BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION - 2026/7

Module Overview

This module will introduce the concept of the business model to students where they develop an understanding about how key components of a business (product, market and finance) are related to the value creation and its delivery. Students are then presented with a range of tools (business model canvas, business model types, sustainable business development) to enable setting up, describing, analysing, and improving business model design. Students will explore the business model's impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Ultimately, students need to apply their critical understanding of knowledge, business and research skills to either modify an existing business model design or create a new one to develop sustainable growth strategies. These skills will support students' academic progression as well as career aspirations for both entrepreneurial and professional career pathways.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

ALTRICHTER Birgit (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative Module content may include:

• Entrepreneurship and innovation theories;
• Business modelling tools and techniques (including business canvases);
• Value-creation, delivery and capture;
• Business context and commercial research;
• Professional presentation of complex information.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Individually prepared video presentation

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of key business model concepts and tools, and then to apply them in a business context.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Pre-recorded group presentation - addresses learning outcomes 1, 2, and 5)
• Individual Report - (addresses learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4)

Formative feedback: Students will receive individual and group feedback during the module from teaching staff, which they are expected to use to improve their work in the subsequent assignments. Students will receive feedback verbally during the lectures or seminars.

Summative Assessment and Feedback: Students will also receive written feedback for the group assignment, which should be used to inform further improvements for the summative individual assessment. Students will receive written feedback on their summative assessment as detailed by the Code of Practice for Assessment and Feedback. An overview report will be shared with the cohort to highlight key metrics and themes found in the marking and feedback process.

Module aims

• Explore a range of business model designs in different business contexts.
• Provide tools, techniques, and methods to support the design, analysis, and innovation of business models.
• Analyse the effectiveness, growth and sustainability of business models to generate strategies with recommendations for implementation.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to combine lectures, group discussion, and workshop activities. In addition to academic and industry literature, the module will make use of online resources. The teaching and learning strategy is designed to promote a sound understanding of theory and how it may be applied in practice. This is achieved by providing opportunities to engage with the material in class, independently, in groups, and individually with a strong focus on learning by doing, through experience, discussions, and continuous feedback. This approach will support students to move from conceptual understanding to applied design/innovation, supporting achievement of LO2 and LO3.

The learning and teaching methods include interactive lectures; case analyses; group projects and individual work; discussion and reflection opportunities; digital resources and activities.

In addition, the module teaching team is accessible throughout the semester to address and clarify questions. Feedback given will be verbally and written on an individual basis and summative.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MAN2227

Other information

Surrey Business School is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Employability: Students develop key business skills which they can apply in a range of different business contexts. This is assessed in the individual assignment and group assignment.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: Students will develop their ability to work in groups effectively with other students from diverse backgrounds to develop their cultural intelligence, broaden their world view, own perspectives and interpretations, and reinterpret issues against a broader spectrum of ideas and representations.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: Students work in groups on a project where they are expected to respond to challenges to find solutions which require creativity and an ability to adapt based on the business context; they are also expected to show initiative and creativity in the Business Modelling Report where they choose a company with a challenge or opportunity and evaluate different solutions. This is assessed in the individual and group assignment.

Sustainability: Students are expected to consider and reflect on the business model's impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2026/7 academic year.