Filosofie masterexamen med huvudområdet företagsekonomi

Programme aims
The Strategic Entrepreneurship programme focuses on improving entrepreneurial effectiveness, both for creating and launching new ventures and for identifying and developing new opportunities in existing organizations. This includes challenges for venture creation as well as how companies can revive their entrepreneurial spirit to achieve strategic renewal. By building on state-of-the-art research results as well as on conducting practical projects and gaining start-up experience, this programme addresses how organizations at any stage of maturity can be innovative and benefit from entrepreneurial thinking. The education is meant to prepare the students for starting their own businesses as well as for international careers in business positions that require strategic decision-making.

General aims
Second cycle education shall essentially build on the knowledge students acquire in first cycle education or corresponding knowledge. Second cycle education shall involve a deepening of knowledge, skills and abilities relative to first cycle education and, in addition to what applies to first cycle education, shall;

• further develop the students’ ability to independently integrate and use knowledge,
• develop the students’ ability to deal with complex phenomena, issues and situations, and
• develop the students’ potential for professional activities that demand considerable independence or for research and development work

Programme specific learning goals

Knowledge and Understanding
Graduates of the programme will have a general knowledge and understanding of business administration principles and a specialised and considerably deep knowledge in the field of strategic entrepreneurship
Corresponding objectives:
Graduates of the programme will be able to

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding in business administration, including both broad knowledge in the field of business administration and a considerable degree of specialised knowledge of entrepreneurship;
• demonstrate considerably deep insight into current research and development work in strategic entrepreneurship;
• demonstrate specialised methodological knowledge in business administration and specifically related to management tools applicable in strategic entrepreneurship; and
• demonstrate understanding of issues of strategic entrepreneurship and how they can be interpreted with different theoretical approaches.

Skills and Abilities
Graduates of the programme will have acquired the skills to integrate knowledge critically and systematically and to analyse complex issues encountered for a career that includes strategic decision-making and entrepreneurship activities, and be effective communicators of activities associated with these skills.
Corresponding objectives:
Graduates of the programme will be able to

• demonstrate an ability to integrate knowledge critically and systematically and analyse, assess and deal with complex phenomena, issues and situations associated with strategic entrepreneurship, even with limited information;
• demonstrate the ability to identify and formulate issues critically, independently and creatively as well as to plan and, using appropriate research methods, undertake advanced tasks within predetermined time frames so as to contribute to the development of knowledge and evaluate this work;
• demonstrate an ability in speech and writing to report clearly on strategic entrepreneurship issues and discuss their conclusions and the knowledge and arguments on which they are based, in dialogue with different national and international audiences; and
• demonstrate the skills required for participation in research and development work or to work independently in other advanced contexts, including in academic research related to strategic entrepreneurship.

Judgement and Approach
Graduates of the programme will understand the scientific, social, ethical, and personal responsibility aspects of practical work and research in business administration, including the role, use, and development of knowledge and the ethical aspects and possibilities of scientific endeavour.
Corresponding objectives:
Graduates of the programme will be able to

• demonstrate an ability to make assessments in business administration, taking into account relevant scientific, societal and ethical issues and also demonstrate awareness of ethical aspects in research and development work;
• demonstrate insight into the possibilities and limitations of science/research, its role in society and people's responsibility for how it is used; and
• demonstrate an ability to identify their personal need for further knowledge and to take responsibility for developing their knowledge.

Mission driven goals
Graduates of the programme will be equipped to contribute to the advancement of business practice in a global environment, with particular emphasis on aspects of Ownership, and/or Entrepreneurship and/or Renewal.
Corresponding objectives:
Graduates of the programme will be able to;

• solve problems and exercise analytical skills for strategic entrepreneurship in a global environment;
• demonstrate entrepreneurial skills useful for creation of new business ideas;
• demonstrate in-depth knowledge about renewal of existing organizations; and explain how different forms of ownership affect entrepreneurial processes

The above is in accordance with the intended learning outcomes set for a two-year Master's degree in the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance and JIBS mission.

