• demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and theories introduced in the course
• identify economic and management issues in actual cases of innovation and technology
• apply the concepts and theories introduced in class to these cases
• analyze the economic and management problems in these cases, and draw policy (or welfare) as well as management implications

Ideas and innovation have become the most important resource in today's economy. Successful managers should know how to recognize, manage and generate technological innovation for sustained competitive advantage.
 

The course aims at providing the students with a comprehensive understanding of the origins, dynamics and consequences of innovation and intellectual property from an economic and managerial perspective.
 

The first part of the course uses economic concepts to illustrate the nature of technological innovation and how it contributes to the growth of firms, industries and economies.

This part of the course will cover the following topics:

1. The nature and importance of innovation, technological change and intellectual property
2. The impact of innovation on national economic performance
3. Innovation, market structure and entrepreneurship
4. Innovation and economic policy
    

The second part of the course aims at introducing theories, models and tools that are central to managing the identification, development and commercialization of innovations, plus the consequences of doing so in a competitive environment.

Core topics with regards to innovation management include:

1. Devising and implementing an innovation strategy
2. Searching for novel ideas and tools to evaluate ideas
3. New business models in the area of open and distributed innovation
4. Organizing for innovation

Recommended literature:

Greenhalgh, C. and Rogers, M., “Innovation, Intellectual Property, and Economic Growth”, Princeton University Press, 2010, 366 pages.

Schilling, M. A., “Strategic management of technological innovation”, McGraw-Hill (3rd edition), New York, 2010.

Grimpe, C. and U. Kaiser (2010), “Balancing Internal and External Knowledge Acquisition: The Gains and Pains from R&D Outsourcing”, Journal of Management Studies 47 (8), 1483-1509.

Laursen, K. and A. Salter (2006), “Open for Innovation: The Role of Openness in Explaining Innovation Performance among U.K. Manufacturing Firms”, Strategic Management Journal 27, 131-150.

March, J.G. (1991), “Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning”, Organization Science 2 (1), 71-87.

Scotchmer, S. (2004), “Innovation and Incentives”, MIT Press: Cambridge