MGMT8015 Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Complete Exam Bible · S2 2026MGMT8015 Overview
- Postgraduate course, 6 units
- Semester 2, 2026
- Research School of Management
- Weekly in-person seminars
- Closed-book final examination
What the course is about
Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Australian National University introduces the foundations, behaviours and mindsets behind new ventures and innovation in existing organisations.
- Assessed by An in-class quiz in Week 5 (20%), a group business model developed in class in four parts across Weeks 8 to 11 (40%), and a closed-book, two-hour final examination (40%).
- Hardest step Applying a framework to an unfamiliar case without notes: the exam asks you to apply the theory and to reflect on what it means for your career, not to list definitions.
- How to prepare Write a one-page recall sheet of every framework from memory, back each canvas block with evidence before each in-class part, and practise short application and reflection answers.
How MGMT8015 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| In-class quiz, week 5 (Individual - 20%) | 20% | Assessment 1; paper-based, 1 hour, in class in Week 5; marks returned 28 August 2026 |
| In-class business model development (Group - 40%) | 40% | Assessment 2; four in-class parts of 10% in Weeks 8, 9, 10 and 11; groups assigned in Week 7 |
| Final Examination (Individual - 40%) | 40% | Assessment 3; closed-book, 2 hours, in the examination period; returned 9 December 2026 |
The First Semester 2026 offering (class 2436) was assessed by a quiz, a group pitch and a simulation essay, and this guide follows the Second Semester 2026 class summary, whose three weights total 100% and whose final examination is closed-book, two hours long and sat in the examination period.
Assessment structure
Current MGMT8015 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Week 5 | Assessment 1 in-class quiz | Paper-based, 1 hour, in class; marks returned 28 August 2026. |
| Week 7 | Groups assigned | Groups for the business model task are fixed for all four parts. |
| Weeks 8, 9, 10 and 11 | Assessment 2 business model parts | One in-class part of 10% each week; no late work and no extensions. |
| Examination period | Assessment 3 final examination | Closed-book, 2 hours; marks returned 9 December 2026. |
Dates are as published in the class schedule, assessment summary and task details in the Second Semester 2026 class summary. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What MGMT8015 covers
Twelve chapters follow the seminar topics from definitions to inclusive innovation, and two more cover the in-class business model task and the final examination.
Defining Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Invention versus innovation, novelty and improvement, value created and captured, Stevenson’s definition and creative destructionInvention is not yet innovation
The course starts by separating an invention, a new idea or device, from an innovation, which is an invention that adds value for its users and captures value for the organisation delivering it.
- Invention versus innovation
- Novelty and improvement as two tests
- Value created and value captured
- Stevenson’s definition of entrepreneurship
- Schumpeter and creative destruction
- Productive and destructive entrepreneurship
Causation, Effectuation, Discovery and Creation
Goal-driven versus means-driven reasoning, the five effectuation principles, affordable loss and opportunity discovery versus creationTwo logics of decision-making
Causation begins with a goal and chooses the means to reach it; effectuation begins with the means in hand and lets possible ends emerge.
- Causation: goal first, then means
- Effectuation: means first, ends emerge
- The five effectuation principles
- Affordable loss versus expected return
- Opportunity discovery versus creation
- Choosing the logic that fits the context
Why Startups Fail: Six Patterns
Eisenmann’s early-stage and late-stage patterns, bad bedfellows, false starts, false positives and how to avoid themBeyond horses and jockeys
Investors often blame either the idea or the founders.
- Horses, jockeys and why both explanations are too simple
- Good idea, bad bedfellows
- False starts and their causes
- False positives and early traction
- Speed traps, help wanted and cascading miracles
- Three steps that prevent false starts
Risk, Uncertainty and Testing Assumptions
Novelty and unknowns, risk versus uncertainty, the unknowns-to-knowns ratio, testing assumptions and the test cardUncertainty is built into innovation
Novelty creates unknowns and unknowns create uncertainty, which makes action hard to plan.