The master´s programme Strategic Entrepreneurship (Two Year) provides a deepening education in the field of business administration for those already holding a bachelor degree and having a substantial amount of business administration in their undergraduate studies.

This programme aims at helping the students improve their entrepreneurial effectiveness, both for creating and launching new start-ups and for identifying and developing opportunities in existing organizations to help them unleash their growth potential. Some companies are in direct need of reviving their entrepreneurial spirit to achieve strategic renewal. By building on state-of- the-art research results as well as on practical projects and start-up experiences, this programme addresses how organizations can be innovative and benefit from it.

The curriculum design of these master programmes draws on JIBS’ core research areas; entrepreneurship, renewal and ownership. The programme combines learning about strategic entrepreneurship through academic, theoretical contents, applicable to practice, with learning for entrepreneurship. The curriculum also includes training in entrepreneurship. Associated attitudes and practices are grounded already in the introductory course of the programme.

Throughout the programme, students will have the opportunity to create and develop their own entrepreneurial project with guidance, coaching, and practical skills development provided by JIBS in collaboration with Science Park. This will take place in the module Starting an Entrepreneurial Project, followed by the courses Entrepreneurial Project 1 (mandatory) and Entrepreneurial Project 2 (elective). Students are also encouraged, but not required, to ground their Master Thesis in their entrepreneurial project. Student do have the option to opt out of continuing to develop their entrepreneurial project after the second year if they so choose.

The programme sequence is presented in the tables.

Autumn semester, Year 1
The first course, Entrepreneuring introduces students to the concept of entrepreneurship and a process, a practice, and a mindset. The course contains three modules. The first module, Person and Process, aims at informing the students about the features of and need for an entrepreneurial mind-set and at helping them to develop and practice such a worldview. As a point of departure, it delivers an introduction to different theoretical perspectives on and facets of entrepreneurship as well as to the concept of “entrepreneuring” (that is entrepreneurship as a process). Thus, the core of this course is to provide a foundation for the programme as well as learning for and in entrepreneurship (for example, through identifying and developing venture ideas for a new start-up as well as for an established organization). The second module, Creating a New Venture, focuses on learning for and partly in entrepreneurship. The third module, Starting an Entrepreneurial Project, prepares students to take part in a new venture creation process – or, for those students who already have established a venture, new venture development process. This process is supported on the practice side by the local Science Park, external experts (e.g., in intellectual property and tax issues) as well as entrepreneurs reporting on their own experiences. On the academic side, a senior faculty member provides academic input to support the students in reflecting upon this process.
In parallel with Entrepreneuring, there are two other courses. In the first half of the semester, students will take Entrepreneurship in Context where they will become familiar contemporary technological advancements and pressing socio-environmental issues, which serve to contextualize the world in which they will do entrepreneurship and to serve as inspiration for the students’ entrepreneurial project. In the second half of the semester, students will take the course Advanced Research Methods in Entrepreneurship. This course focuses on both qualitative and quantitative research methods to prepare students for their master thesis projects as well as more generally for the task of collecting and evaluating information, which are core skills for entrepreneurial idea validation and development.

Spring semester, Year 1
In the second semester, students will continue to work with their own entrepreneurial project in the course Entrepreneurial Project 1, which continues to provide students with the necessary practical skills and coaching needed for students to develop their projects, including an introduction to entrepreneurial finance.
In parallel with this course, students will also take two other, more theoretically grounded courses. In the first half of the second semester, students will take the course Applied International Marketing where they will work in multi-cultural teams to prepare internationalization plans for regional small and medium-sized companies. The course is supported by major Swedish export associations and support agencies. Students will also take Accounting and Finance for Entrepreneurs, where they will learn how to perform, analyse, and interpret foundational accounting and financial calculations pertinent to new venture creation. Students will also become familiar with the strategic implications of key financial decisions during new venture creation.

