1 Syllabus ITRN 769.001 Monday 7:20-10:10 PM International Entrepreneurship Arlington Foundation Hall, Room 311 Professor Zoltan J. Acs and David Miller Office: Founders Hall 610 Fall Semester 2017 Tel: 703-993-1780 Office Hours: ARL, Monday 4:30 7 p.m. E-mail: zacs@gmu.edu Office Hours: Tuesday 2 4 p.m. Texts: Required: Steven R. Koltai, 2016, Peace Through Entrepreneurship, Washington, D.C. Brookings. Zoltan Acs and David Audretsch, Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research, Springer, 2010, online version. Zoltan Acs and Laszlo Szerb Global Entrepreneurship Index, The GEDI Institute, 2017 online. www.thegedi.org Reference: Acemoglu and Robinson, 2010, Why Nations Fail, Boston: Harvard University Press Michael Porter, 1990, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, New York: The Free Press Francis Fukuyama, 2011, The Origins of Political Order, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Zoltan Acs, 2014, Why Philanthropy Matters, Princeton: Princeton University Press
2 Questions: 1) Does entrepreneurship contribute to security and economic development? 2) If yes, How does it contribute to prosperity? 3) Can we create better Public Policies to improve its performance? How you answer these questions determines what you would study in this course. Peace is an elusive concept and one of the goals of the global community. How to prevent war and have a prosperous global community is one of the great goals of mankind. Several authors have suggested ways in which peace can be achieved through economic development. Of course this is also debated and not all agree. In fact some have argued that war is actually a useful development tool just like the great urban fires of years past helped build most modern cities by removing political impediments. However, the population explosion and high levels of unemployment are almost universally recognized as issues of the utmost importance. Entrepreneurship has been identified as one of many approaches to creating opportunity for millions and leading to a more prosperous and peaceful global community. How to achieve this is much more contentious. Over the past decade or so, several attempts to measure entrepreneurship at the national level have emerged. The notion of an entrepreneurial ecosystem is a useful concept by providing an approach to policy. There are many different ways to measure the ecosystem. Koltai offers one such approach in his book. We also introduce the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index GEDI and illustrate how it can be used to identify bottlenecks in National Systems of Entrepreneurship. The GEDI method represents a useful tool for the analysis of National Systems of Entrepreneurship, as well as for the design and implementation of entrepreneurship policies in countries. The distinctive features of the GEDI method are: (1) systemic approach, which recognizes interactions between constituent components of National Systems of Entrepreneurship; (2) the Penalty of Bottleneck feature, which helps identify bottleneck factors that hold back system-level performance; (3) contextualization, which recognizes that national entrepreneurship processes are always embedded in a given country s institutional framework
3 Course Objectives Understand how an ecosystem is supportive for entrepreneurship in a national and global context Understand the theoretical underpinnings of the entrepreneurial processes Conducting analysis, including cultural, human, geographic and political factors Identify sources of data for entrepreneurs with a global outlook Be able to assess attractiveness for entrepreneurs at the national and industry level Conduct and present accumulated economic analysis in a brief practical format Class and Small Group Participation This course is divided into three parts. Part one is an introduction to how entrepreneurship works. David Miller an ex-student of mine and a professor in the business school and head of the entrepreneurship and innovation lab. He will conduct three classes on the nuts and bolts of starting a business. They are August 28, September 18 th and October 2 nd. Part two is the class. The success of this course depends not only on your attendance, but also on your participation. The more you participate, the more fun and valuable the course will be for all of us. For every class, students are expected to read the supplemental readings and cases. Participation is measured using several criteria. These include actively participating individually during the "discussion" part of our sessions, in small group meetings, and in group presentations. The final part of the class is a case study on what an international agency is doing to promote entrepreneurship is different countries around the world. Your project
4 will identify an agency (World Bank for example) evaluate and report on one project by one agency. For example, President Obamas Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP) was one such activity out of the U.S. State Department. It s described in the Koltai book. Recommended journals Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Small Business Economics, Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship, Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Small Business and Enterprise Development, Regional Studies, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Technology Transfer, Journal of Business Venturing, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. Assignments/Grading/Project 1) Report on an international agency. a. Select an institution and prepare a general evaluation of its attractiveness for making a country richer by creating an incentive for an entrepreneur. Institutional Background 5 pages 25% 2) Understand what they are doing in entrepreneurship to improve the ecosystem and create jobs, innovation and growth. 10 pages 25% 3) Evaluate the effectiveness of the program examine its ability to meet objectives and how it could be improved 10 pages max. 25% 4) Make a presentation to the class 25% Papers will be 75% of your grade 25% of the final grade will come from class participation and presentation. Late assignments will not be accepted.
5 Outline (read texts for the day they are assigned) 1) August 28 th Introduction to Entrepreneurship practice David Miller 2) Topics for Session 1: The basics of entrepreneurship & innovation What? Who? Why? How? and more Business Models & value creation Finding a problem worth solving Business Model Creation Preparing for session #2 and beyond - find a problem and create a basic business canvas Materials for Session 1 : Read : Steve Blank. Why The Lean Startup Changes Everything, Harvard Business Review. May 2013. ; Watch : Owlet International Business Model Competition Video 2013 Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/84423056 ; Listen to NPR Podcast How I Built This : Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia) and How I Built This: Cathy Hughes (Radio One) -- http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-ibuilt-this 3) September 11 th Introduction to Entrepreneurial Ecosystems David Eisenberg, 2010, How to Start an Entrepreneurial Revolution, Harvard Business Review, June 41-51. Acs, Stam, Audretsch and O connor, 2017, The lineage of the entrepreneurial Ecosystem Approach, Small Business Economics, 49(1), 1-10. Esteban, Acs, Sanders and Szerb, Productivity and Growth: The relevance of the National System of Entrepreneurship, FIRES Project, University of Utrecht, September 2017 online.