- Novelty, unknowns and uncertainty
- Risk versus uncertainty
- The unknowns-to-knowns ratio
- Five steps for testing an assumption
- The test card: hypothesis, test, metric, criteria
- Using tested assumptions in a business model
Design Thinking and the Lean Startup
Empathize to Test, the Build-Measure-Learn loop, minimum viable products, pivot or persevere and how the two compareTwo tools for one problem
Both frameworks reduce uncertainty by putting something in front of real users early.
- The five design-thinking stages
- Build, Measure, Learn and the minimum viable product
- Pivot or persevere
- Desirability risk versus market and solution risk
- Similarities between the two frameworks
- Combining them for a venture
Diffusion of Innovation and Adopter Categories
Rogers’s S-curve, the five adopter categories, the electric-vehicle stages and early adopters as false positivesHow adoption spreads
Rogers’s diffusion of innovation describes how a new product spreads through a social system over time.
- The diffusion S-curve
- Innovators to laggards
- The electric-vehicle case in three stages
- Conditions that move adoption along
- Early adopters and false positives
- Diffusion and disruption
Types and Sources of Innovation
Five forms of innovation, the technology-by-market matrix, incremental, radical, architectural and disruptive change, and sourcesWhat can be new
Innovation can be a new good or service, a new production method, a new market, a new source of supply or a new organisational or industry structure, and it applies to processes and services as well as products.
Four types on two axes
Asking whether the technology and the market are existing or new separates incremental, radical, architectural and disruptive innovation.
- Five forms of innovation
- The technology-by-market matrix
- Incremental and radical innovation
- The fermentation era and dominant designs
- Architectural innovation
- Disruption in six steps
Business Models and Business Model Innovation
Who, what, how and value, model versus strategy, the two-of-four rule, creativity and transfer, combine and leverageWhat a business model is
A business model explains how a firm creates value, delivers it and keeps a share of it.
- Creating, delivering and capturing value
- The magic triangle
- Business model versus competitive strategy
- The two-of-four rule
- Creativity can be learned
- Transfer, combine and leverage
Business Model Patterns, Canvases and Market Size
Razor and blade, subscription, freemium, pay-per-use and peer-to-peer, the two canvases and TAM, SAM and SOMPatterns worth knowing
Razor and blade, subscription, freemium, pay-per-use and peer-to-peer models each answer the what, how and value questions differently and carry their own trade-offs.
Two canvases
The Business Model Canvas maps nine blocks around the value proposition and suits known markets; the Lean Canvas adds problem, solution, key metrics and unfair advantage for start-ups facing uncertain markets.
Sizing the opportunity
Total, serviceable and obtainable market estimates turn a market claim into three linked figures an investor can check.
Beyond the five patterns
The lecture also lists self-service, add-ons, auctions, cross-selling, direct selling, flat rates, franchising, ingredient branding, shop-in-shop and open source, each with a familiar example.
- Razor and blade, subscription and freemium
- Pay-per-use and peer-to-peer models
- The nine blocks of the Business Model Canvas
- What the Lean Canvas changes
- Filling a canvas in six steps
- TAM, SAM and SOM
Resources, Ecosystems and IP Management
Human, social and financial capital, VRIO, ecosystem criteria, patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets and design playsResources and advantage
Ventures draw on human, social and financial capital.
- Human, social and financial capital
- The resource-based view and VRIO
- Ecosystem versus network
- Autonomy, complementarity and modularity
- Four types of intellectual property
- Protective mechanisms and design plays
Innovation Portfolios and Open Innovation
Core, adjacent and transformational innovation, the 70-20-10 ratio, R-W-W, three horizons and inbound and outbound opennessManaging many bets
Large firms run many innovation projects with different risks, so they manage them as a portfolio.
- Why firms fail or succeed at managing innovation
- The Innovation Ambition Matrix
- The 70-20-10 golden ratio
- Five factors and the R-W-W screen
- Three horizons of growth
- Closed versus open innovation
Inclusive Innovation and Its Consequences
Five eras of organisational focus, unintended consequences, barriers to access, diverse teams and six levers for inclusionFrom efficiency to purpose
Over a century, organisations shifted their focus from efficiency to people, talent, fairness and finally purpose, inclusion and sustainability.
