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2020/2021  BA-BDMAO1001U  Managing Innovation in Organizations

English Title
Managing Innovation in Organizations

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
BSc in Digital Management
Course coordinator
  • Rasmus Koss Hartmann - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Innovation
  • Organisation
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 10-12-2020

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Identify issues related to the management of innovation and technology in organizations
  • Select relevant theory (within, but necessarily limited to, the course curriculum) to conceptualize, analyze and discuss practical issues, arguments and perspectives on innovation and technology in theoretically informed ways
  • Reflect on the opportunities and challenges posed by innovation and technologies to organizations and society
  • Do the above in correct, clear, concise and coherent written form
Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period)
Number of compulsory activities which must be approved (see s. 13 of the Programme Regulations): 3
Compulsory home assignments
In order to take the final exam, students will have to have three mandatory 1,000-word essays approved. There will be an opportunity for re-submitting failed mandatory essays after the end of classes and before the exam
Examination
Managing Innovation in Organizations:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 5 pages
Assignment type Essay
Duration 72 hours to prepare
Grading scale Pass / Fail
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the foundations of innovation theory, located at the intersection of technology, organization and marketing issues. Building on this foundation, the course will also address the ‘future’ of innovation theory and practice, specifically exploring the role of new technologies in enabling new forms of innovation organizing.

 

Through the course, we will progress from basic understandings of the societal role of innovation via questions of innovation strategy to the micro-level dynamics of how innovation both shapes and is shaped by organizations. The course aims to provide a repertoire of concepts and theoretical understandings allowing the student to conceptualize innovation-related issues and to reflect on these in a theoretically informed manner. Ideas covered are drawn from economic history, organization theory, innovation economics and marketing theory and include:

  • Creative Destruction
  • The Productivity Dilemma
  • Exploration and exploitation
  • Technology s-curves, technology cycles, technology interdependence
  • Different forms of innovation, including disruptive innovation, foundational technologies and architectural innovation
  • Different forms of ambidexterity
  • Diffusion of innovations, especially within high-tech
  • First-mover advantage and disadvantage
  • Product category emergence
  • User innovation
  • Crowdsourcing
  • Substitution, complementarities and economic adjustment

 

The course also aims to strengthen the students’ ability to express these ideas in oral and especially written form, and trains the ability to engage with ideas expressed in various scholarly and applied forms. This will be done through dedicated lessons on writing technique and practice,

in-class and take-home exercises as well as through conversations with guest speakers and engagement in games.
Description of the teaching methods
There is only one lecture in this course and that is the first class. For the remaining classes, the course relies on a ‘flipped classroom’ model and intends to combine a very high level of challenge with a very high level of support. As preparation to most classes, students will receive an extensive reading guide to support their reading of the literature for that class. They will then read 3-4 academic papers or book chapters, preparing 1 of these in depth for class discussion and writing a 200 word reaction ‘paper’ to that text. Then, they will be given a pre-recorded (podcast) lecture of approximately 1½ hours to listen to prior to class.

In class, the emphasis will be on in-depth plenary discussions of the theoretical ideas expressed in specific papers or chapters and on establishing theoretical connections between them. Classes are highly participative and wholly dependent on student inputs and engagement.
Feedback during the teaching period
Because every class provides extensive opportunities to engage in discussions, students will have copious occasions for receiving feedback on their ability to express ideas verbally. In each class, students will also have an opportunity to receive peer feedback on written work.

Students will receive feedback on each of their written assignments from peers and several classes will be spent discussing their writing processes, taking assignments as a starting point.
Student workload
Preparation 106 hours
Class attendance 40 hours
Essay writing (pre-requisites for attending exam) 36 hours
Final exam 24 hours
Last updated on 10-12-2020