6 4) September 18 th Introduction to Entrepreneurship practice David Miller Topics for Sessions 2 : Canvas & business model review Hypotheses and testing Talking to customers and others Basic MVPs and prototypes The Innovator s DNA Getting ready for Session 3 & beyond - testing your assumptions and talking to customers Materials for Session 2 : Read : Jeffrey H. Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton M.Christensen. The Innovator s DNA, Harvard Business Review. December 2009.; Read :Giff Constable. Twelve Tips for Early Customer Development Interviews Giff Constable.com. (3rd Revision) December 6, 2012. http://giffconstable.com/2012/12/12-tips-for-early-customer-developmentinterviews-revision-3/ Listen to : How I Built This : Nolan Bushnell (Atari & Chuck E. Cheeses) http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this 5) September 25 th Index Building I Acs, Autio and Szerb, 2014, National Systems of Entrepreneurship: Measurement Issues and Policy Implications, Research Policy, 43, 476-494. Zoltan Acs and Laszlo Szerb Global Entrepreneurship Index, The GEDI Institute, 2017 online. www.thegedi.org Chapter 1 and 2 Koltai Chapter 2, it s all about Jobs. 6) October 2nd Introduction to Entrepreneurship practice David Miller Topics for Session 3 : Business model assumptions, testing & talking to
7 customers Social entrepreneurship & impact Where does the money come from? The TRUTH about entrepreneurship & innovation An entrepreneurial attitude & lifelong learning Using innovation & entrepreneurship to create your vision of the future Materials for Session 3 : Read : Julie Battilana, Matthew Lee, John Walker, and Cheryl Dorsey. In Search of the Hybrid Ideal. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Summer2012. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/in_search_of_the_hybrid_ideal ; Review : The Social Business Model Canvas http://www.socialbusinessmodelcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/social- Business-Mo del-canvas.png ; Listen to : How I Built This : Blake Mycoskie (TOMS) and How I Built This: John Mackey (Whole Foods Market) http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this 7) October (Tuesday) 10 th Why is Entrepreneurship Good for a country? Koltai chapter 3 Acs, Desai and Klapper, What does Entrepreneurship Data Really Show, Small Business Economics, 2008, 32(3) 265-281. 8) October 16 th American Made Koltai Chapter 4 Miller and Acs, 2017, The Campus as Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Small Business Economics, 49(1) 75-96. China s Digital Economy: A leading global force, McKinsey and Company http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/china/chinas-digital-economy-a- leading-global-force?cid=other-eml-alt-mgi-mgi-oth- 1708&hlkid=751b73b9a9674e89a9790d85e75d240e&hctky=2569028&hd pid=e31341e3-14e7-43da-a2b7-9a6011f5c12e
8 Sussan and Acs, 2017, the Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Small Business Economics, 49(1), 55-74. Unicorns, Forbes Magazine 9) October 23 rd Through the Looking Glass Koltai, Chapter 5 AA Chapter 16: International Business, Entrepreneurship and the Global Economy. AA Chapter 17: The Globalization of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Talent. AA Chapter 18: Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries. Porter, 1990, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Chapter 1. 10) October 30 th Bad Policy Koltai, Chapter 6 Acs, Astebro, Audretsch and Robinson, 2016, Public Policies to Promote Entrepreneurship: A call to arms, Small Business Economics, 47(1), 35-52. Acemoglu and Robinson Chapters 2 and 3 11) November 6 th It takes an Ecosystem Koltai, Chapter 7 Brown and Mason, 2017, Looking Inside the Spiky Bits: a critical review and conceptualization of entrepreneurial ecosystems, Small Business Economics, 49(1), 11-30. The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of South Arica: A strategy for Global Leadership 2017, the GED Institute and SAE Africa, available online
9 http://www.sab.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/gedi-south-africa- Analysis2.pdf 11) November13 th How it works and who does it Koltai, Chapter 8 Acs, Why Philanthropy Matters, chapter 1. 12) November 20 th A business Plan for the U.S. Koltai, Chapter 9 13) November 27 th Class Presentations 14) December 4 th Class Presentations 15) December 11 th Class Presentations December 18 th No final exam Sources Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) The Global entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) Endeavor U.S. Census Bureau (and NAICS codes) http://www.census.gov Trade Compass http://www.tradecompass.com US Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE)
10 http://www.usasbe.org U.S. Department of Commerce http://www.doc.gov World Factbook http://www.cia.gov Foundations Coleman Foundation Edward Lowe Foundation, Kauffman Foundation Venture finance information FinanceHub http://www.financehub.com Garage.com http://www.garage.com Price Waterhouse Coopers Money Tree Survey VentureOne http://v1.com Cloudstart www.cloudstart.com Crown funding SPP Policy on Plagiarism The profession of scholarship and the intellectual life of a university as well as the field of public policy inquiry depend fundamentally on a foundation of trust. Thus any act of plagiarism strikes at the heart of the meaning of the university and the purpose of the School of Public Policy. It constitutes a serious breach of professional ethics and it is unacceptable.
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