Faculty
Mark Lorenzen, Associate Professor, Department of Innovation and Organizational Economics, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark (email: ml.ino@cbs.dk), Marion Poetz, Assistant Professor, Department of Innovation and Organizational Economics, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark (email: mp.ino@cbs.dk), and Guest lecturers

Course Coordinator
Marion Poetz

This course is targeted at PhD students primarily interested in topics related to Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Prior to taking this course students should have followed introductory courses in (1) theories related to Innovation and Entrepreneurship and (2) qualitative and quantitative research methods. Possible introductory courses offered at CBS include Economics of Innovation, Management of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Econometrics and Qualitative Methods.

The aim of this course is to offer insights into how to develop research questions and draft related research proposals. Students participating in this course need to demonstrate their ability of:
- Browsing and structuring scientific literature in such a way that they recognize patterns and links among different and complex sources for the identification of a relevant research gap
- Precisely formulating a related research question
- Arguing the contribution an answer to this research question will make to the existing Innovation and/or Entrepreneurship literature
- Drafting an appropriate research design for answering this research question
- Combining these elements into a related research proposal and preparing a structured presentation for the research proposal conference

Developing an interesting, relevant and feasible research question is the first important – but often most challenging – aspect in the process of doing a PhD. Finding a topic of interest, filtering out the relevant aspects for making a significant contribution to existing research by (1) systematically identifying a research gap and (2) deducing a related research question are the core tasks at the beginning of each research endeavor. Having identified a preliminary research question it further more needs to be (3) structured and presented for feedback to e.g. existing or potential supervisors, research partners, funding organizations or research conference participants in the form of a research proposal.

This course aims at providing support for the process of identifying a research question within the fields of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and preparing a respective research proposal to be presented and critically discussed at a research proposal conference. Students will learn how to process existing literature for identifying a relevant research gap, formulating a respective research question, matching an appropriate methodological approach for answering this question, and presenting all this it in the form of a research proposal. In more detail, the course is structured as follows:Please see enclosed Module Overview

There is no exam at the end of the course. However, to obtain a course certificate participants are expected to show high level of preparation and class participation. Participation during day 1 and day 3 (including a written research proposal and its presentation) and individual coaching session during day 2 are mandatory elements upon the course certificate will be granted.

Teaching includes lecture-style lessons, individual feedback, case discussions and in-class workshops with students presenting and actively participating in discussions. Lecture-style classes will introduce literature, main theoretical concepts and methods. For feedback and in-class workshops, students will be requested to identify and discuss current literature with respect to the topic of their research proposal and the suggested methodological approach for answering the related research question.

To be prepared for class:
(1) Please read the introduction sections of the following research papers and identify
- the research question(s) the authors of these papers have addressed, and
- any patterns you recognize related to the way the respective questions have been deduced and formulated, and how their relevance has been argued:
• Dahl, D.W. and P. Moreau (2002). The influence and value of analogical thinking during new product ideation. Journal of Marketing Research 39 (2), 47-60.
• Danneels, E. (2007). The process of technological competence leveraging. Strategic Management Journal 28, 511-533.
• Jeppesen, L. Bo and L. Frederiksen (2006). Why do users contribute to firm-hosted user communities? The case of computer-controlled music instruments. Organization Science 17(1), 45-64.
(2) Please prepare a 3-page research proposal (max. 7200 characters, citations in brackets), plus reference list, for your potential PhD project/one of your PhD projects outlining a research gap, presenting a related research question (and if relevant hypotheses), arguing the relevance of answering this question (“the contribution”) and presenting how you plan addressing it methodologically. Please submit this proposal to Marion Poetz (mp.ino@cbs.dk) no later than Tuesday, April 5, 12:00 (noon).
(3) Please check out the criteria for publication on the websites of the journals listed below (e.g. http://journals.aomonline.org/amj/information-for-contributors) and try to find patterns related to the value of research questions and its connection to the requirements on contribution:
• Academy of Management
• Management Science
• Organization Science
• Strategic Management Journal
• Administrative Science Quarterly
• Research Policy
• Journal of Product Innovation Management
• Organization Studies

Readings:
• Punch, K. (2005). Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. 2nd edition, Sage Publications, Inc.: Thousand Oaks, California. Chapters 2, 3 and 4.
• Daft, R. (1985). Why I recommend that your paper be rejected and what you can do about it. In Publishing in the Organizational Sciences (eds. Cummings & Frost) Homewood, IL: Irwin.
Supplementary readings:
• Creswell, J. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 2nd edition, Sage Publications, Inc.: Thousand Oaks, California.
• Maxwell, J. (2005). Qualitative Research Design: An Iterative Approach. 2nd edition, Sage Publications, Inc.: Thousand Oaks, California.

Deadline: March 28th 2011
Please be aware that the registration is binding, and you have to cancel the course two weeks before start.
The students outside of CBS will receive an invoice regarding payment.

Applications should be sent as e-mail to:
Tuyala Bernardo Rasmussen
Department of Innovation and Organizational Economics E-mail: tbr.ino@cbs.dk
Please remember to state your name, email, Department and University and if outside of CBS then your schools EAN number.