- Five eras of organisational focus
- Unintended consequences of innovation
- Environmental and societal costs of AI
- Barriers to inclusive entrepreneurship
- Why diverse teams innovate better
- Six levers for inclusive innovation
In-Class Business Model Development
Four in-class parts of 10%, groups from Week 7, evidence under every canvas block, a revenue check and probing questionsThe task
In the Second Semester 2026 offering, Assessment 2 is a group task worth 40% in which your group develops a comprehensive, well-structured business model for one new venture, in class, across Weeks 8, 9, 10 and 11.
Four equal parts
The weight is split into four parts of 10%, one each week.
- Four in-class parts of 10% each
- Groups, attendance and the no-extension rule
- An order of work from the chapter tools
- Evidence under every canvas block
- Rebuilding a revenue claim
- Presenting to internal stakeholders
The Final Examination (Assessment 3, 40%)
A closed-book, two-hour paper on learning outcomes 1 and 6, applying frameworks to cases and writing a reflectionThe exam
The final examination in the Second Semester 2026 offering is individual, closed-book, two hours long and worth 40%.
- A closed-book, two-hour paper
- Learning outcomes 1 and 6
- Mapping outcomes to chapters
- Building a one-page recall sheet
- Applying a framework to a scenario
- Reflecting on your career
It starts from two definitions: innovation as an invention that adds value for users and captures value for the firm, and Stevenson’s entrepreneurship as chasing opportunity beyond the resources a founder already controls.
From there it examines how founders decide under uncertainty, contrasting causal planning with effectual action and asking whether opportunities are discovered or created.
How the weeks build
Week 3 explains why start-ups fail through Eisenmann’s patterns, separates risk from uncertainty, and introduces assumption testing, design thinking, the lean startup and the diffusion S-curve.
Week 4 sorts incremental, radical, architectural and disruptive innovation. Week 6 covers business models, the magic triangle, common patterns, the two canvases and market sizing. Week 7 turns to resources, VRIO, ecosystems and intellectual property.
Week 10 covers innovation portfolios, the 70-20-10 ratio and open innovation, and Week 11 asks who benefits from innovation and how to make it inclusive.
How it is taught and assessed
Weekly seminars mix short lectures, discussion of the readings and in-class exercises.
In the Second Semester 2026 offering, assessment is a 20% paper-based quiz in class in Week 5, a 40% group task in which you develop a business model for a new venture in four in-class parts across Weeks 8 to 11 and answer probing questions on it, and a 40% closed-book final examination of two hours in the examination period.
The exam asks you to apply the course’s theory and principles and to reflect on what entrepreneurship and innovation mean for your career.
Worked example · free
Split an innovation budget with the golden ratio
- 1Core: 70% of $30m = 0.70 × 30 = $21 million.
- 1Adjacent: 20% of $30m = 0.20 × 30 = $6 million.
- 1Transformational: 10% of $30m = 0.10 × 30 = $3 million; check 21 + 6 + 3 = 30.
- 1Returns run in the reverse proportions, about 10, 20 and 70 per cent, so the $3 million transformational slice is expected to bring the largest share.
Key terms
- Creative Destruction
- Schumpeter’s idea that innovation keeps replacing old industries and structures with new ones, driven by entrepreneurs.
- Effectuation
- A logic of entrepreneurial decision-making that starts from available means and lets goals emerge, credited to Sarasvathy.
- Affordable Loss
- The effectuation principle of committing only what you are willing to lose, rather than chasing the highest forecast return.
- Minimum Viable Product
- The smallest product version that can test a venture’s most critical assumption with real customers.
- Build-Measure-Learn Loop
- The lean startup cycle of building an experiment, measuring customer behaviour and deciding to pivot or persevere.
- Uncertainty
- A condition in which alternatives and probabilities are unknown, typical of novel projects and impossible to insure.
- Disruptive Innovation
- A process in which a smaller entrant serves customers incumbents ignore, improves and is then adopted by the mainstream.
