Researching Entrepreneurship: How to plan, design and conduct a project on Entrepreneurship

2025/2026

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

6

Кредиты

Кто читает:

Департамент социологии

Статус:

Курс по выбору

Когда читается:

4-й курс, 1 модуль

Преподаватель

Чепуренко Александр Юльевич

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course is a practically oriented module, It is dedicated to train students in conducting research on entrepreneurship and advising them how to proceed all necessary steps; starting with a formulation of the theme and literature review up to choosing a relevant methodology, etc. Thus, the course can be useful for all BA students of the 4th year of education seeking to conduct a well-structured final qualification project (ВКР). The lectures are used to introduce some key concepts and to give practical hints in designing and elaborating an own small scale research project on the area of Entrepreneurship. The seminars are constructed as workshops allowing students to start preparing own (preferably, small group or individual) mini-projects to be presented in the final colloquium. Consequently, the seminars should be used to work on (a) choosing the topic and arranging a research team (group or solo), (b) making a profound literature review, (c) formulating hypotheses in parallel with (d) choosing an appropriate dataset and analyzing it, (e) drafting some evidence based conclusions and/or practical recommendations.The activities, started in the seminars, should be continued during the self-preparation time, in small task groups or individually.

Learning Objectives

• - to be able applying mainstream paradigms and theories when doing small-scale secondary research on entrepreneurship and related themes;
• - to be able using advanced methods and tools for a quick developing of the literature analysis and formulating of research goals, objectives, hypotheses or research questions;
• - to be able choosing applicable research methods (qualitative, quantitative, mixed) when planning a small-scale research project on entrepreneurship related themes;
• - to be able presenting the literature analysis, expected findings, theoretical outcomes and research limitations of the own small scale research project.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Students to know about the specific constraints of entrepreneurship in transitioanl societie with imperfect instiotutions and strong predatory incentives and about the approaches to make international comparisons of the entrepreneurship ecosystems development
• Students to know about the specific constraints of entrepreneurship in transitional societies with imperfect institutions and strong predatory incentives and about the approaches to make international comparisons of the entrepreneurship ecosystems development
• To know and be able to use for secondary analysis the data of internationally most known research projects on entrepreneurship, to know about the constraints and advantages of qualitative and quantitative approach in entrepreneurship research
• To know basic terms and its comparative advantages and disadvantages for empirical research on entrepreneurship

Course Contents

• The field of the Entrepreneurship research
• Preliminary desk research of entrepreneurship literature: sources and techniques
• Empirical investigations of entrepreneurship: projects and data-bases
• Research findings and outcomes

Assessment Elements

• Attendance (lectures)
• Final colloquium (examination) grade
  The final examination is conducted as a colloquium with student mini-group presentations on specific topics, lasting up to 15 minutes. The final presentation in PowerPoint, along with any necessary attachments such as graphs, tables, or calculations (in Microsoft Word or Excel) to support the findings, should be submitted to the lecturer no later than 4 days before the colloquium. Delivery of the aforementioned material is a prerequisite for admission to the final examination (colloquium). The colloquium procedure also includes answering questions related to the presentation's content, posed by both the lecturer and the audience.
• Interim test grade
  Each test card contains one question to verify knowledge of basic terms, theories, and approaches in Entrepreneurship research, and another to check the ability to use appropriate data or research methods. The average test duration is approximately 1 hour.
• Activity (workshops)
• Homework

Interim Assessment

• 2025/2026 1st module
  0.22 * Activity (workshops) + 0.12 * Attendance (lectures) + 0.32 * Final colloquium (examination) grade + 0.12 * Homework + 0.22 * Interim test grade

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Alvarez, S. A. (2005). Theories of Entrepreneurship: Alternative Assumptions and the Study of Entrepreneurial Action. Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, (3), 105. https://doi.org/10.1561/0300000003
• Per Davidsson. (2016). Researching Entrepreneurship. Springer. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.b.spr.insten.978.3.319.26692.3

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Aidis, R., Estrin, S., & Mickiewicz, T. (2007). Institutions and entrepreneurship development in Russia: a comparative perspective. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.DBA334A7
• Gartner, W. B. (1988). “Who is an Entrepreneur?” Is the Wrong Question. American Journal of Small Business, 12(4), 11–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225878801200401
• Hansemark, O. C. (2003). Need for achievement, locus of control and the prediction of business start-ups: A longitudinal study. Journal of Economic Psychology, (3), 301. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.eee.joepsy.v24y2003i3p301.319
• Hoang, H., & Antoncic, B. (2003). Network-based research in entrepreneurship: A critical review. Journal of Business Venturing, (2), 165. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.eee.jbvent.v18y2003i2p165.187
• Mueller, S. L., & Thomas, A. S. (2001). Culture and entrepreneurial potential: A nine country study of locus of control and innovativeness. Journal of Business Venturing, (1), 51. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.eee.jbvent.v16y2001i1p51.75
• Reynolds, P. D. (1997). Who starts new firms?——Preliminary explorations of firms-in-gestation. Small Business Economics, 9(5), 449. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007935726528
• Tomi Ovaska, & Russell S. Sobel. (2005). Entrepreneurship in Post-Socialist Economies. Journal of Private Enterprise, (Fall 2005), 8. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.jpe.journl.811

Authors

• DESIATOVA MARIIA IVANOVNA
• CHEPURENKO ALEKSANDR Iulevich