ENT4510 Intrapreneurship Course description

Intrapreneurship is the practice of entrepreneurial skills and approaches carried out/initiated within an established organisation. This course will examine the challenges and opportunities for both employees and organisations in creating and maintaining a culture that fosters intrapreneurial activities.

Intrapreneurship can be defined as the process that allows individuals and groups with an established organisation to think, develop and execute value creation while still having access to internal resources to reach their intended goals. An intrapreneur is a person who becomes empowered to create new products or services for an organisation. Intrapreneurship has the ability to leverage internal resources and market knowledge to expand their value proposition to existing and new markets and users.

In this course we will look at intrapreneurship from the eyes of the organisation, at the processes to support intrapreneurship and at the entrepreneurial individual. We will review the role of intrapreneurship in building and sustaining innovation capacities within an organisation, the role of corporate culture in driving innovation processes, and the impact of leadership styles on successful intrapreneurship activities.

Language of instruction is English.

None.

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has

• in-depth knowledge about the relevance and concepts of intrapreneurship
• specialised knowledge about why established organisations find entrepreneurial culture so challenging
• a high level of knowledge about intrapreneurial activities relate to a company’s ability to drive innovation throughout the organisation
• a broad understanding and knowledge related to the synergy necessary between leadership, corporate culture and organisational dynamics to drive successful intrapreneurship
• in-depth knowledge about the synergy necessary between leadership, corporate culture and organisational dynamics to drive successful intrapreneurship

Skills

The student has

• a high level of skills in identifying and evaluating the reasons why incumbent companies find intrapreneurship challenging
• specialised skills in identifying opportunities within a company
• specialised skills manoeuvring and understanding the internal innovation process of a company
• in-depth skills in understanding the internal culture of a company and identifying and communicating with relevant stakeholders
• a high level of skills in understanding how resources can facilitate innovation within a company

General competence

The student has

• a high degree of competence to apply knowledge and skills when deciding the most appropriate innovation strategy within a company
• specialised competencies in communicating and mastering theoretical concepts, language and forms of expression that are relevant within the field of intrapreneurship
• a high level of competence in ethical challenges related to a company's innovation and growth strategy

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has

• in-depth knowledge about innovation, entrepreneurship and value creation
• a high level of knowledge about the identification and seizing of value creation opportunities. This includes an ability to identify needs and challenges that need to be considered.
• specialized understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to entrepreneurship
• an in-depth understanding of the impact and implications of innovation and entrepreneurship on people, profit and planet
• a high level of knowledge about idea generation, evaluation and how to create a product or service that can meet needs in the market

Skills

The student is capable of

• identifying and understanding users’ or customers’ problems and creating new solutions to identified problems
• assessing and evaluating the commercialization potential of an idea, and the potential consequences and effects of entrepreneurial action on target communities, the markets, the environment and society at large
• participating in teamwork and driving teamwork forward in entrepreneurial environments
• using and explaining entrepreneurial tools and processes, such as design thinking and business modelling

General competence

The student can

• explore and experiment with creative and innovative approaches
• apply knowledge and skills when creating or seizing opportunities
• communicate and master theoretical concepts, language and different forms of expression
• identify and assess individual and group strengths and weaknesses and give and receive feedback in a group
• use reflection as a tool to learn from experiences

The following coursework requirements must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1: Teaching sessions in the course are compulsory. The minimum attendance requirement is 70 percent active participation.
• Coursework 2: Students are to hand in 6 small assignments related to the relevant themes of the course throughout the semester, of which some will be individual and some in teams. Each assignment will be between 1-4 pages of written text or presentation. Details on each assignment will be listed at the start of the semester. 75 percent of the hand-ins must be completed and approved.

All required coursework must be completed and approved by the given deadline for the student to take the exam. If one or more coursework requirements have not been approved, the student will be given one opportunity to submit an improved version by the given deadline.

The exam in the course is an individual term paper related to the experience from the course.

The term paper must have a scope of 4000 words (+/- 10 per cent) excluding front page, table of contents, references and any appendices. Font and font size: Arial or Calibri, 12 points. Line spacing: 1,5 point. The term paper can be written in Norwegian or English.

Students awarded a fail grade are given one opportunity to submit an improved version of the term paper for assessment.

Grade scale A-F

The term paper and the process paper are assessed by one internal and one external examiner.

At least 25 per cent of the exam papers are assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by two examiners form the basis for determining the level for all the exam papers.

The term papers and the oral presentations are assessed by one internal and one external examiner.