• Understand key frameworks, concepts and theories from the course literature and apply these with a critical perspective
• Analyze cultural, societal (and political) influences on entrepreneurship and innovation creation in organizational contexts.
• Analyze the primary challenges and opportunities in relation to cultural differences inside and outside companies
• Discuss and evaluate (e.g. suggest ways to approach) entrepreneurial activities in a foreign or cross-cultural environment.
• Reflect on personal experiences and apply theory to company visits

The course examines the impact of culture and society on entrepreneurship and innovation on the example of businesses in South Korea and western countries in comparison. The aim is to gain significant knowledge on the economy, culture and society of an emerging (growth rate)/developed market and draw conclusion on how this impacts entrepreneurship and innovation.

Module 1 introduces students to theoretical frameworks and research on influences on entrepreneurship and innovation.

The cultural and societal effects and influences on entrepreneurship and innovation shall be examined by the following:

-        Economy dynamics in a national and international context

-        Access to human capital and financial capital, technology and knowledge

-        Opportunities to cooperation and network

-        Influences of the ecosystem (institutions, culture and values, society)

In addition, students compare different ecosystem setups to determine and learn about the strengths and weaknesses of each model and to understand the key factors that contribute to a sustainable development.

The ecosystems analyzed will enable students to identify success factors for functioning ecosystems and to determine when an ecosystem reaches its limits.

Module 2 applies the theoretical learnings on entrepreneurial and innovation activities in praxis.

This module intents to apply the theoretical learnings to the economy of South Korea. This will be done by reviewing literature and by visiting companies in South Korea and getting firsthand insights into the culture, society and economy.

These case studies will show, what can influence entrepreneurial and innovative activities within the Korean ecosystem. The students will learn on how to identify these influences and how to act on them within a given context as managers, entrepreneurs or executives.

Student workload

Course activities (including preparation) 132 hours

(Lectures: 33 hours: 1 meeting before trip: 5h; lectures: 20h; Lecture on Trip: 5h; 1 meeting after trip: 3h; Exam (including exam preparation) 74 hours) 

Proposed Literature

·       Hofstede, G. (2002), “Dimensions do not exist: A reply to Brendan McSweeney”, Human Relations, Vol. 55 No. 11, pp. 1355-1361.

·       Hofstede, G. (1980), “Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values”, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

·       Hofstede, G. (2001) “Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd edn)”,Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

·       Hofstede, G., Neuijen, B., Ohayv, D.D. and Sanders, G. (1990) “Measuring organizational cultures. A qualitative and quantitative study across twenty cases.”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 35, pp. 286–316.

·       McSweeney, B. (2002), “Hofstede’s model of national cultural differences and their consequences: A triumph of faith – a failure of analysis”, Human Relations, Vol. 55, pp. 89-118

·       Hall, E. T. (1998), “The power of hidden differences.”, In M. J. Bennett (Ed.), Basic concepts of intercultural communication, Boston, MA: Intercultural Press, Selected readings: pp. 53-67.

·       Trompenaars, F., and Woolliams, P. (2004), “Business across cultures”, John Wiley & Sons: Selected readings: Chapter 2 & 3.

·       Guiso, L., Sapienza, P. and Zingales, L. (2006) “Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 23– 48.

·       Ratan, J. S. D. (2016), “Cross-national differences in entrepreneurial activity: role of culture and institutional factors”, Small Business Economics, Vol. 48 No. 4, pp. 813-842.

·       Aoyama, Y. (2009), “Entrepreneurship and regional culture: The case of Hamamatsu and Kyoto, Japan”, Regional Studies, Vol. 43 No.3, pp.495–512.

·       Isenberg, D. (2011) “The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Strategy as a New Paradigm for Economic Policy: Principles for Cultivating Entrepreneurship”;

·       Nicotra, M., Romano, M., Del Giudice, M. and Schillaci, C.E. (2017), “The causal relation between entrepreneurial ecosystem and productive entrepreneurship: a measurement framework”, Springer Science Business Media.

·       Acemoglu, D., and Robinson, J. A. (2012), “Why nations fail”, New York: Crown Business.

·       Packard, M. D.  and Bylund, P. L. (2017), “On the relationship between inequality and entrepreneurship”, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 3-22.

·       Samila, S. and Sorenson, O. (2017), “Community and Capital in Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth”, Sage Journal, Vol 82 No. 4, pp. 770-795

·       Acs, Z. J., Estrin, S., Mickiewicz, T., and Szerb, L. (2018), “Institutions, entrepreneurship and growth: the role of national entrepreneurial ecosystems”, Small Business Economy, Vol. 51 No. 2, pp 501–514

·       Raza, A., Muffatto, M. and Saeed, S. (2019), “The influence of formal institutions on the relationship between entrepreneurial readiness and entrepreneurial behavior”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 26 No.1, pp. 133-157.

·       Chambers, D. and Munemo, J. (2017), “The Impact of Regulations and Institutional Quality on Entrepreneurship”, SSRN Electronic Journal.

·       Jiho, J. and Changyul, L. (2017),” Technology Innovation Small Business Policy in South Korea: Path Dependency and Policy Idea”, Asian Politics & Policy, Vol.9 No. 1, pp.82-98.

·       Youn-ja Shim, T. (2010), “Korean Entrepreneurship: The Foundation of the Korean Economy”, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan

·       Schneidewind, D. K. (2016), “Economic Miracle Market South Korea: A Blueprint for Economic Growth in Developing Nations”, Springer Singapore.

·       Eunsuk, H., In, L., Laixiang, S. and Richard, H. (2015), “Entrepreneurship across time and space: empirical evidence from Korea” Small Business Economics, Vol.44 No.3, pp.705-719

·       Weiss, J. (2005), “Export growth and industrial policy: Lessons from the East Asian miracle experience”, ADB Institute Discussion Papers, Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Tokyo

·       Colette, H. (2007), “Entrepreneurship in Creative Industries”, UK, pp. 1-30

·       Dodgsan, M. and Zhang, M. (2007) “High Tech Entrepreneurship in Asia”, Innovation, Industry, and Institutional Dynamics in Mobile Payments. 

·       Kourilsky, M. and Walstad, W. (2002), “The Early Environment and Schooling Experiences of High-Technology Entrepreneurs: Insights for Entrepreneurship Education” International Journal of Entrepreneurship Education.

·       Lee, S. and E. Workman, J. (2014), "Gossip, self-monitoring and fashion leadership: comparison of US and South Korean consumers", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 31 No. 6/7, pp. 452-463.

·       Jin, B. and Moon, H. (2006), "The diamond approach to the competitiveness of Korea's apparel industry: Michael Porter and beyond", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 195-208.

·       Lie, J. (2012), “What Is the K in K-pop? South Korean Popular Music, the Culture Industry, and National Identity”, Korea Observer, Vol. 43 No. 3, pp.339-363.

·       Ingyu, O. and Hyo-Jung, L. (2014), “K-pop in Korea: How the Pop Music Industry Is Changing a Post-Developmental Society”, Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 72-93