The European Doctoral Programme in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management

These courses are only open for exchange students. If you as an exchange student have any questions about admission, prerequisites etc, please contact the International Office at internationaloffice@adm.vxu.se.

If you are a free mover, please contact the Admissions Office regarding possibilities to study at Växjö University: admission@vxu.se.

Contact Person
Bengt Johannisson
Växjö University
E-mail: bengt.johannisson@vxu.se
Telephone: +46 470 70 80 00

Joaquim Verges
The Autonomous University of Barcelona

October, 2006 – June, 2007
Doctorate Level

The programme has three main objectives:
The first is to invite graduate students to study three interrelated subjects »Entrepreneurship and En­terprise Formation«, »Small Business Management and Development« and »SMEs in Economic and Regional Development«.

The second objective is to give the students an opportunity to write a research proposal.

The third objective is to strength­en the development of common re­search themes throughout Europe in the general field of entrepreneurship and small business development.

The programme has been initiated by the European Council for Small Business Development (ECSB), and is funded under SOCRATES/ERAS­MUS. It is offered together with the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

The programme will be located in Barcelona (October–March) and in Växjö (April–June).

Contents
The European Doctoral Programme in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management is divided into five modules:

Module 1: Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Formation, 4 credit points (6 ECTS)
The purpose of this first module is to contrast different perspectives on en­trepreneurship, to review the processes of business formation, and to study the different components of the business formation process. The module covers:

• theoretical approaches to entrepre­neurship in economics and social sciences
• characteristics of successful entrepre­neurship: empirical results
• entrepreneurship through personal networks
• evaluating and protecting the business venture
• the business plan

Module 2: Small Business Manage­ment and Development, 3 credit points (4.5 ECTS)
The purpose of this module is to study different functional areas and strategies of SMEs, and to analyse the management of innovation as an inter­active process within and between firms, especially as related to the family firm. The module covers:

• strategic management in entrepre­neurial firms
• the organization and human resources management of SMEs
• production strategies and management for SMEs
• inter-firm co-operation: strategic alliances concerning technology and market development

Module 3: SMEs in Economic and Regional Development, 5 credit points (7.5 ECTS)
The purpose of the third module is to state the role of SMEs in different geo­graphical, social and cultural contexts as well as to review functional and territo­rial approaches to the role of SMEs, and to contrast local, national, and global strategies for business development. The module covers:

• the role of entrepreneurship and small firms in economic development
• spontaneous and induced locations for small-firm clusters
• entrepreneurial networking for growth
• challenges for small firms in develop­ing economies

Module 4: Research Methodology, 5 credit points (7.5 ECTS)
The purpose of the module is to study fundamental concepts of scientific research, to outline different paradigms for researching entrepreneurship and SMEs, and to review different research techniques. The module covers:

• epistemology: the object and scope of the philosophy of science, the princi­ples of causality and intentionality, the structure and development of scientific theories, the process of scientific re­search, a critical review of existing conceptual frameworks and associated empirical research in entrepreneurship and small business
• research techniques: primary and secondary sources of information, ex­perimentation and survey in the social sciences, statistical packages for data processing and analysis, qualitative research methods

Module 5: Research Seminar, 3 credit points (4.5 ECTS)
The purpose of the seminar is to develop the student’s competence in the techniques of preparing a research proposal and outlining a doctoral thesis. Part of the contents covers:

• the identification of a research issue
• writing a research proposal
• the presentation and group discussion of research proposals.

Teaching methods
The modules will consist of a mixture of thematic and problem-oriented activi­ties. It will also include tutoring con­cerning thesis work. The methodologi­cal parts of the programme are designed to actively promote the individual thesis work. The theme of methodology thus includes regular seminars on the emerg­ing thesis proposals, and networking contacts to researchers at the front line of relevant problem areas.

Examination
The examination will be carried out mainly through course papers and re­ports within the student’s own research interests/doctoral thesis subjects.

Prerequisites
The programme is open to students of any country with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or the equivalent) in Business Administration or Economics. Students with a Master’s degree in other fields who have covered courses comprising a minimum of 60 credit points (90 ECTS or one and a half years of full-time university studies) in Business Admin­istration could also be accepted to the programme.

Admission is based on academic excellence and the student’s specific interest in the field of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management.

Students from the network universi­ties under the SOCRATES/ERASMUS Programme must be registered for a doctorate at their home university.