A93199 Entrepreneurial Excellence in Italian Industries

At the end of the course the student will be able:

a) to understand the importance of a network approach to organizations and their management;

b) to critically assess the relationship between organizational networks’ properties and a firm’s performance;

c) to apply theoretical concepts in real life situations;

d) to appreciate the impact of the issues discussed in the course in several “Made in Italy” industries, through the participation to a number of companies’ presentations.

The course presents the key features of the "Made in Italy" business model, specifically looking at the importance of a network approach to strategy making. The course integrates recent theoretical and methodological developments with company presentations.

The course is structured in three main parts. In the first one the importance of organizational networks at different level is introduced and discussed using recent academic papers and practical lab sessions. Every session is expected to include a short lecture, a group discussion on selected readings and some lab activities. The second part of the course mainly consists of company presentations: representatives from leading Italian firms will be invited to deliver presentations to students. During the second part of the course the students will be grouped in small team-works required to deepen a specific isse related to the course content. At the end ofo the classes a presentation will be required. The presenations will be followed by a discussion and an update on the status of the different group projects. The third part of the course will present the recent approaches of the networks analysis and real applications will be presented.

Course evaluation will be based on the following criteria:

Attending Students:

(i) final written exam, 50%

(ii) class participation, 20%

(iii) work project, 30%

Non Attending Students:

Oral exam based on 35 scientific papers (topic: networks)

The papers will be provided on the course material website.