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2020/2021  KAN-CINTV1021U  Delivering Digital Business

English Title
Delivering Digital Business

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 75
Study board
Study Board for BSc/MSc in Business Administration and Information Systems, MSc
Course coordinator
  • Philipp Hukal - Department of Digitalisation
Main academic disciplines
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Innovation
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 22-06-2020

Relevant links
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students are expected to fulfil the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or omissions
  • Explain the key characteristics of digital technology and how they relate to new business initiatives.
  • Use analysis techniques from technology, innovation, and management literature to design and evaluate business ideas
  • Create a ‘proof-of-concept' of a business initiative that draws on digital technologies
  • Reflect and defend a specific solution to a business problem
  • Identify issues related to the sustainability of specific digital business initiatives
Examination
Delivering Digital Business:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance.
Individual or group exam Individual oral exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 2-4
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Oral exam, (individual presentation) based on written product (10 pages).
The written product is expected to report a proof-of-concept using tools, frameworks, and ideas covered in class to explain the implementation of a digital business initiative.
Assignment type Project
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Digitalization is the new reality for most organizations. Accelerated technological change, increasing complexity, and intensifying competition are the major forces that leaders must cope with in today’s business. Hence, business as usual is dead in the digital age and radical innovation is needed to ensure future growth in organizations. Consequently, businesses must shift from a ‘know it all’ to ‘learn it all’ mindset and leverage digital technologies. However, implementing digital business initiatives is not straight forward. Regardless of whether a firm is established or starting up, delivering digital products, transforming a process, or integrating skills and roles needed for digital transformation is non-trivial for most organizations.

 

Against this backdrop, the purpose of this course is to provide a design thinking mindset for the students. This course offers a series of hands-on tutorials around the implementation of digital business initiatives. The objective is for students to acquire the skills and tools necessary to assess and execute the delivery of digital business initiatives. The course will enable students to convert potential ideas into scalable business models by building, and testing solutions. This course will teach you the art of validating digital business model’s desirability, viability and feasibility – through systematic and practical thinking based on gathering tangible evidence.

 

 

Key topics and techniques include, but are not limited to:

 

  • Design Thinking and Innovation 

  • Best practices of business model innovation 

  • Value proposition design 

  • Customer Journeys

  • Strategy Canvas 

  • Metrics for testing and de-risking innovation 

  • Discovery and Ideation through personas

  • Prototyping and Minimal viable product
Description of the teaching methods
Online Lectures (40%)
Interactive Workshop Seminars (60%)


The course comprises of 10 sessions of workshops based on online lecture elements. Sessions are based on 40% online lecture material that will be made available to students and 60% hands-on learning in interactive workshops with support and guidance. The online lectures will introduce analysis techniques which will then be applied to a specific problem during the interactive workshops. The course thus iterates constantly between explanations and hands-on exercises, with a focus on a pragmatic approach to delivering a business solution using digital technologies. Students will learn and apply concepts and ideas in a highly interactive and engaging format. Students are expected to cover lecture material at their own pace as well as actively participate in discussions and in-class activity.
Feedback during the teaching period
Discussion during interactive workshops
group feedback during interactive workshops
feedback on work in progress; Half-way through the course, students have an opportunity to present a work-in-progress idea as preparation for their final project.
Office hours
Student workload
Online lectures 20 hours
In-class instruction: interactive workshops 30 hours
session preparation and reading 32 hours
working on group projects 100 hours
exam incl. individual preparation 24 hours
Total 206 hours
Expected literature

The literature can be changed before the semester starts. Students are advised to find the final literature on Canvas before they buy the books.

 

Research Articles:

 

Blank (2019) Why Companies Do “Innovation Theater” Instead of Actual Innovation, Harvard Business Review

Boudreau, K. (2018), Notes on Designing Your Company, available online
Hagiu and Altman (2017), Finding The Platform in Your Product, Harvard Business Review
Johnson M. W. et al., (2008), Reinventing Your Business Model, Harvard Business Review
Knight et al. (2020), Design-Led Strategy, How To Bring Design Thinking into the Art of Strategic Management, California Management Review
Magretta, J. (2002) Why Business Models Matter, Harvard Business Review 
Osterwalder, A. (2015), The C-Suite Needs a Chief Entrepreneur, Harvard Business Review
Swahney et al (2006), The 12 Different Ways for Companies to Innovate, MIT Sloan Management Review
Thompson et al. (2020), Why Innovation’s Future Isn’t (Just) Open, MIT Sloan Management Review
Van Alstyne, M. W. et al. (2016), Pipelines, Platforms,and the New Rules of Strategy, Harvard Business Review

Book Chapters:

Hukal, P., and Henfridsson, O. (2017). “Digital Innovation – A Definition and Integrated Perspective,” in The Routledge Companion to Management Information Systems, R. D. Galliers and M.-K. Stein (eds.), Routledge, pp. 360–369.


Steve Blank (2012), The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company
Chapter 3: An Introduction to Customer Discovery, p. 53 – 68
Chapter 4: Customer Discovery, Phase One:
State Your Business Model Hypotheses, p.69 – 187
Chapter 5: Customer Discovery, Phase Two:
“Get Out of the Building” to Test the Problem: “Do People Care?” p.189 – 226
Chapter 6: Customer Discovery, Phase Three:
“Get Out of the Building” and Test the Product Solution, p. 227 – 256
Chapter 7: Customer Discovery, Phase Four (86 pages):
Verify the Business Model and Pivot or Proceed, p. 257 - 275

 

Stickdorn/Schneider (2016), This is service design thinking: Basics – Tools – Cases
Five principles of service design thinking, p. 24 – 46 (12 pages) 
 

Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur (2010), Business Model Generation 

Chapter 1, Business Model Canvas : p. 14 – 44 (30 pages)

 

Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur (2014), Value Proposition Design
Chapter 1, Canvas p. 10 – 61 (51 pages) 


Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur (2019), Testing Business Ideas
Chapter 1, Design, p. 3 – 26 (23 pages)
Chapter 2 Test. p. 27 – 90 (63 pages)  

 

Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur (2020) The Invincible Company
Chapter 3, Invent Pattern Library, p. 142 – 212 (70 pages)
Chapter 4, Improve pattern Library, p. 230 – 279 (49 pages)
Chapter 5, The culture map, p. 296 – 345 (49 pages)

 
Last updated on 22-06-2020