Master - Media and Technology Management:
'Entrepreneurship / Project'

(SS '18)

C. Loebbecke

2 SWS, 6 CP

Fridays, 12:30 noon - 5:30 pm, Dates: see below

Location: HS XXIII (WiSo-Building)

Start: Apr. 20, '18

Held in English (some knowledge of German is advantageous, but not required)

"Do it, do not just talk about it!"

Mandatory Pre-Assignment - see below

22nd MTM TradeFair on July 6, '18!

Course Overview

In the course, students will develop - during an iterative and interactive process - an idea and a business concept for an innovation, i.e., 'their' MTM project or 'their' MTM-venture. core are the presentation and the underpinning business considerations. Students choose between an MTM venture and an MTM product or service innovation:

MTM Venture: Students set up a business plan for a one-product company. Important is the realistic presentation of the profit potential including costs and revenue ('How will you make money?'); we are NOT looking for prototypes etc.

MTM Product or Service Innovation: Students set up a business plan for a new product or a new service in a given company setting / product portfolio. Important is the realistic presentation of the profit potential including costs and revenue ('How will you make money?'); we are NOT looking for prototypes etc. The option requires disclosing the company context.

22nd MTM TradeFair

On July 6, '18, students will present their course results in the 'Foyer des Hörsaalgebäudes' to the public.
An independent jury will decide which group will win the TradeFair Award.

Group formation: Group formation will take place in the first session by the professor.

Registration details are shown below.

 

Dates and Location (likely 4 Sessions)

Apr. 20 (mandatory kick-off), May 18, June 15, June 29, July 6 (TradeFair / Final Presentation !) - all '18 - first three sessions in HS XXIII.

[Within the time slot 12:30 noon - 5:30 pm, a later begin or an earlier ending are possible; details to be shared during the course.]

 

Pre-Assignment due Apr. 11, '18, 11:00 am via eMail
Successful business models / value creation require - very simplified - revenue generated from the product / service outweighing the cost of providing / offering it.

Choose any specific company / product / service that you think belongs to the so-called 'sharing economy'. Make sure you distinguish / decide between the platform provider and the service providers on the platform (e.g., Uber and driver, etc.).

·        Illustrate the specific business model (no further details on the company/product/service): what does it take and who pays for what? How does it generate positive business numbers, e.g., revenue larger than costs (do not provide any actual numbers from the press / company websites, but illustrate …) - 50 words.

·        Provide two analytic arguments (do not guess about market growth or user preferences!) for and two against the sustainability of the business model - write just enough to clarify the different arguments (e.g., from pricing, costs, economics, regulation) and how they work 'for or against' - 100 words.

·        Comment (your view!) on the sustainability of the business model (arguments are more important than assessment) - 100 words

·        Reflect one main argument pro or contra the sustainability of the business model against one recent (published 2007-1017) academic journal paper. How does the paper / argument relates to your example (do not look for a paper that covers the same company, instead search a more general / theoretical / scientific argument for or against the sustainability) - 50 words.

Formalities:

From your sMail account, please send an eMail to claudia.loebbecke <at> uni-koeln.de AND to denis.niederle < at> uni-koeln.de and attach a non-protected word file.

eMail subject line: MTM-Entre-I-Lastname (Lastname only, no accent etc!)

File name: MTM-Entre-I-Lastname (Do not forget the hyphens, do not include spaces or anything else in the filename!)

Have your name, Matr. Number, sMail address, study program, and begin of program (1st master sem.), your chosen task/title, then continue on the same page. One page in total!

Times New Roman 12 pt, single-spaced, scientific writing style, references IN THE TEXT (no footnotes) with a complete reference list (if you have at least one source) formatted appropriately with all required information (see mtm.uni-koeln.de).

 

Grading

·        Pre-Assignment (10%, individual)

·        Intermediate concept (ppt and presentation) (20%, group)

·        Active participation on all dates (20%, individual)

·        Final presentation (30%, group)

·        Final paper - based on the final presentation (20%, group)

All grading elements have to be passed in order to pass the course. Participation on April 20 and on July 06, both '18, is mandatory for passing the course.  

 

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