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2024/2025  KAN-CDIBO1201U  Engines of Digital Business

English Title
Engines of Digital Business

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Spring, Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Master of Science (MSc) in Business Administration and Digital Business
Course coordinator
  • Ben Eaton - Department of Digitalisation (DIGI)
Main academic disciplines
  • Information technology
  • Innovation
  • Strategy
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 22-05-2024

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
  • Understand how key characteristics of digital technology enable digital business initiatives.
  • Explain how the components of digital business models interact to create, deliver and capture value.
  • Articulate different engines and mechanisms of digital business models and discuss how key characteristics of digital technology work with combinations of digital business model components to drive these engines.
  • Apply course concepts to case studies to analyse the strategies companies use in their digital business models.
Course prerequisites
Basic understanding of business and strategy
Basic understanding of digital technology
Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period)
Number of compulsory activities which must be approved (see section 13 of the Programme Regulations): 1
Compulsory home assignments
Students must complete a group project over the length of the course. They will work in teams of maximum 5 individuals. Groups will develop a case study describing and explaining the digital business model strategy of a Danish or an international organization using concepts from the course. Oral feedback, with the intention of helping students develop their case studies, will be given to groups on a continuous basis in group discussions as they work on their projects in workshops throughout the course.

The compulsory assignment concerns a group presentation (max 10 PowerPoint slides). Each group must develop this presentation at the end of the course and it will summarize their case study. They will upload and submit this presentation as well as presenting their case in class. The presentation will be given by the whole group, and will provide material for their individual exam assignment. This activity is compulsory and must be approved in order for individuals to participate in the exam. Written feedback on each group presentation will then be provided one week after the presentation is given.

If a student cannot participate due to documented illness, or if a student does not get the activity approved in spite of making a real attempt, then the student will be given one extra attempt before the ordinary exam. The extra attempt will require handing in a written report of 15 pages on a topic assigned by the course instructor.
Examination
Engines of Digital Business:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 15 pages
Assignment type Case based assignment
Release of assignment Subject chosen by students themselves, see guidelines if any
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer and Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

Individual home based assignment based on writing up the students interpretation of their group's case analysis of a Danish or International organisation's digital business model by reflecting on the engines of digital business taught in the course.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Digitalization is disrupting a whole range of industries, changing the nature of our work, the way we live our lives, and the way that business is done. At the heart of this is digitality, or the characteristics of digital technology, which profoundly changes the capacity for businesses to innovate and to reconfigure their business models. The ambition of this course is to help us understand why this is the case and to understand the dynamics of business models in the context of digitality, the importance of theoretically explainable engines and mechanisms for driving digital business, and the strategies businesses use to harness these engines and mechanisms to build successful business. The course broadly divides into three areas which considers 1) the characteristics of digital technologies which affect how business is done; 2) the components and dynamics of digital business models; 3) different strategic approaches to combining and configuring the components of digital business models as specific engines and mechanisms to drive digital business. The course aims to help students advance their careers by enabling them understand, critique and positively influence digital business.

 

The course will consist of ten 4-hour sessions employing a blended approach to learning. Some aspects will be online and other aspects will be carried out physically in class. Learning will consist of lectures, exercises, case study analyses and workshops.

 

In the lecture sessions, a combination of pre-recorded online lecture-mode instruction and case exercises will be used to enable students to identify and describe characteristics, concepts, theoretical frameworks, and principles of digital business model strategy.

 

In the workshop sessions, students will work in teams carrying out two sorts of activity: (1) engage in case-based teaching to apply and discuss the concepts and theories obtained in the lectures to real-life case studies; (2) work on group projects to develop their own cases of digital business models and their associated engines in Danish and international organisations, which enable students to further develop knowledge and skills in describing opportunities, challenges and consequences for digital business models in organisations. Groups are expected to present their projects in workshops at the end of the course, after which they will receive oral and written feedback. The group presentation and the feedback received will provide material for students’ individual exam assignment.
Description of the teaching methods
The course employs a blended approach to learning, where lectures will largely be delivered as a series of pre-recorded videos and workshops will be held physically. Besides pre-recorded videos, other teachings methods include case-based learning, industry guest lectures, group project work, and group presentations.

Students are expected to take active part in the development of workshops, in order to capture the most current trends and developments in the area. Groups are expected to develop suitable exercises and content for one workshop.
Feedback during the teaching period
Students receive feedback through the following mechanisms:

All group receive feedback during case study analyses with lecturers in the workshops.

Students will be developing their case study projects throughout the course and will get continuous feedback on their work during the workshop sessions. Feedback on case study projects, with the intention of helping students improve their projects, will be given collectively and to groups during these sessions.

Finally student groups have the choice of presenting their project as an optional assignment at the end of the course. Carrying out this optional assignment will enable them to receive extensive oral and written feedback. This feedback will provide input into the individual exam assignment.
Student workload
Online lectures 20 hours
In-class instruction: interactive workshops 20 hours
Session preparation and reading 42 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 any material.

 

Research Articles:

  • Henfridsson, O., Nandhakumar, J., Scarbrough, H. and Panourgias, N., 2018. Recombination in the open-ended value landscape of digital innovation. Information and Organization, 28(2), pp.89-100.
  • Yoo, Y., Henfridsson, O. and Lyytinen, K., 2010. Research commentary—the new organizing logic of digital innovation: an agenda for information systems research. Information systems research, 21(4), pp.724-735.
  • Yoo, Youngjin & Lyytinen, Kalle & Boland, Richard. (2010). The Next Wave of Digital Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges: A Report on the Research Workshop 'Digital Challenges in Innovation Research'. SSRN Electronic Journal. 10.2139/ssrn.1622170.

 

Book (Chapters):

  • Baldwin, C.Y. and Clark, K.B. 2000. Design rules: The power of modularity (Vol. 1). MIT press.
  • Cusumano, M.A., Yoffie, D.B. and Gawer, A., 2019. The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power. HarperCollins Publishers.
  • Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. 2010. Business Model Generation, Wiley:London
  • Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. 2014. Value Proposition Design, Wiley:London
  • Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. 2020. The Invincible Company, Wiley:London
  • Schiling, M.A., 2018. Strategic management of technological innovation. McGraw-Hill Education; 6th edition 
Last updated on 22-05-2024