Syllabus

Course Description

This course is about "corporate entrepreneurship," my label for the alternative approaches that existing firms use to generate new technology-based products and businesses. It emphasizes various kinds of internal ventures and multiple "external" collaborative approaches that include corporate venture capital investments, licensing and different types of alliances and formal joint ventures. Basis for the new knowledge presented in this course is a combination of academic research and my personal experience supplemented by that of the several guest lecturers.

Grades

Grades are based upon:

1. One individually-written mini-paper that reports very briefly on a real case (in your own organization, unless you receive advance written permission from Prof. Livada) that involved any one of several "alternative strategies for new technology-based product and business development" (3 pages, typed double-spaced); due on or before Ses #4.
2. A co-authored (by 3 to 5 students, neither more nor less) team term paper (10-12 pages, typed double-spaced) on comparative analyses of two major competitive companies' efforts in the area of either (i) acquisitions or (ii) alliances/joint ventures, or (iii) equity investments (paper due by Ses #7).
3. Active participation in class discussion, monitored in every class session.

Schedule