The two main directions in literature review in the agile literature review approach

The two main directions in literature review in the agile literature review approach: (I) the upward literature review direction and (II) the horizontal literature review direction.

(I) The upward literature review direction:

This refers to the effort to evaluate to what extent and how your chosen academic ideas will intellectually support the research task to which your chosen academic ideas belong.

(II) the horizontal literature review direction:

This refers to the effort to evaluate the relatedness, complementarity and incompatibility of the academic ideas you have chosen to inform the endeavor of the upward literature review.

For vertical literature review, academic journal articles are more useful than textbooks. As to horizontal literature review, textbooks are more relevant for the review exercise.

How to identify analytical academic ideas to develop the theoretical framework level-1a in ALRA

How to identify analytical academic ideas to develop the theoretical framework level-1a in the agile literature review approach (ALRA):

Analytical academic ideas in the agile literature review approach are primarily associated with the following terms:

1. theory

2. theoretical framework

3. model

4. metaphor

5. concept

6. approach

7. grid

8. methodology

In this respect, when analytical academic ideas are associated with the following terms, they are defective, vague, or conceptually simple. As such, they have very low direct analytical value:

1. a specific empirical finding.

2. a theorist's specific and straightforward  viewpoint in the discussion of a management topic.

3. the name of an article, a book, or a whole subject, e.g. corporate governance, human resource management, and talent management. [in this case, the student should identify a concrete analytical academic idea from the article, the book or the management subject.].

The naming of an analytical academic idea should be like this:

academic idea 1.1: the five-force model of Porter (1981).

academic idea 1.2: the dynamic capabilities framework of Teece (2006).

The topic of "what is management theory" is complex; a useful reference is "the management theory jungle".

Assignment task 2 info for "managing entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity" 2021.

 Task 2 – The Concept Plan - The Blue Sky Thinking! (Part 2) 40%

(1,300 Words)

Support Note:

 

In this section we expect to see a pitch/analysis of a viable business idea/s/ or themes of your choice embodied in a business plan (That is you are required to develop a concept plan based on an idea of your choice. – This should be agreed with the module tutors).

 

Suggested Structure of Concept Plan

Title: A concept plan for the new business venture of [XXX {the business name}], written by XXX.

 

1 Introduction – Business Concept and problems /needs /opportunities

2 Objectives

3 Market Research – Primary and Secondary 

4 Target  Market/ Customer

5  Product / Process Design

6  Product /Service Marketing

7  Operations – Using the Business Model

8  ManagementPlan

9  Human Resource

10    Legal Issues

11    Financial Issues

12  Risks, Contingency and Exit Strategies 

13 Other issues

14  References

** references are for empirical data and facts, e.g. on market size estimation, for the concept plan; do not provide academic referencing on academic ideas/ theories per se, as this is not an academic report.

15  Appendices and other supporting documents

 

This is not a fully-fledged business plan, but the ideas and approach is the same, ensuring that the idea and concepts are clear! Do you agree that before you get an idea or business off the ground you should first develop a viable concept? Good ideas/concepts fail due to poor research and not thinking through basic business issues and appropriate controls. Structure of the concept plan will be provided by the tutors. There are opportunities for you to enter your idea in competitions organised by the university or external organisations.

*** word count covers report items 1-13. Insert figure of word count at the end of item 13: 

<word count: xxx.>.

*** A reminder: for assignment task 2, on business plan, do not do academic referencing, as a business plan is not an academic report. On the other hand, referencing on empirical data (e.g. market data) to support the business plan is useful. You do need to employ business model canvas in the business plan content.

e-learning:

A video on business model canvas./ visualizing your business model.

e-readings for assignment task 3 of "managing entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity" 2021

 e-readings for assignment task 3 of "managing entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity" 2021

Task-3 Entrepreneurial pitch 20% (500 words)

 

 

3a 10%.  present your business ideal to obtain the buy in from your audience, depends on the nature of the business. Audience could include institutional investor s, business angels, government agencies or simply a showcase to the public.

 

Due to the COVID-19 currently situation, I will suggest that students should record and upload 5 to 7 minutes, with reasonable slides.

* update an audio file for 5-7min presentation with a powerpoint file. [make reference to a pitch deck sample for producing the powerpoint file].

* a video on startup pitch.

* an example (video): the Airbnb pitch deck.

** pls refer to the pitch deck sample in my Facebook group on the course. The powerpoint file should have 25-27 slides [the maximum no. of slides is 28].

 

3b 10%.personal Reflection upon the concept of Entrepreneurship, before and after you attend this module

* the word count is around 310-320 words for the reflection essay of 3b.

An example of a review on entrepreneurship is Kirzner on entrepreneurship (video).. Also take a look at "what is entrepreneurship?"./ what is entrepreneurship (video).

e-readings for "managing entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity": task 1 2021

 e-readings for "managing entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity": task 1 2021:

Task 1. – Research Questions – Part 1 40% (1,200 Words)

(i) provide a concept-driven evaluation of the business performance and/or social impacts of the Pop Mart case [14% out of 40%]

Examples of concepts: entrepreneurial mindset, entrepreneurial alertness, entrepreneurial opportunities, innovation process, value proposition, and business model innovation.

** need referencing in the answer; not required to do literature review on the academic concepts per se.

(ii)

Option A –Theme – Entrepreneurial society

* building the new entrepreneurial society.

* in search of the entrepreneurial society.

* a video on entrepreneurial society (Peter Drucker). [lengthy].

Option B –Theme – Entrepreneurial culture

* 4 elements of entrepreneurial culture.

