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2017/2018  DIP-DIMAO1004U  Innovation People & Network

English Title
Innovation People & Network

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Graduate Diploma
Duration Two Semesters
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for Graduate Diploma in Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Karin Beukel - SI
Main academic disciplines
  • Innovation
Last updated on 07-06-2017

Relevant links
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors: After this course, students shall have developed the following competences:
  • Linking theoretical understanding of the concepts of innovation to practical cases and by analysis of the given cases being able to bring forward appropriate solutions, as well as to communicate these solutions
  • Analyzing a concrete innovation example, describing the most important issues and give suggestions related to how the success of the innovation process could be enhanced
  • Reflecting on real life innovation journey challenges and the consequences of applying chosen concepts, theories, methods, and models of the course in analyzing the innovation
Examination
Innovation People & Network:
Exam ECTS 5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 48 hours to prepare
Grading scale Pass / Fail
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Spring
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

The exam is an individual written take home exam (48h) in which students reflect upon the different talks/discussions on the basis of specific exam questions.  
Course content and structure

The aim of the course is to build students mindsets and abilities in understanding what innovation is, what it means to innovators and what the factors are that influence both successful and failing innovations. 

 

Innovation is a journey into the unknown – and this course prepares students to this journey. The innovation journey is portrayed (e.g. by Teece 1996) as a search for a new product or market opportunity, along a path which is characterized by uncertainty, path dependency, cumulativeness, irreversibility, technological interrelatedness, tacitness, and inappropriability. With these properties of innovation, it is not surprising that not all innovations are successful, and empirical studies show that only few innovations really succeed to navigate this multifaceted and complex pathway of challenges. This course sets out to give students insights into the mechanisms driving both successful and unsuccessful innovation journeys, and thereby prepare them to concur the challenges an innovation journey may entail via experiencing real life examples: Innovators will tell “their story”, share their experiences and discuss with students.

 

The presentations and discussion will center around two basic issues relevant for innovation that are strongly interrelated with the content of the predecessor courses, namely types of innovations and the determinants of innovation.

 

Types of innovation

The types of innovations are many, and in the course the speakers presenting their innovation journeys will address a variety of types of innovations, such as product innovations, technological innovations, aesthetic innovations, organizational or administrative innovations, innovations understood as diffusion and adaptations of new behaviors in organizations, radical vs. incremental innovations, etc.

 

Determinants of innovation

The speakers will center their talks around are the following categories related to determinants of successful (and failing) innovation:

  • Industry structure (Schumpeterian legacy, collaboration networks,  buyers/users,  suppliers & complementors)
  • Firm characteristics (size, scope, alliances & network position, performance)
  • Intra-organizational attributes (structure & processes, governance & incentives, manager backgrounds, search processes)
  • Institutional influences (science, appropriability conditions)

  • Individual (psychology, characteristics of persons)

 

After this course, students shall have developed knowledge on:

  • Specific characteristics of different types of innovations
  • The variety of determinants of innovation
  • Networking
  • Building an interview guide
  • Real-life insights into how innovations and innovators act and think

 

After this course, students shall have developed the following skills:

  • Deciding when to pursue different types of innovation
  • Planning how and by whom to execute an innovation journey
  • Implementing and/or managing an innovation journey
  • Engaging in their own personal development as effective managers of innovation processes, and responsible informed agents in analyzing innovation projects
Teaching methods
The course is an introduction to 8-10 real-life narratives/cases (one narrative/case per class) on innovations by inspiring innovators (speakers). The students’ interaction with each of the speakers - speakers who each represent an innovation narrative/case - will be through interviews, discussions, workshops and networking. The course uses a participatory-learning approach and requires active participation from the students. It will be facilitated by the CBS Studio environment and incorporates blended learning elements.

The course is organized in the form of 8-10 evening sessions of three hours. Each session is 3*45min and follows the same logic:
• First, 20 min presentation by innovator/speaker; this talk is an introductory talk to his/her personnel innovation journey or their innovation insight (e.g. for innovation mediators) and the main take-a-ways the speaker would like students to remember from his/her case.
• Second, students conduct a spotlight interview (30min) with the speaker on stage. This interview will be prepared by the student teams prior to the talk, taking into account the learnings from previous HDIM courses and the specific framework developed for this course.
• Third, a general discussion in which all students are invited to participate actively will be facilitated by the course coordinator (30min).
• The last part of the session is informal networking facilitated by snacks and drinks

After each class the interviewing team is responsible for writing a report in which they have analyzed the speakers’ innovation journey. This report shall be distributed to all course participants, and be part of the material to be used in the exam. The reports will not be evaluated by the teaching team.
Feedback during the teaching period
Students will receive feedback during the discussions with guest speakers, fellow students and guest speakers
Student workload
Teaching and preparation 90 hours
Exam 48 hours
Last updated on 07-06-2017