• Explain, compare and apply in case analysis the presented key concepts, theories, and models within the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Compare different business opportunities and discuss the role of opportunity and uncertainty in innovation processes.
• Identify and evaluate value propositions and the key activities, resources, and relationships necessary to develop new products, services, or markets.
• Analyse and critically assess cases of innovation management based on a range of theoretical perspectives and an advanced understanding of innovation.
• Compare, assess, and select the most relevant for your purpose among shifting concepts (trends) in innovation management theory.
• Analyse the role, importance, and complexity of innovation and innovation management in different societal contexts. This includes using historical cases and cases from different contexts to denaturalise current perceptions of innovation.

Innovation is a much-used buzzword in modern society. However, do we properly understand the concept in all its complexity? Moreover, what are the consequences of different understandings for how we deal with innovation management?

The aim of this course is to enable students to work with and discuss innovation based on an advanced understanding of the process of innovation and innovation management. In teaching, students will learn to see different perspectives and to work with these in relation to cases from real-life situations. We will discuss innovation management both on a societal level and on a more practical level, e.g. within a start-up or an existing company. We will be practical and get inspiration to how to create a business model and find the right partners. However, we will also look at innovation and entrepreneurship in unconventional contexts and discuss innovation management as something going on in a range of places – not always with economic growth as goal.

Based on discussions of different theories and cases, students will generally learn about managing innovation both within a start-up and in the broader realm of society. The course introduces the basics of innovation management in theory and practice, and discusses the concepts and processes in connection with (i) trends in the broader society; (ii) different possibilities in different businesses and contexts; (iii) the development of business models in start-ups and existing companies. In light of this, students will discover that innovation and innovation management are not predictable and linear processes, but complex, iterative, and dynamic.

The course takes an interdisciplinary approach integrating entrepreneurial history with current trends in strategic thinking about innovation. In this way, it teaches students how to draw on the past when imagining the future. Generally, we emphasise the development of the skills, capabilities, and judgment needed to manage innovation processes effectively.

The course curriculum consists of a mix of case studies, textbook chapters, as well as scientific papers. The final syllabus will be published on CBS Canvas prior to the course. A few texts that might be on the list is mentioned below to give you an impression of the type of texts:

Trott, Paul. 2016. Innovation Management and New Product Development. Harlow: Pearson.

Russell, Andrew L., and Lee Vinsel. 2016. “Hail the Maintainers.” Aeon, April. https:/​/​aeon.co/​essays/​innovation-is-overvalued-maintenance-often-matters-more.

Welter, Friederike, Ted Baker, David B. Audretsch and William B. Gartner. 2007. “Everyday Entrepreneurship – A Call for Entrepreneurship Research to Embrace Entrepreneurial Diversity.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. May: 311-321.

Osterwalder, Alexander, and Yves Pigneur. 2010. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. John Wiley & Sons.

Sahlman, W A. 1997. “How to Write a Great Business Plan.” Harvard Business Review 75 (4): 98-108.

Edmondson, Amy C. 2011. “Strategies for Learning from Failure.” Harvard Business Review April: 48-55.

Chesbrough, Henry W. 2003. “The Era of Open Innovation.” MIT Sloan Management Review Spring: 35-41.

Moulaert, Frank, Diana MacCallum, and Jean Hillier. 2013. Social Innovation: Intuition, Precept, Concept, Theory and Practice. The International Handbook on Social Innovation: 13-24.

Khaire, Mukti, and R Daniel Wadhwani. 2010. “Changing Landscapes: The Construction of Meaning and Value in a New Market Category - Modern Indian Art.” Academy of Management Journal 51 (6): 1281-1304.

Betts, Alexander, Louise Bloom, and Nina Weaver. 2015. Refugee Innovation: Humanitarian innovation that starts with communities. Humanitarian Innovation Project, University of Oxford.