- Architectural Innovation
- The reconfiguration of known components or technologies to create new goods or services for new markets.
- Business Model
- A plain account of how a firm creates value, delivers it to customers and keeps a share of it.
- Business Model Canvas
- Osterwalder’s one-page map of nine building blocks, centred on the value proposition.
- VRIO Framework
- A test of whether a resource is valuable, rare, hard to imitate and supported by the organisation.
- Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
- A set of interdependent actors and factors coordinated to enable productive entrepreneurship in a territory.
- Innovation Ambition Matrix
- Nagji and Tuff’s framework that sorts innovation into core, adjacent and transformational zones.
- Open Innovation
- Chesbrough’s paradigm in which firms use external as well as internal ideas and paths to market.
MGMT8015 FAQ
How is the grade made up in this entrepreneurship and innovation course?
Three tasks make up the grade. A paper-based in-class quiz in Week 5 is worth 20%. A group task in which you develop a business model in class, in four parts of 10% across Weeks 8 to 11, is worth 40%. A closed-book, two-hour final examination in the examination period is worth the remaining 40%.
Is there a final examination?
Yes. The Second Semester 2026 class summary states that the course has a final examination, worth 40%. It is closed-book, two hours long and held in the end-of-semester examination period. The lecturer gives further instructions in Week 7, when the structure and expectations for the exam are announced.
What is the Week 5 quiz like?
It is an individual, paper-based quiz worth 20%, taken in class and lasting one hour, so you must be present to sit it. Feedback is given on Canvas by the end of Week 5. Late submission and extensions are not available; students whose circumstances prevent attendance submit an extenuating circumstances application through ANUHub.
How does the in-class business model task work?
Your group develops a comprehensive business model for one new venture across Weeks 8 to 11, with four equal parts worth 10% each. In each part you present the model to internal stakeholders and answer probing questions. Groups are assigned in Week 7, and marking criteria are posted on Canvas by the end of Week 6.
What does the final exam ask you to do?
Its stated purpose is to show that you can understand and apply the theory and principles of entrepreneurship and innovation covered in the course, and reflect on their personal significance for your future career. Those are learning outcomes 1 and 6. Practise applying frameworks to new cases and writing short reflections without notes.
Can I use generative AI in this course?
The class summary expects you to explore, evaluate and examine AI tools responsibly while developing your business model, particularly in Week 10. Cite and reference every tool you used, reflect on possible ethical and integrity problems, and where appropriate show in an appendix how you used it. The final exam is closed-book.
What happens if I miss an assessment?
The quiz and the business model parts are in-class tasks with no late submission and no extensions; if circumstances outside your control stop you attending, apply through the extenuating circumstances process in ANUHub. Extensions do not apply to examinations, and the Deferred Examinations policy covers the final exam.
Questions students ask in each MGMT8015 chapter
- Why is an invention not automatically an innovation?
- An invention becomes an innovation only once it delivers value. In the course’s terms it must be new to the user or setting and better than existing options, and the value has two sides: benefit for customers and a return for the organisation that delivers it. A brilliant prototype nobody adopts stays an invention. Chapter 01 · Defining Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- How is affordable loss different from expected return?
- Expected-return reasoning forecasts the payoff of each option and backs the best one. Affordable loss works the other way: the founder first decides how much she is willing to lose, commits only that, and accepts it may be lost. It caps the downside instead of maximising a predicted upside, which is useful when forecasts are unreliable. Chapter 02 · Causation, Effectuation, Discovery and Creation
- Why do most start-ups fail according to the course?
- The course rejects the simple answer that founders or ideas are to blame. Following Eisenmann, it identifies six recurring patterns, three early and three late, such as misaligned partners, skipping customer discovery, misreading early traction, growth outpacing capabilities, missing skills and plans that depend on several miracles. Chapter 03 · Why Startups Fail: Six Patterns
- What is the difference between risk and uncertainty?
- Under risk, all alternatives, consequences and probabilities are known, often from historical data, and the event can be insured. Under uncertainty they are not known, the variation cannot be quantified because the situation is new, and insurance is not possible. The course argues innovation mostly involves uncertainty. Chapter 04 · Risk, Uncertainty and Testing Assumptions
- What is a minimum viable product?
