Program Overview

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Digital Entrepreneurship

Course Overview

This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of and detailed knowledge about digital entrepreneurship with the aim of applying the latest theory and concepts to the study of issues in the digital economy. By combining theory with prominent real-life examples, the course will enable students to make sense of the persistent debates on organizational and societal issues related to world-leading organizations in the digital economy.

Course Objectives

The three main objectives of the course are:

• to analyze some of the most well-known companies in the digital economy (e.g., Airbnb, Netflix, Spotify, Wikipedia, X (formerly Twitter), Theranos, MySpace) using the business model canvas;
• to familiarize students with the application of digital entrepreneurship theory and concepts to real-life examples;
• to provide tools and improve student ability to critically analyze and implement digital innovations and enhance organizational performance in the digital economy.

Course Content

The main topics of this course comprise, but are not limited to:

• Digital business models
• Dopamine-driven digital goods
• Digital crowds and communities
• Network effects
• Customization and scale
• Digital trust
• The power of artificial intelligence
• Financial technologies
• The dark side of digital entrepreneurship
• Digital failures

Description of Qualifications

Knowledge

Students gain knowledge about digital entrepreneurship, including how digital business models are conceptualized to start and grow digital economy ventures, as well as insights into failures and the dark side of digital entrepreneurship. This includes but is not limited to:

• Knowledge about key tools and concepts in digital entrepreneurship, including digital business models, drivers of dopamine-driven digital value propositions, network effects, customization, scale, financial technologies (fintech), and from digital failures
• Knowledge about how digital crowds and digital trust influence the design of digital business models
• Knowledge about the impact of artificial intelligence on digital business models
• Knowledge about ethical designs and the trustworthy use of technology in digital entrepreneurship
• Knowledge about the darker aspects of digital entrepreneurship and their societal implications

Skills

Through interaction with course content, analysis of prominent real-life examples and current events, and the preparation and in-class discussion of exercises, students will acquire skills including but not limited to:

• Ability to identify, describe, and assess central theories and their concepts in digital entrepreneurship
• Ability to evaluate and explain the strengths and weaknesses of various digital business models (e.g., online marketplaces, multi-sided platforms) in connection to organizational performance, business ethics, and societal implications (e.g., issues of equity, privacy, accountability)
• Ability to identify, assess, and design digital business models and digital value propositions to facilitate innovation and growth, while avoiding failures and addressing ethical concerns
• Ability to apply digital entrepreneurship concepts to digital business ideas and ventures, while critically addressing the dark side of digital entrepreneurship (e.g., negative psychological/ emotional/ financial effects, societal impacts, ethical dilemmas)

Competences

In order to develop the above-mentioned skills, students will show competence in:

• Explaining and analyzing digital business models and digital value propositions of organizations, including the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and context-specific aspects
• Critically analyzing the drivers of real-life digital innovations and developing actual approaches to facilitate digital innovations in organizations
• Presenting and discussing a structured business argument in the field of digital entrepreneurship

Examination

Form of Examination

The form of examination is a take-home assignment (Assign).

Form of Co-examination

There is no co-examination.

Assessment

The assessment is based on a 7-point grading scale.

Permitted Exam Aids

All exam aids are permitted.

Duration

The duration of the examination is 4 hours.

Requirements for Taking the Exam

In order to participate in the exam, there is an 80% attendance requirement.

In addition, students must complete the following compulsory, non-graded activities:

• During class, students work in groups of 2-4 students (depending on the number of students in class), which are formed in class. Each student group presents at least one exercise in class (Activity 1). The presentations will start on Day 4. During each presentation day, the student groups will have one hour to work on the exercise and discuss their answers before presenting it in class with the new input from the morning lecture.
• Two other groups are assigned the role of discussants. These student groups receive time to contrast their answers to the questions with the answers of the presenting group. A short 1-2 page report of the answers created by the discussants needs to be submitted individually by students to the lecturer via Brightspace (Activity 2 & 3).

Activity 1

Students are assigned into small groups and are asked to prepare and hold a 20-minute group presentation for one exercise in class (oral presentation, using either PowerPoint slides, the Black- or Whiteboard, or a Flipchart).

Activity 2

Students will be assigned into small groups and are asked to prepare a discussion for one exercise in class. The discussion preparation aims to weigh in and reflect on presented arguments, ask follow-up questions, and/or present new perspectives and/or explanations. After class, students are asked to submit a short 1-2 page report summarizing their main discussion points via Brightspace (max. 4800 characters).

Activity 3

Students will be assigned into small groups and are asked to prepare a discussion for one exercise in class. The discussion preparation aims to weigh in and reflect on presented arguments, ask follow-up questions, and/or present new perspectives and/or explanations. After class, students are asked to submit a short 1-2 page report summarizing their main discussion points via Brightspace (max. 4800 characters).

Re-exam

Re-exam: written take-home exam (max. 36,000 characters including spaces).

