98634 - CORPORATE VENTURING LABORATORY

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course students are able to: - understand various aspects of past, present and future approaches to Corporate Venturing.

Course contents

This course offers a practical exploration of Corporate Venturing, focusing on how firms develop, launch, and manage new business initiatives within existing organizations. The first part introduces key concepts of corporate entrepreneurship (or intrapreneurship), examining innovation channels and strategic renewal in established firms. The second part emphasizes applied techniques and hands-on analysis, enabling students to assess internal and external business contexts from an entrepreneurial perspective. Through benchmarking, case studies, and real-world examples, students will learn how to create, integrate, or adapt new ventures within corporate structures, preparing them to work in or alongside corporate venture units.

Readings/Bibliography

Bawa, S., Xie, Y., & Benin, I. W. (2025). Knowledge management and M&A networks in China’s mature firms: An empirical study. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 11, Article 100533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2025.100533

Chesbrough, H. W. (2024). Open innovation: Accomplishments and prospects for the next 20 years. California Management Review, 67(1), 164–180. https://doi.org/10.1177/00081256241273964

Gan, Z. (2024). Corporate M&A, firm performance, and innovation — Evidence from the U.S. market. Journal of Applied Economics and Policy Studies, 13, 46–54. https://doi.org/10.54254/2977-5701/13/2024128

McCarthy, K., Aalbers, R., & Kearney, C. (2025). Organising for innovation: Alliance-to-acquisition transitions and patent production. Journal of Technology Transfer, 50, 2837–2866. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-025-10199-6

Stoeber, T., & Kanbach, D. K. (2025). Innovating beyond boundaries: Enhancing firms’ dynamic capabilities through open innovation. Management Review Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-025-00510-y

Yang, M., & Ai, Q. (2025). Completion of high-tech M&As by Chinese firms: Knowledge distance, industry attractiveness and government involvement. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 42, 427–454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09923-3

• Additional reading package provided by the instructor
  

Teaching methods

The main instructional approaches used in the course are:

• Lectures by instructor
• Guest lectures by industry and academic experts to introduce various aspects of corporate venturing across industry sectors
• Case discussions and student case presentations
• Analysis of academic research and its relevance to real world examples
• Multi-media presentations including movie, video and interview footage
• Industry Interview
• A progressive group project that will culminate in teams of 3-4 students presenting corporate venture strategy plans

Assessment methods

Class attendance and participation is compulsory, with several team-work assignments included that will require out-of-class coordination.

Course Evaluation:

Innovation Methods and/or Case Presentations 20%

Analysis and Presentation of Academic Research 20%

Industry Interview 20%

Group Corporate Venture Plan 30%

Attendance and Participation 10%

Assignments will only be accepted on the day they are due.

- Assignments and projects structure:

Case presentations will be a write-up of provided cases in groups and presenting them to a team of class consultants for feedback.

Academic research presentations will include a summary of academic articles provided by the instructor and then presented in class.

Industry interview will be speaking with an individual from industry and reporting back their insights from the discussion.

The group project will be research and then presentation of past, present and future innovation processes in large multinational corporations.

The evaluation of the outcomes of individual assignment depends on the correctness, completeness and rigor of the answers. They should show proper academic rigor with proper citations and be original work.

The evaluation of the group projects depends on the completeness of the presentations and associated materials. The quality and completeness of the answers provided during Q&A sessions following each presentation.

- Exam policy:

Registration must be completed via Almaesami, and results will be published on the same platform.

Students who fail one assignment or decide to reject the grade, will have the opportunity to retake it in the next session.

Grading scale:

< 18: failed

18-23: sufficient

24-27: good

28-30: very good

30 e lode: outstanding

Students with disability or specific learning disabilities (DSA) are required to make their condition known to find the best possible accommodation to their needs.

Teaching tools

Tools, platforms, or resources used during the course:

- Learning platform: Virtuale (virtuale.unibo.it) contains the slides and the team-work assignments

- Presentation software: PowerPoint

- Communication tools: Email; Teams; Forum on Virtuale

- Collaborative tools: Mentimeter, Kahoot, Padlet, Perusall, Miro, Google Docs, Edpuzzle, Poll Everywhere, Socrative

- Other digital tools/software: Chat GPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini

Office hours

See the website of Caren Helene Weinberg