In the latter half of the spring semester, students take the course Corporate Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Growth, which explores the role of entrepreneurship in establish organizations in promoting responsible and sustainable growth. In this course, academic work is in focus, through lectures, literature discussions, as well as writing of academic texts. Case studies and guest lectures construct a bridge to the world outside the academy. This course is taught alongside Family Entrepreneurship, which draws on the world-class research conducted at JIBS’ Centre of Family Enterprise and Ownership (CeFEO). It analyses the process of start-up, entrepreneurial development and renewal of family firms, the predominant type of companies in most countries worldwide.

Autumn semester, Year 2
The third semester consist of 30 elective credits and give the opportunity for students to build a custom-made profile in composition of course package and choice of university. The recommendation is for students to continue with their entrepreneurial project by selecting the elective course Entrepreneurial Project 2 (7.5 or 15 credits) in combination with other master-level elective courses. These elective courses can be within the field of entrepreneurship but students may also choose complimentary topics that might be relevant given students’ personal preferences and career-plans. Students should choose courses within the fields of business administration, economics, statistics, economic geography, commercial law, informatics, and language.
Alternatively, students may wish to choose to do an international exchange. Here, students choose the courses at a partner university in coordination with JIBS faculty, and accreditation of the courses is also conducted by JIBS faculty. There are the same limitations on types of courses for international exchange as there are for students choosing elective courses at JIBS.
The elective semester at JIBS can include an internship course of 7.5 or 15 credits as part of the course package. These internship activities provide further relevant practical insights and are complemented throughout with guided academic reflections relating the activities to relevant readings to advance the students in becoming reflective practitioners.

Spring semester, Year 2
The fourth and last, semester consists of a 30-credit thesis course. The thesis in business administration should cover a topic of strategic entrepreneurship. Students who choose the elective Entrepreneurial Project 2 are encouraged, but not required, to ground their thesis in their entrepreneurial project (e.g., by using action research).

Additional information
All courses are taught in English. Due to the fact that Jönköping International Business School (JIBS) has an exchange programme including a wide range of partner universities, and the fact that this master´s programme and other programmes at JIBS are open to students from around the world, the courses have a diverse international participation of students. The international atmosphere is reinforced with international subject matter in this programme, in particular its consideration of how to optimally take advantage of opportunities being made available through globalization.
The education is meant to prepare the students for work in business positions that require contributions for strategic decision-making and to prepare the students for starting their own businesses. The education is also meant to prepare students for research in the areas of entrepreneurship and strategic renewal, possibly within doctoral studies.

Kursbenämning	Hp	Huvudområde	Fördjupning	Kurskod
Accounting and Finance for Entrepreneurs	5	Företagsekonomi	A1N	JAPR24
Advanced Research Methods in Entrepreneurship	7,5	Företagsekonomi	A1N	JARR26
Applied International Marketing	7,5	Företagsekonomi	A1N	JAMR28
Corporate Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Growth	7,5	Företagsekonomi	A1N	JCSR24
Entrepreneurial Project 1	5	Företagsekonomi	A1F	JE1S24
Entrepreneuring	15	Företagsekonomi	A1N	JEPR23
Entrepreneurship in Context	7,5	Företagsekonomi	A1N	JEXR23
Family Entrepreneurship	5	Företagsekonomi	A1N	JFER24
Master Thesis in Business Administration (Two Years)	30	Företagsekonomi	A2E	JMBV27

Kursbenämning	Hp	Huvudområde	Fördjupning	Kurskod
Consumer Behavior 1	7,5	Företagsekonomi	A1N	JCBR27
Entrepreneurial Project 2 1	15	Företagsekonomi	A1F	JP2S24
Global Strategy 1	7,5	Företagsekonomi	A1N	JGSR21

1) For all 2-year master programmes, in the autumn of the 2nd year students have options for courses either at JIBS or through exchange. The elective courses noted during this period are default courses at JIBS if the students do not participate in exchange, academic internship or actively select other courses. The default courses at the optional semester are subject to change.