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2012/2013  BA-HA_E166  Systemic Innovation: Challenge to Business

English Title
Systemic Innovation: Challenge to Business

Course information

Language English
Exam ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Course period Autumn
Changes may occur.
Thursday 11:40 to 14:15, week 36-41, 43-46.
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Max. participants 60
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Lars Heide - Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy
Teachers: Lars Heide, Mette Mønsted and Susanne Justesen

Administrative contact: Karina Ravn Nielsen, electives.lpf@cbs.dk or tel.: 3815 3782.
Main Category of the Course
  • Innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Management
Last updated on 03-05-2012
Learning objectives
  • Identify complexity of the systemic innovation process on individual and company level
  • Identify, compare and assess key concepts and dimensions of innovation management across small and large organizations based upon the course’s cases and theories
  • Apply relevant innovation theories to innovation cases
Examination
Systemic Innovation: Challenge to Business Economy:
Type of test Oral with Written Assignment
Marking scale 7-step scale
Second examiner Second internal examiner
Exam period Winter Term
Aids Please, see the detailed regulations below
Duration 20 Minutes
Individual 20 minutes oral exam (no preparation) based on a synopsis. Max 5 pages for 1 student, max 8 pages for groups of 2-4 students. 1 page is counted as 2,275 characters including spaces.

The make-up/re-exam will be held in the same way and with the same conditions as the ordinary exam.
Course content
Innovation can provide business opportunities and more radical innovations provide greater chances and create more uncertainty during the innovative process. Systemic innovations require additional complementary innovationsto be realized. For example, sustainable energy systems, computers, mobile phones, and biological engineering are based on many technological, organizations, systemic innovations, technological, managerial, organizational, and economic. Many systemic innovations facilitate significant increases in overall productivity over the long term and involve different disciplines and types of organizations. But these may create switching or start-up costs for some participants and reduces or eliminates the role of others. The course will discuss systemic innovations in information and sustainable energy industries based on real cases and we will present several guest lecturers from these industries in the course. Information and sustainable energy industries are currently key growth industries across the world. 

Most companies approach systemic innovation as a purely technical issue. However, economics, management and organization have and can provide significant contributions to the management and organization of linking the different types of competence. We are going to discuss how to approach these exiting possibilities in a complex organizing of innovation.

The course will introduce you to innovation practice and theory of innovation management in companies and how this is related to other companies, universities and government.  

The course will have three sections:
 
First, we will illustrate main challenges of systemic innovation based on two cases of innovation of mainframe computers.
 
Second, this is used to develop concepts and discuss how the system is developing and overcoming different barriers. The roles of the single actors are discussed in order to understand the role of firms, government institutions, and universities.
 
Third, we will apply the course’s concepts to four cases on innovation in sustainable energy.
Teaching methods
Lectures and discussions will introduce theories of innovation. Theoretically based concepts will be applied to real cases both where innovation failed and was successful. In the class, you will study conceptualising of critical elements in innovation in cases, either supplied by teachers or of your own choice. 2-3 students will write a synopsis of 3-5 pages, which will be used as a basis for oral examination (offered as group exams if legal in November 2012). The number of students is limited to 60, because more students would impede the course’s synopsis supervision.

Expected literature
Van de Ven, A.H. (1986) Central Problems in the Management 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
Boonstra, J.J. & Vink, M. 1996 Technological and Organizational Innovation: A dilemma of fundamental change and participation. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. Vol. 5 (3) pp. 351-375
Mikkola, J.H. 2001 Portfolio Management of R&D Projects: Implications for Innovation Management. Technovation vol. 21 pp 423-435
von Hippel, E. (1976) The dominant role of users in the Scientific Instrument Innovation Process. Research Policy, 5 (3) July 213-39
Newell, S,, Robertson, M., Scarbrough, H.Swan, J. (20099) Managing Knowledge Work and Innovation.  Palgrave Macmillan London. Chapter 9: Managing Knowledge for Innovation pp. 182-215
Sismondo, Sergio (2010). An Introduction to Science and Technology Studies: 81-92.
 
Cases:
Heide, case based upon Bruno Latour, ARAMIS or the love of technology, Harvard University Press, 1996, ca. 30p
Heide, UNIVAC: Innovating the first mainframe computer, ca. 20p.
Olegario, Rowena, IBM and the TWO Thomas J. Watsons, p.349-395 in Thomas K. McCraw, Creating Modern Capitalism, Harvard University Press, 1996
Hansson & Mønsted, the Metsofc case:. A small and Elitist collaboration for product Innovation. S. 38-44 SUCCESS report for workpackage 2. Rewritten case for fuel cells. approx10 pages Mønsted, GreenGo case, ca. 10p.
Wind energy case, ca. 20p.
Case on Dong and alliances, ca.20p.
Last updated on 03-05-2012