* why your company should adopt an entrepreneurial culture.

* a video on entrepreneurial culture.

* slideshare: on entrepreneurial culture.

Option C – Theme –Organizational creativity

* individual creativity vs organizational creativity.

* lack of organizational creativity?

* a video on organizational creativity.

* a video: an introduction on organizational creativity.

* slideshare: on organizational creativity.

Option D– Theme – Innovation process

* new approaches to a successful innovation process.

* the innovation process: a step-by-step guide.

* a video on "innovation process".

* a video on "innovation process": a brief lecture.

* a video: innovation process: step 1.

* a video: innovation process: step 2.

* a video: innovation process: step 3.

* a video: innovation process: step 4.

* slideshare: the innovation process.

Option E – Theme –New venture idea nurturing

* 8 steps for nurturing a winning business idea.

* 5 ways to nurture your business idea.

* a video on how to develop a business idea.

* a video: "you have a great business idea. Now what?"

* a video: the ideation phase (stage 1 of innovation).

* a video: the discovery phase (stage 2 of innovation).

* a video: the incubation phase (stage 3 of innovation).

* slideshare: steps to build awesome business ideas.

Option F – Theme - Entrepreneurial mindset

* on the entrepreneurial mindset.

* entrepreneurial mindset: 20 ways.

* a video on "entrepreneurial mindset".

* a video: the employee vs entrepreneurial mindset.

* slideshare: on entrepreneurial mindset.

** you need to do harvard referencing for your task 1 answer. See a video on harvard referencing. The target is to make use of 2-4 academic references per option {A-F} discussion, plus other references from non-academic sources {notably, via Google search [preferably 3-5 non-academic articles]}.

Task 1. – Research Questions – Part 1 40% (1,200 Words)

 

Select two of the following six themes below (A-F) to (i) provide a concept-driven evaluation of the business performance and/or social impacts of the Pop Mart case and (ii) briefly provide a conceptual evaluation of the concepts involved in the academic literature of the two chosen themes.

Task 1(i) need to evaluate the business performance (e.g. sales, profit, customer satisfaction, innovation performance, etc) and/or social impacts of the Pop Mart case.

Task 1(ii)

Option A –Theme – Entrepreneurial society

Option B –Theme – Entrepreneurial culture

Option C – Theme –Organizational creativity

Option D– Theme – Innovation process

Option E – Theme –New venture idea nurturing

Option F – Theme - Entrepreneurial mindset

 

Support note:

Discussing the issues that are brought up will be an essential part of your study. What is the best way to approach this portion of the task? Answer: Secondary research – reading recommended readings and articles suggested in class or those you have found yourself, on relevant journals/resources. Apply the theory to what you have learn throughout the module, based on the questions we ask (including your own)and areas you wanttoexplore.Weexpecttoseedefinitions!Therefore,haveatleastafewfromdifferentsources (that is each for entrepreneurship ,innovation and creativity).All sources should be from credible academic sources and not from online dictionaries (for example, ask.com and or Wikipedia.com–you will get no marks, if these are used).This section will come in good stead when you embark on the dissertation or research essay in subsequent years as stated.

 

When undertaking your secondary research (basically ask yourself the question who has written on this specific subject area? Do their views differ from other people? Are there any existing empirical studies/research? Note any hypothesis put forward? Do you understand what they are saying? Do you agree with what they are saying? – That is critique not criticize! What do you think, i.e. that is, what are your own thoughts? Are there any practical examples that you can draw from? Why not discuss issues especially those that challenge your way of thinking or view of life? Please note your tutors expect current up to date references (unless when quoting a classic piece of research to make a point or introducing the topic area).

 

Essay template (suggested) is as follows:

Essay title: a discussion of the Pop Mart case, XXXX (option X) and XXX (option X)

1. Case evaluation of Pop Mart (about 400 words; 14% out of 40%)

2. Theme evaluation [Sections 3 : 800 words]

2.1 Discussion of XXX (option X) [Section 3.1: 400 words; 13% out of 40%]

2.1.1 on the definitions, related ideas and examples involved.

2.1.2. on a personal critical review of the ideas related to XXX (option X)

2.2. Discussion of XXX (option X) [Section 3.2: 400 words; 13% out of 40%]

2.2.1. on the definitions, related ideas and examples involved.

2.2.2. on a personal critical review of the ideas related to XXX (option X)

<word count: ???> [note: total 1,200 words, +/- 5% {i.e. 60 words}]

References.

**** it is important to note that task 1 (i) [case study] and task 1(ii) [theme review] are two separate tasks. Do not mention the case study of task 1(i) in your task (ii) [theme review].

How to formulate a proper research objective to make up an item in theoretical framework level-0 (ALRA)

How to formulate a proper research objective to make up an item in theoretical framework level-0 (ALRA).

The following two examples illustrate how to formulate a proper research objective in the agile literature review approach:

Example 1:

The initial research objective statement is as follows:

To evaluate the open IT innovation skills with capability for the new IT market.

Changed to:

To evaluate the product innovation capability tor the IT marketplace.

Example 2:

The initial research objective statement is as follows:

To evaluate the managerial competence on business with staff management

Changed to: 

To evaluate the people management competence of the company.

These examples illustrate the way to proceed to refine research objective statements in the agile literature review approach.

Some further clarification of assignment 2 of the Housing Research subject, 2020

 Some further clarification of assignment 2 of the Housing Research subject:

** The research objective could be: an assessment of how external factors affect housing policy practices (and its impacts) in Hong Kong.

For assignment 2, a useful interpretation is:

2 research questions

RQ1: consider two research methods to review

RQ2: consider two research methods to review