Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Leadership

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• develop effective communication, collaboration (including online collaboration) and networking skills in carrying out the group work as well as engaging with the expanding learning community that we have created for you.
• work in, and contribute to, more effectively, a wide range of organisations seeking entrepreneurial and leadership solutions to sustainability challenges, having raised your awareness and understanding of sustainable entrepreneurship and leadership, and gained associated skills.
• develop generic skills to become thought leaders and change-makers motivated to make a difference by transforming organisations within any sector of interest.
• develop in-depth and critical evaluation skills using multiple and competing perspectives in constructing written and oral arguments;
• carry out more effective searches for both qualitative and quantitative information using a wide range of information sources;
• recognise the challenges facing sustainable entrepreneurs, leaders and change makers and identify techniques to tackle those challenges;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• compare and contrast different leadership approaches and styles with collaboration and organisational forms pertaining to the nature of sustainable entrepreneurship, which can present context-specific opportunities and challenges.
• critically examine the sustainable entrepreneurship process from the perspectives of leadership, embedding all pillars of sustainability in business development and organisational transformation;
• critically evaluate multiple and contextual understandings of sustainability in such a holistic sense that the process of sustainable entrepreneurship can be implemented effectively by embedding all pillars of sustainability from the initial ideation stage of business venturing to the scaling up and growth stages that require sustainable leadership.
• demonstrate a strong understanding of the intentions and motivations for sustainable business development and its implications on the leadership of such businesses for sustainable solutions.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• frameworks and models as to how to create business opportunities in order start-up and grow businesses for sustainable solutions for all kinds of local/national/international contexts.
• different collaboration forms, organisational forms with associated networks, digital platforms, which will align with leadership approaches and styles required for sustainable entrepreneurship
• sustainable entrepreneurship and leadership with a focus on holistic approach to sustainability and blended value creation;
• leadership for sustainable entrepreneurial action and business growth by circular economy principles and associated business models and leadership approaches and styles.

• Key pillars of sustainability and intentions and motivations for sustainable entrepreneurship.
• Encouraging and enacting sustainability through entrepreneurial action and leadership.
• Embedding sustainability holistically in the entrepreneurial process
• Inspiring and leading for sustainable entrepreneurship, with emphasis on diversity of approaches to leadership (inclusive leadership)
• Contextually situated implications, opportunities and challenges for sustainable entrepreneurship and leadership

Teaching and learning methods

A number of teaching methods will be used in lectures in order to cater for a variety of learning styles and address the learning needs of the diverse student population. The teaching methods are primarily the lectures that will combine several learning activities. Lectures will typically start with a set of learning objectives or specific questions for the session. Student participation, small group activities and other teaching methods will be integrated in the lectures as warranted. Learning activities will include learning tasks and mini-presentations as groups, case study analysis, problem solving activities, field visits for your group work/presentation (if this option is selected),directed reading, examination and group report. Lectures will be concluded with an overview of lecture’s learning outcomes. In order to enable more efficient listening, participation and note taking in class, you will receive electronically a small package of information for each weekly topic on a session by session basis, which will include copies of any power point slides, essential reading and suggested further reading and preparation for end of module assessment. This will be available on Blackboard. Blackboard is a web based online learning platform that is used to support some or all of the modules that you are studying. The web address for Blackboard is http://blackboard.soton.ac.uk.

We will have series of 'Meet the Sustainable Entrepreneurs/Leaders' throughout the module whereby you will have the opportunity to interact with practitioners and policy makers in this field of sustainability and leadership.

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Michael Blowfield (2013). Business and Sustainability. New York: Oxford University Press.

Katerina Nicolopoulou, Mine Karatas-Ozkan, Frank Janssen, John M. Jermier (2017). Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation. Routledge.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External