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2019/2020  BA-BBLCV6000U  Fashion Entrepreneurship and Business Development

English Title
Fashion Entrepreneurship and Business Development

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Min. participants 40
Max. participants 75
Study board
Study Board for BSc and MSc in Business, Language and Culture, BSc
Course coordinator
  • Fabian Csaba - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • CSR and sustainability
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Marketing
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 02/04/2019

Relevant links
Learning objectives
The student should be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the core concepts and contemporary condition of the fashion industry
  • Apply analytical frameworks of the course to identify opportunities and address challenges of fashion enterprises.
  • Understand and reflect critically on the theory, concepts, tools and cases covered in the course
  • Develop and present a convincing business plan for an upstart fashion enterprise, a project which helps address challenges faced by established fashion enterprise, or an analysis of salient issues in the fashion industry or theory of fashion (business).
Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period)
Number of compulsory activities which must be approved: 2
Compulsory home assignments
Class presentation of group projects.
Students can present individual projects. For entrepreneurial and business development projects, however, it is recommended to work in groups.

Oral presentations etc.
Peer feedback on project presentations
Examination
Fashion Entrepreneurship and Business Development:
Exam ECTS 7.5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Group exam
Please note the rules in the Programme Regulations about identification of individual contributions.
Number of people in the group 2-5
Size of written product Max. 25 pages
Students have the option to submit an individual 10 page report. It is, however, recommended to do entrepreneurial and business development project work and submit reports in groups. Group of 4-5 students can submit max. 25 pages, groups of 2-3 can submit max. 20 pages.
Assignment type Report
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Skriftlig prøve på baggrund af skriftligt produkt (revideret gruppeprojekt ved dumpet og individuel skriftlig opgave, ved sygdom under udarbejdelse af projekt)
Description of the exam procedure

Report on either entrepreneurial project/business plan, business development project, fashion industry analysis or fashion (business) theory paper
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course introduces students to the fashion business and provides them with the analytic concepts and practical knowledge and skills to help establish and develop succesful fashion enterprises - as entrepreneurs, consultants or business analysts. The course starts with an outline of the contemporary structure and transformations of the fashion industry in Denmark and beyond. It identifies key trends and forces driving change, including globalization of sourcing and markets, digitalization and demand for more sustainable and responsible business practice. Drawing on theory, industry reports as well as company cases, the course will explore the main challenges faced by entrepreneurs as well as more established fashion enterprises, and the opportunities for rethinking business models and building strong brands in contemporary fashion. 

 

The course presents a framework for understanding different phases, critical moments and key value relationships in the growth of fashion companies. The framework addresses central aspects of running a fashion business and provides students practical insights and tools to deal with issues of finance, sourcing, CSR, design, production, sales channels, communication, legal affairs, IPR and brand building.

 

During the course, the students should acquire the skills to competently formulate, develop or review business models of fashion companies and propose action to address challenges of business growth or analyze key issues in contemporary fashion.

 

The course draws on different disciplines, including fashion theory, entrepreneurship studies, business model theory, business economics, strategic brand management, CSR theory.

 
Description of the teaching methods
The course consists of 10 three-hour sessions which blend theoretical and practical approaches to fashion enterprises, markets, institutions and consumption. The first part of the course places an emphasis on the introduction and discussion of theoretical perspectives and concepts. Gradually the focus shifts to presentations by fashion industry speakers, who share practical experiences and insights and provide the course's core illustrative case examples. In the latter stages, teaching guides student groups in developing their own fashion business or theory project. The projects should either detail a business plan or model for a new fashion enterprise, assist an established enterprise in developing selected aspects of their business or deal with substantive issues in the business of fashion. Students will develop and present (preliminary) projects in class during the course, and submit final project reports as written exams at the specified date. In class sessions, groups will present their ideas and receive feedback from their peers and faculty (both experienced fashion industry consultants and scholars) , who also offer supervision in the preparation of the projects.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback on class assignments
Comments on project proposal ideas
Peer-to-peer feedback on project presentations
Feedback on Peergrade proces
Student workload
Total student hours 206 hours
Participation in classes 28 hours
Readings and assignments for class 70 hours
Research for fashion project assignment 40 hours
Project presentation (preparation and evaluation) 30 hours
Completion of exam (project) report 38 hours
Further Information

The course is developed and will be offered in close collaboration with Danish and (to the extent it is possible)  international fashion industry associations and companies.

