New venture creation: from business idea to validation and launch
This start-up creation course is conceived as an experiential-based learning process, whereas, through project work in teams, student get to live a real-life entrepreneurial experience. The course will offer the needed tools and methodologies for starting up, and will guide the students through applying them first-hand in practice, increasing the likelihood of business success.
In teams, and guided by the lecturer, students will:
- identify a new business idea based on an innovative technology, in line with UN’s 17 Strategic Development Goals (methodology: problem-based idea generation).
- test and validate the idea and the business model in the real world with potential customers and business partners (methodologies used: hypothesis-driven entrepreneurship, the lean start-up etc.).
- write an effective business proposal to be presented to early-stage investors or incubator programs, and to apply for national start-up competitions.
- present the results achieved in the business proposal in front of a jury of experts in the form of an elevator pitch.
Local start-up practitioners such as business angels, venture capital investors, entrepreneurs, incubator and accelerator managers, and public agency representatives will participate in the course as guest speakers or jurors.
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Silvia Stroe
Semester: Autumn semester
Credits: 4 ECTS
Business Model Design
Business models must continually evolve in today's marketplace to ensure long-term competitive advantage. The future of competitiveness will not be between products or processes, but between business models. At the Institute of Technology Management at the University of St Gallen, Oliver Gassmann and his team developed a powerful methodology – The Business Model Navigator – that helps managers to systematically innovate their business models. The basic idea is to draw on business model patterns to innovate and revolutionize a todays business.
Through extensive research with over 350 business models, the team found that 90% of their innovations were made up of previously existing concepts, ideas, or business models. Using this information, they developed the 55+ business model patterns which will enable students to learn how to innovate business models.
During the course the students will meet real challenges from companies, where the students have to develop new business models including MVPs to test those business models.
Prerequisites: Pre-reading of the book:
Gassmann, O., Frankenberger, K, & Csik, M. (2020). The Business Model Navigator: The strategies behind the most successful companies. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education Ltd.
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Oliver Gassmann
Semester: Spring semester
Credits: 4 ECTS
Engineering the Companies Digital Core
The St.Galler House of Digital Business, as the foundation to build the companies digital core:
The digitalization of society is changing the way we consume, work, live, and communicate with each other. Digitization is generating a new start-up era, which focuses on digital users and their changing needs, which opens up access to whole new markets. Digitization is also forcing established companies to build a digital core and therefore adapt to the changing needs of the digital society. The transformation from the information society to the digital society represents one of the key challenges for companies. This leads to that existing business models are becoming partially ineffective, value chains are changing to networks and systems, high costs are being incurred for the management of digitization, and new organizational forms and task profiles are emerging.
Based on the orientation to digital users and their needs, organizational strategies, processes, and systems as well as management tasks, products and services must be designed accordingly to build the digital core. Using model-based design theory, helps to develop innovative business solutions, to support companies in their digital transformation. Therefore, the aim of the course “Engineering the Companies Digital Core” is to enable students to acquire skills to design the companies’ digital core and help them in this transformation process, by actively take into account the digitalization of the economy and society.
Parallel to the lecture, the students apply the methods they have learned in a running case (self-study). In addition to their work on the case, the students examine and evaluate the solutions of their fellow students. This is intended to promote action and transfer skills. Practical presentations by decision-makers from industry, will provide interesting insights into the practical relevance of the course content.
Innovative IT-based learning tools are used to promote learning objectives and to increase interactivity during and after the lecture. The content, process, components, and assessment criteria of the decentralized examination will be discussed in detail during the lecture.
Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Jan Marco Leimeister and Dr. Roman Rietsche
Semester: Spring semester
Credits: 4 ECTS
Performance Management in Start-ups
In short: The course incorporates financial decisionmaking at every stage of the entrepreneurial process through performance management.
A more detailled description will be provided in January 2023 before the course is performed.
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Klaus Möller
Semester: Spring semester
Credits: 4 ECTS
Leadership
Taking on leadership positions comes with a number of challenges: Leaders are expected to define a strategic framework for their team, department or overall organization, promote culture and collaboration and, above all, take responsibility for their employees. The importance of these leadership tasks is increasing heavily in many areas, especially in view of the increasingly dynamic, complex and uncertain work context.
Against this background, the seminar imparts central knowledge on the topic of leadership in organizations. In addition to basic knowledge and an overall organizational view of the topic, the seminar focuses in particular on modern concepts and current challenges in the leadership of employees and teams. In this context, on the one hand, the question will be addressed of how leadership actions in increasingly dynamic and flexible contexts can be designed in a contemporary and successful manner (e.g. through empowerment-oriented and shared forms of leadership). On the other hand, current megatrends are highlighted that represent central fields of action for leaders in organizations (e.g. dynamization and flexibilization of structures, digitalization, demographic change, mental health).
The topics covered in the seminar will be analysed on the basis of current scientific findings and deepened through practical examples and the processing of case studies.
Lecturers: Dr. Stefan Berger and Dr. Hendrik Hüttermann
Semester: Spring semester
Credits: 4 ECTS