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2010/2011  KAN-CM_E39  Innovation management: management of a complex and difficult endeavor

English Title
Innovation management: management of a complex and difficult endeavor

Course Information

Language English
Point 7,5 ECTS (225 SAT)
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Course Period Autumn
Pending schedule: Week 36-41,43-45: Monday 12.35-14.15 Week 46-48: Monday 12.35-16.05
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Max. participants 60
Study Board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course Coordinator
Lars Heide - heide@cbs.dkSecretary Karina Ravn Nielsen - krn.lpf@cbs.dk
Main Category of the Course
  • Corporate and Business Strategy
  • Innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Management

Taught under Open University-Taught under open university.
Last updated on 29 maj 2012
Learning Objectives
• Identify complexity of the innovation process on individual and company level
• Indentify, compare and assess key concepts and dimensions of innovation management across small and large organizations
• Critically analyze strengths and weaknesses of different organizational forms and models for innovation management
• Critically analyze methods for dealing with innovation in and between organizations
• Apply relevant innovation theories to innovation cases.
Prerequisite
All master students are accepted.
Examination
Individual oral examination based on mini-projects written in groups.
Exam Period Winter Term
Examination
Prerequisites for Attending the Exam
Course Content

Innovation can provide business opportunities and more radical innovations provide greater chances and create more uncertainty during the innovative process. Major or basic innovations are difficult to plan and predict which makes innovations management difficult, both on group, company and national level. Firm boundaries and management in firms are challenged by innovations, which may demand collaboration for innovation, or cases, where the innovation produces innovations outside the core business. For example, the Danish company Novo-Nordisk’s innovation of fermenting based production of insulin provided the basic knowledge of producing enzymes for detergents. Now, Novozymes is a separate producer of industrial enzymes and had revenues of DKK 8.0 billion in 2009.

The course will discuss intricacies of innovation management, and how management theory is challenged by the embedded uncertainties of innovation. How do barriers hamper innovation? How to conceptualize complexity of innovations? Which is the role of the individual innovator in a company or university? How does diversity in a company or between companies influence innovation, and how is diversity managed? How can individual and company actors bring about acceleration in innovation? How can separate companies cooperate in innovations? National governments and EU provide extensive support for innovation. Which are the opportunities and problems of cooperation with government and universities? These are among the issues discussed in the course.

The course's development of personal competences:
•Knowledge of the role of opportunities and barriers on individual innovators and management in innovation
•Understanding complexity of innovation in its local, national and global contexts
•Reflection on dilemmas, opportunities, barriers, and challenges in management of innovation

Teaching Methods
The course will introduce the students to innovation practice and theory of innovation management in companies and how this is related to other companies, universities and government. Lectures and discussions will introduce theories of innovation. Theoretically based concepts will be applied to cases both where innovation failed and was successful. In the class, the students will study conceptualising of critical elements in innovation in cases, either supplied by teaches or of their own choice. 2-3 students will write a a mini-project of up to 15 pages, which will be the basis for oral examination. The number of students is limited to 60, because more students would impede the course’s project supervision.
Literature

(Incomplete, will be supplemented)

Van de Ven, A.H. (1986) Central Problems in the Managmeent of Innovaiton. Management Science 32 (5) May 590-607

Lundvall, B.Å. (1998) Why study National Systems and National Styles of Innovation? Technology Analysis & Strategic Management. 10 (4) p. 407-21

Dougherty, D. & C. Hardy (1996), Sustained Product Innovation in Large, Mature Organizations: Overcoming Innovation-to-Organization Problems. Academy of Management Journal. 39 (5) October 1120-53

Storey, J. (2000) The Management of Innovation Problem. International Journal of Innovation Management, 4 (3),September 347-69

Brown, J.S. & P. Duguid (1991) Organizational Learning and Communities of Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation. Organization Science 2(1), February 40-57

von Hippel, E. (1976) The dominant role of users in the Scientific Instrument Innovation Process. Research Policy, 5 (3) July 213-39

Swan, J., S. Newell, H. Scarbrough, D. Hislop (1999) Knowledge management and Innovation: Networks and Networking. Journal of Knowledge Management.3 (4) 262-75

Birkinshaw, J., Hamel, G., Mol, M.J. (2008) Management Innovation. Academy of Management Review vol. 33(4) pp 825-45