 

It seeks to build stronger relations between CBS and Danish fashion, and help facilitate and encourage student entrepreneurship, internships, projects and research on business development in fashion. 
Expected literature

Amed, I. & Berg, A. (2018) The state of fashion 2019. London: Business of Fashion & McKinsey

 

Aspers, P., & Godart, F. (2013). Sociology of fashion: Order and change.  Annual Review of Sociology, 39, 171-192.

 

Arrigo, E. (2016). Fast Fashion Business Model:  An Overview. In Handbook of Research on Global Fashion Management and Merchandising (pp. 186-209). IGI Global.

 

Bhardwaj, V. et al. (2011) A case study on the internationalization process of a ‘born-global’ fashion retailer, The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 21:3, 293-307.

 

Buckley, C. (2016). Entrepreneurial or Not?: Asymmetrical Business Models of UK Fashion Micro-Enterprises. In Handbook of Research on Global Fashion Management and Merchandising (pp. 110-133). IGI Global.

 

Caro, A., & Basso, A. (2014). Commercialising Creativity. London: British Fashion Council and London Business School.

 

Craik, Jennifer (2009) Fashion. The key concepts. Chapters 3 & 6. Berg: Oxford. 105-134, 205-243.

 

Isenberg, D. (2011). The entrepreneurship ecosystem strategy as a new paradigm for economic policy: Principles for cultivating entrepreneurship. Presentation at the Institute of International and European Affairs.

 

Jonsson, S., & Lindbergh, J. (2013). The development of social capital and financing of entrepreneurial firms: From financial bootstrapping to bank funding. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37(4), 661-686.

 

Kozlowski, A., Bardecki, M., and Searcy, C., (2012), "Environmental Impacts in the Fashion Industry: A Life-cycle and Stakeholder Framework", Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Vol. 45 (Spring 2012), pp. 17-36.

 

Kontu, H., & Vecchi, A. (2016). Fashion and Social Media: Some Illustrative Evidence from Italian Luxury Brands. In A. Vecchi, & C. Buckley (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Global Fashion Management and Merchandising (pp. 649-669). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:

 

Kuratko, D. F., Morris, M. H., & Schindehutte, M. (2015). Understanding the dynamics of entrepreneurship through framework approaches. Small Business Economics, 45(1), 1-13.

 

Lea-Greenwood, G., & Lea-Greenwood, G. (2012). Fashion marketing communications. Chapters 5 & 8 [Retrieved from http:/​/​ebookcentral.proquest.com.esc-web.lib.cbs.dk]

 

Macchion, Laura, Pamela Danese, and Andrea Vinelli. (2015) "Redefining supply network strategies to face changing environments. A study from the fashion and luxury industry." Operations Management Research 8.1-2 (2015): 15-31.

 

McNeill, L., & Moore, R. (2015). Sustainable fashion consumption and the fast fashion conundrum: fashionable consumers and attitudes to sustainability in clothing choice. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(3), 212-222.

 

Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. (2010), Business Model Generation, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hobroken, New Jersey. (excerpt)

 

Skjold, E. (2016). Biographical Wardrobes—A Temporal View on Dress Practice. Fashion Practice, 8(1), 135-148.

 

Spieth, P., Schneckenberg, D. and Ricart, J. E. (2014), Business model innovation – state of the art and future challenges for the field. R&D Management, 44: 237–247. doi: 10.1111/radm.12071

 

Wigley, S. M., Nobbs, K., & Larsen, E. (2013). Making the Marque: Tangible branding in fashion product and retail design. Fashion Practice, 5(2), 245-263.
Last updated on 02/04/2019