The dates for the first retake are:

• 27th October, 12:00 noon: You will receive your exam question via WISEflow.
• 3rd November, 12:00 noon: Deadline for submitting via WISEflow.

The dates for the second retake are:

• January 30th, 12:00 noon: You will receive your exam question via WISEflow.
• February 6th, 12:00 noon: Deadline for submitting via WISEflow.

The format for the second re-take is the same as for the re-take.

Course Details

• ECTS: 5
• Level: Bachelor
• Location: Aarhus
• Type of course: Summer University
• Primary programme: Bachelor's Degree Programme in Economics and Business Administration
• Related programmes: Bachelor's Degree Programme in Business Administration and Commercial Law, Bachelor's Degree Programme in Economics and Business Administration
• Department: Department of Management
• Faculty: Aarhus BSS
• Maximum number of participants: Maximum 40 participants.
• Teaching dates: 2 July – 18 July.
• Lectures are expected to be held between 9am and 1pm.
• The final exam is expected to be held on Tuesday, 22 July, 9am - 1 pm

Expected Student Workload

• Classroom attendance: 52 hours
• Preparation: 75 hours
• Feedback activity: 5 hours
• Papers (prerequisites): 15 hours
• Exam: 10 hours

Academic Prerequisites

Two years of relevant university studies are recommended, typically in economics and business administration. Still, students with other academic backgrounds are welcome (e.g., humanities, engineering, natural sciences), because start-ups, new ventures, and established businesses in the digital economy are highly interdisciplinary and entrepreneurs as well as managers work in interdisciplinary teams and in part need to fulfill interdisciplinary tasks.

Language of Instruction

English

Teaching

• Form of instruction: Classroom instruction
• Instructor: Nicole Siebold // Aarhus University
• Course coordinator: Mai Skjøtt Linneberg

Comments on the Form of Instruction

The course consists of interactive lecture parts with group exercises and discussions, where students are asked to critically reflect upon introduced theories and apply them to real-life examples. The exercises will be presented and discussed by students in class.

Literature

• Antonopoulou, K., & Begkos, C. (2020). Strategizing for digital innovations: Value propositions for transcending market boundaries. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 156.
• Boudreau, K. J., & Lakhani, K. R. (2013). Using the crowd as an innovation partner. Harvard Business Review, 91(4), 60-9.
• Boudreau, K. J., & Hagiu, A. (2009). Platform rules: Multi-sided platforms as regulators. Platforms, markets and innovation, 1, 163-191.
• Boudreau, K. J., & Jeppesen, L. B. (2015). Unpaid crowd complementors: The platform network effect mirage. Strategic Management Journal, 36(12).
• Cennamo, C. (2021). Competing in digital markets: A platform-based perspective. Academy of Management Perspectives, 35(2), 265-291.
• Cennamo, C., & Santaló, J. (2015). How to avoid platform traps. MIT Sloan Management Review, 57(1), 12.
• Greenstein, S., Lerner, J., & Stern, S. (2013). Digitization, innovation, and copyright: What is the agenda?. Strategic Organization, 11(1), 110-121.
• Holm, A. B., & Günzel-Jensen, F. (2017). Succeeding with freemium: strategies for implementation. Journal of Business Strategy, 38(2), 16-24.
• Leong, K., & Sung, A. (2018). FinTech (Financial Technology): what is it and how to use technologies to create business value in fintech way?. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 9(2), 74-78.
• McAfee, A., Brynjolfsson, E., Davenport, T. H., Patil, D. J., & Barton, D. (2012). Big data: the management revolution. Harvard Business Review, 90(10), 60-68.
• Nambisan, S. (2017). Digital entrepreneurship: Toward a digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 41(6).
• Kellogg, K. C., Valentine, M. A., & Christin, A. (2020). Algorithms at work: The new contested terrain of control. Academy of Management Annals, 14(1), 366-410.
• Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers (Vol. 1). John Wiley & Sons.
• Shepherd, D. A. (2019). Researching the dark side, downside, and destructive side of entrepreneurship: It is the compassionate thing to do!. Academy of Management Discoveries, 5(3), 217-220.
• Shepherd, D. A., Patzelt, H., Shepherd, D. A., & Patzelt, H. (2017). Researching entrepreneurial failures. Trailblazing in entrepreneurship: Creating new paths for understanding the field, 63-102.
• Siebold, N., Gümüsay, A. A., & von Richthofen, G. (2022). The promises and perils of applying artificial intelligence for social good in entrepreneurship. Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society.
• Siebold, N., Oelrich, S., & Roche, O. P. (2023). “I Am Your Partner, Am I Not?” An inquiry into stakeholder inclusion in platform organizations in times of crisis. Journal of Business Research, 160.
• Von Hippel, E. (2006). Democratizing innovation (p. 216). the MIT Press.
• Ziaie, A., ShamiZanjani, M., & Manian, A. (2021). Systematic review of digital value propositions in the retail sector: New approach for digital experience study. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 47.