MM399: Digital Entrepreneurship

Module code: MM399

Module provider: Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Matteo Borghi, email: m.borghi4@henley.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST TAKE MM270 OR TAKE MM1F10 (Compulsory)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 28 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Digital enterprises face a range of challenges that differentiate them from non-digital start-ups. They often operate in hyper-competitive winner-takes-it-all markets from inception. To succeed in this environment, they need to leverage digital technologies to shape novel business models, market their products and services and develop monetization strategies until they find product-market-fit, and achieve a scalable method of customer acquisition, typically by targeting global markets from the outset.

The module discusses how digital entrepreneurial ventures take advantage of the tensions and opportunities arising from current technological change. It then explores the approaches, methods and strategies employed by entrepreneurial, digital companies in validating and developing products, gaining market and customer traction, competing for scale in hyper-competitive markets as well as in monetizing their product, service and data offerings. It explores entrepreneurial marketing methods used by digital entrepreneurs including approaches to customer development. Finally, it also discusses data-driven decision making processes.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Understand the major features of the digital economy including recent trends in digital technology;
2. Illustrate how entrepreneurial organisations use digital technology to shape novel and sometimes disruptive business models;
3. Gain knowledge of how entrepreneurs use digital marketing methods to achieve customer growth, and understand and apply digital marketing techniques;
4. Understand how entrepreneurs exploit different monetization strategies and mechanism in highly competitive digital business contexts.

Module content

• The digital economy and the impact of technology entrepreneurship on society, labour markets and industrial organisation
• Entrepreneurial strategy for digital ventures I: Competitive dynamics
• Entrepreneurial strategy for digital ventures II: Entrepreneurial techniques for rapid business model iteration
• Entrepreneurial strategy for digital ventures III: Monetization strategies
• Management by data and data-analytics
• Digital Entrepreneurship and Marketing

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

This module is delivered across the Spring Term with two-hour sessions held on a weekly basis. Sessions are comprised of a combination of formal lectures, guest lectures from digital entrepreneurs and group work on digital enterprise challenges.

Study hours

At least 24 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students must achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Group meeting with the module convenor in “Semester 2 Week 7 Teaching” to discuss the digital venture idea.

Reassessment

Additional costs