- It is the smallest version of a product that can test the venture’s most critical assumption with real customers. Its job is to generate evidence in the Build, Measure, Learn loop, not to be a cheap early release. The lecture links it directly to testing the hypotheses every start-up rests on. Chapter 05 · Design Thinking and the Lean Startup
- What does the S-curve in diffusion of innovation show?
- It plots the cumulative number of adopters against time. Adoption starts slowly among a few enthusiasts, accelerates as the majority joins and levels off as few non-adopters remain. The Week 12 summary also links the curve to innovation portfolio management, since products at different points need different investment. Chapter 06 · Diffusion of Innovation and Adopter Categories
- Is Uber a disruptive innovation?
- The course says no. Disruption begins with less demanding customers at the low end and turns non-consumers into consumers. Uber built in quality features from the start and mostly served people who already used taxis, while drivers and public-transport users did not change their habits. Chapter 07 · Types and Sources of Innovation
- What is the difference between a business model and a strategy?
- The business model describes how the business is run: who it serves, what it offers, how it produces that and why it earns money. Competitive strategy describes how the firm will do better than rivals. Two firms can share a model and still compete on strategy. Chapter 08 · Business Models and Business Model Innovation
- When should I use the Lean Canvas instead of the Business Model Canvas?
- The lecture matches the Lean Canvas to start-ups operating in uncertain or new markets where customers and competitors are unknown, and the Business Model Canvas to established businesses and start-ups in well-known markets. The Lean Canvas focuses on problem-solution and product-market fit; the original focuses on the value proposition and business logic. Chapter 09 · Business Model Patterns, Canvases and Market Size
- What is the difference between an ecosystem and a network?
- A network is a set of connections. An ecosystem is the co-evolution of interdependent actors that interact around a focal innovation, each contributing a complementary piece, with no single owner. The lecture adds three criteria: autonomy, complementarity and modularity. Chapter 10 · Resources, Ecosystems and IP Management
- Does every company follow the 70-20-10 split?
- No. The lecture says context matters. Industrial firms usually follow it, technology firms lean more towards breakthroughs, consumer packaged goods makers lean on core and adjacent work, lagging firms may gamble on transformation, and venture-backed start-ups have little core and tend to go big. Chapter 11 · Innovation Portfolios and Open Innovation
- Does diversity actually help innovation?
- The lecture cites figures linking ethnically diverse leadership to 35% higher financial returns, inclusive teams to being 45% more likely to report market-share growth, and diverse teams to being 70% more likely to capture new markets. It explains this through cognitive diversity, less groupthink and broader user insight. Chapter 12 · Inclusive Innovation and Its Consequences
- How is the 40% for the business model task split?
- Into four equal parts of 10%, one in each of Weeks 8, 9, 10 and 11. Each part is delivered in class, so you must be present to take part. Feedback on each part comes within two weeks, in class and on Canvas, and marking criteria are posted on Canvas by the end of Week 6. Chapter 13 · In-Class Business Model Development
- What do we know about the final exam in this course?
- The class summary states that it is individual, closed-book, two hours long and worth 40%, and that it is held in the examination period. Its purpose is to apply the course theory and principles and to reflect on their significance for your career. The structure and expectations are announced in the Week 7 lecture. Chapter 14 · The Final Examination (Assessment 3, 40%)
How to study for the exam
Treat each week as a loop: do the readings before the seminar, take part in the discussion and exercises, then write one paragraph naming the framework, the case it explained and the judgement it led to.
For the business model task, agree on one venture early, back every canvas block with evidence or a stated assumption, rebuild each number before you present it, and fix whatever a probing question exposed before the next part. For the final exam, build a one-page recall sheet of every framework with its author, a one-line definition and one case, and rewrite it from memory until it is complete.
Then practise applying frameworks to unfamiliar scenarios and drafting short reflections on what the ideas mean for your career, always without notes, and bring your remaining questions to the Week 12 recap and exam preparation session.
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