become involved in innovative activity. Hence, competitive advantages of firms increasingly lie outside their organizational boundaries, comprehending shared resources, networks, knowledge spillovers, local endowments and support from institutions and policy. Such dynamics have justified a shift in analytical focus from the entrepreneur to the contextual conditions in which they are embedded. This is where entrepreneurial ecosystems come in. Concepts related to Ecosystems of Entrepreneurship and Innovation build on previous literature on industrial districts, innovative milieus, and regional systems of innovation. Nonetheless, the ecosystem approach takes a biomimetic stance and consolidates these streams to provide a framework to address the relationships among agents participating in the promotion of entrepreneurial and innovative events. In this vein, Ecosystems of Entrepreneurship and Innovation involve collaborative arrangements between firms and governments, institutions, universities, research institutes, sources of finance, incumbents and other entrepreneurial ventures. But beyond these ‘biotic’ agents, the development of entrepreneurial innovations is also affected by ‘abiotic’ elements, i.e., the local institutions, culture and levels of trust in relationships. Interactions and knowledge flows among these agents and framework conditions compose the core of Ecosystems of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Knowledge spillovers become ubiquitous, strongly favoring open innovation strategies. In turn, this creates diverse opportunities for entrepreneurs and firms to engage in value co-creation. Such spillovers are, however, spatially concentrated, granting particular interest for analytical approaches that deal with cities and regions. These processes also place emphasis on the historical trajectories and the evolutionary dynamics that affect the configuration of key agents and the strength of linkages taking place between them. For instance, the structure of governance in Ecosystems of Entrepreneurship and Innovation co-evolve with the ecosystem itself, meaning that the width and depth of interactions, as well as their coordination mechanisms, are both drivers and outcomes of EE dynamics. Moreover, these patterns are path dependent and, although they are essentially based on bottom-up events, top-down coordination can provide useful facilitation. This course is dedicated to examine Ecosystems of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in all their forms and manifestations. In-class discussion focuses on the components and interactions taking place within ecosystems, the advantages and disadvantages of partnerships for the various parties involved, and the configurations of networks and linkages. The role of innovation habitats (Universities, Tech Parks, Incubators) will also be appraised.
Learning Objectives
- Partnership governance; partner search strategies of companies; partnership management
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Ability to design innovation processes
- An understanding of innovation climate determinants
- Ability to analyze innovation strategies
- Developing innovation portfolios
- Skills for developing organizational STI models
Course Contents
- Definitions, rationale
- Multinational Corporations, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
- Negotiating, Managing I (need, find, select partners)
- Cases (distributedin advance)
- Negotiating, Managing II (structuring, building networks, alliance dynamics)
- Global Value Chains
- Cases (distributedin advance)
- Wrap-up, Lessons
Interim Assessment
- 2023/2024 2nd moduleGroup activities and presentations (P) Final control: written exam after final lecture (60 minutes (F). The overall course grade (G) (10-point scale) is calculated as the mean between P (60%) and F (40%). G = F
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Nicholas S. Vonortasa, & Richard N. Spivackb. (n.d.). MANAGING LARGE RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS: Examples from the Advanced Technology Program’s Information Infrastructure for Healthcare Program. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.8BE364B4
- Nicholas Vonortas, & Lorenzo Zirulia. (2015). Strategic technology alliances and networks. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, (5), 490. https://doi.org/10.1080/10438599.2014.988517
- Ohmae, K. (1989). The Global Logic of Strategic Alliances. Harvard Business Review, 67(2), 143–154. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=bsu&AN=8905081819
- Pierre Dussauge, Ulrich Wassmer, & Marcel Planellas. (2010). How to Manage Alliances Better Than One at a Time. Post-Print. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.hal.journl.hal.00537079
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Sampson, R. C. (2004). The Cost of Misaligned Governance in R&D Alliances. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.EDB861D0