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2017/2018  BA-BHAAV5006U  Innovation Management

English Title
Innovation Management

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn, Third Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 90
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Anders Paarup Nielsen - MPP
Contact information: student hub
Main academic disciplines
  • Innovation
  • Management
Last updated on 02-10-2017

Relevant links
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors: During the course students are expected to develop the ability to critically analyze and discuss different theoretical models, approaches and concepts in connection with innovation management within established firms. Students should also know how to apply models, approaches and concepts when analyzing problems and challenges involved in managing the innovation process within established companies. Students should furthermore develop an ability to reflect on the theoretical and methodological challenges associated with a multi-disciplinary field such as innovation management.

Furthermore, the aim of the course is to enable the students to understand, analyze and improve innovation management processes and innovation management in established companies. The students should also be able to discuss and reflect on the theories, models and concepts from the course. This reflection should focus on two different issues. Firstly the students should be able to reflect on the applicability and practical value of the concepts, theories and models. Secondly, the students should also be able to identify and discuss the possible connections and synergies between the different theories, models, and concepts.

The high grade (12) in the exam will be characterized by fulfillment of the following criteria:
  • The student demonstrates a high level of command of the syllabus
  • The student Is able to apply theories, models, and concepts from the syllabus in a systematic and thorough manner when analyzing and discussing problems and cases within innovation management
  • The student is able to analyze a problem or case from the field of innovation management using multiple theoretical perspectives and contributions
  • The student is able to analyze a case or problem in a comprehensive manner by combining different theories, concepts and model from syllabus
  • The student is able to discuss and reflect on the applicability and practical value of innovation management theories, models, and concepts in a structured and comprehensive manner
Course prerequisites
No specific requirements – however the students are required to have basic knowledge of organizational theory

Please note that the elective course is reserved for HA students who wish to write their bachelor project in this elective course.
Examination
Innovation Management:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Written sit-in exam on CBS' computers
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter and Summer
Aids Limited aids, see the list below:
The student is allowed to bring
  • USB key for uploading of notes, books and compendiums in a non-executable format (no applications, application fragments, IT tools etc.)
  • Any calculator
  • Books (including translation dictionaries), compendiums and notes in paper format
The student will have access to
  • Access to CBSLearn
  • Access to the personal drive (S-drive) on CBS´ network
At all written sit-in exams the student has access to the basic IT application package (Microsoft Office (minus Excel), digital pen and paper, 7-zip file manager, Adobe Acrobat, Texlive, VLC player, Windows Media Player). PLEASE NOTE: Students are not allowed to communicate with others during the exam : Read more about exam aids and IT application packages here
Make-up exam/re-exam Oral Exam
Duration: 20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Preparation time: No preparation
Examiner(s):: If it is an internal examination, there will be a second internal examiner at the re-exam.
Course content and structure

The course focuses on managing innovation in established firms. During the course students will be introduced to a number of models and concepts to innovation management within established firms.

 

Throughout the course special emphasis will be given to five core managerial challenges in innovation management.

 

Firstly, attention will be given to the managerial challenges involved in applying the contingency perspective when practicing innovation management. The contingency perspective implies that there is no one best way to manage innovation as the optimal management approach will depend particular situation faced by the company.

 

Secondly, the course will also focus on the management of radical or disruptive innovations within the established firm. Here the firm is faced by a situation characterized by high levels of uncertainty and complexity as the company attempt to enter new markets or deploy new technologies. This typically implies that the company has to abandon existing routines, competencies, and dominant logics in order to learn new. 

 

Thirdly, the course will also focus value creation and the development of new and innovative business models. Innovation is not just about creating new technologies, but also about creating customer value and innovative business models. This challenge also relates to the development of successful business models.

 

Fourthly, the course will address the managerial challenges involved in balancing different types of innovation within the firm (for example: disruptive/radical versus sustating/incremental innovation) in the organization.

 

Lastly, the course will investigate innovation from a process perspective – in connection herewith recognizing that the innovation process cannot be expected to be a linear and sequential process. As such, the innovation process is considered a learning process. 

 

The course will include topics such as:

  • Managing the innovation process
  • Different types of innovation and their implications for the innovation process
  • Managing disruptive and radical innovation
  • Managing business model innovation
  • Use of technologies in innovation the innovation process
  • Managing Innovation in a globalized and networked world
  • Developing innovations for "Bottom of the Pyramid" markets
  • Managing Innovation in Services and the Public Sector
  • Characteristics of the innovative organization
  • Engaging users and customers in the innovation process

 

Each of these topics will shed light on different managerial challenges involved in managing innovation.

 

This course will complement the mandatory BSc courses by addressing two different issues.

  • The course will focus on the concrete managerial tasks, processes, and challenges in connection with the management of innovation within the established firm – adopting a firm level perspective on the management of innovation.
  • The course will in some situations seek to challenge and discuss the dominant rational and analytical management models being taught in many mandatory BSc courses. The management of innovation will in some situations require that the rational methods for analysis are supplemented by other means in order to deal with the high levels of uncertainty characterizing the earliest phases in the life-cycle of an innovation. 

 
Teaching methods
The primary teaching method is based on lectures combined with and followed by guided classroom discussions, group and case discussions. Cases will be used throughout the course. Furthermore, the course will, if possible, include a few guest speakers with practical experiences in managing innovation.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback will be provided to the students in the following manners:

1) During the course a number of exam questions from previous exams will be discussed in small groups. This will typically be followed by a discussion of the answers in class. The teacher will provide feedback to the students about the quality of the answers to these previous exams.

2) The students will receive feedback as the teacher will provide exemplary answers to previous exams.

3) The teacher is available for feedback to students who are working with answering exams from previous years or have questions in general. This feed is to given ad-hoc during the course.

4) In one of the final sessions of the course the teacher will provide information about the expectations to the exam – including how the students should answer exam questions.
Student workload
Deltagelse i klasseundervisning 36 hours
Deltagelse i eksamen 4 hours
Forberedelse til eksamen 40 hours
Forberedelse til klasseundervisning 145 hours
Expected literature

The literature-base of the course will consist of a mix between selected chapters from books and textbooks on innovation management as well as conceptual scientific papers. The book chapters are assembled in a compendium and the scientific papers can be downloaded from the library. 
 

Examples of texts in the curriculum can be found the list below. The list does not represent the complete curriculum for the course:

 

Selected chapters from:

Osterwalder, A. & Pigneur, Y (2010): Business Model Innovation, John Viley & Sons

Schilling, M.A. (2014): Strategic Management of Technological Innovation, 4th International Edition

Hargadon, A. (2003): How Breakthroughs Happen; The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate, Harvard Business School Press

Tidd, Joe, John Bessant and Keith Pavitt (2009): Managing innovation, integrating technological, market and organizational change, 4. ed. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester

Van de Ven. A.H., Polley, D.E., Garud, R. & Venkataraman, S. (1999): The Innovation Journey, Oxford University Press

Examples of Scientific papers:

 

Zott, C. & Amit, R. (2010):  Business Model Design: An Activity System Perspective, Long Range Planning, Vol. 43 Iss 2–3


Christensen, C.M.; Kaufman, S.P. & Shih, W.C. (2008): Innovation Killers: How Financial Tools Destroy Your Capacity to Do New Things, Harvard Business Review, January 2008, pp. 98-105

Kim, W.C. & Mauborgne, R. (2005); Blue Ocean Strategy: From Theory to Practice, California Management Review, Spring 2005, Vol. 47.No.3. pp 105-121.
Last updated on 02-10-2017