English   Danish

2025/2026  BA-BHAAA2503U  Innovative Thinking and Disciplined Creativity: Strategies for Innovation Management Across Art, Science, and Business

English Title
Innovative Thinking and Disciplined Creativity: Strategies for Innovation Management Across Art, Science, and Business

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 3 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration Summer
Start time of the course Summer
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Min. participants 30
Max. participants 60
Study board
Study Board for General Management
Programme Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Giacomo Marchesini - Department of Strategy and Innovation (SI)
For academic questions, please contact Giacomo Marchesini (gma.si@cbs.dk).
Main academic disciplines
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Innovation
  • Strategy
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 20/11/2025

Relevant links
Learning objectives
After following the course, students are expected to:
  • Explain the cognitive foundations of creativity and innovation, and describe the processes involved in creative thinking and scientific problem-solving.
  • Develop and apply structured methods for generating, refining, and executing innovative ideas across various fields.
  • Critically evaluate the merits of novel ideas, provide constructive feedback, and iteratively improve ideas based on assessments.
  • Explain the reasons why companies innovate and assess the impact of innovation on business and societal progress.
  • Explain principles of strategic management of technological innovation.
Examination
Innovative Thinking and Disciplined Creativity: Strategies for Innovation Management Across Art, Science, and Business:
Exam ECTS 3
Examination form Active participation

The completion of this course is based on active student participation in class. The course will be considered as passed if the students participation - based on an overall assessment - in the class activities fulfill the learning objectives of the course. The individual student’s participation is assessed by the teacher.
The student must participate in A combination of assignment and presentation, Peer review
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Grading scale Pass / Fail
Examiner(s) Assessed solely by the teacher
Exam period Summer
Make-up exam/re-exam 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.
Size of written product: Max. 5 pages
Assignment type: Essay
Duration: 20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Examiner(s): If it is an internal examination, there will be a second internal examiner at the re-exam. If it is an external examination, there will be an external examiner.
Description of activities
A combination of assignment and presentation: The student must participate in minimum 80% of the scheduled teaching.

During the course, students will present a pitch of their idea and maintain a written "idea journal" to document their personal reflections, re-evaluations, and thoughts throughout the idea development process.
Peer review: Students are asked to provide feedback on other student's projects throughout the course.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This 2-weeks course equips students with an introductory understanding of the challenges and decision-making processes involved in cultivating novel ideas. It offers a systematic, disciplined approach to ideation and execution. By examining insights from various disciplines, including arts, music, fashion, and scientific discoveries, students will gain valuable perspectives on how innovative concepts can be developed. The course delves into the cognitive foundations of creative and scientific thinking, exploring how to formulate problems, identify opportunities, manage failures, and make informed decisions on idea progression. Additionally, the course will cover aspects of the strategic management of innovation and technology within companies and the common obstacles companies face in their innovation efforts. Ultimately, this course equips students with the tools and strategies to bring their ideas to life, whether it's a thesis, a startup, a company project, a life project, or any other creative work.

 

Each lecture during the course will combine an understanding of innovation management theories and frameworks and the examination of how innovative ideas have been created, with specific case studies from the art, music, pharmaceutical, and fashion industries. The goal for students is to identify parallels and similarities across different industry domains, and be able to leverage those insights to fuel their own innovation efforts.

 

The course will include a variety of hands-on activities, such as mini-hackathon challenges where students form teams to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems within a limited timeframe. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to work on a real-world idea development project throughout the course. They can develop an idea from any field, drawing on their personal expertise, passions, and backgrounds. This project could be a new venture, a technological innovation, an app, a fashion product, a design, or an artistic piece. Students will also be required to maintain an "idea journal" to document their personal reflections, re-evaluations, and thoughts throughout the course and the idea development process.

 

 

Key topics:

 

  • Basics of the cognitive processes behind creativity
  • Idea generation and problem-solving
  • Research methods to gather insights about a problem
  • Barriers: Change, Inertia, and Ambidexterity
  • Managing failures and experimentation
  • Innovation and firm strategy
  • Innovation ecosystem: incubators, accelerators, start-ups
  • Gaining support: Communicate and pitch ideas effectively using storytelling techniques
Research-based teaching
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
  • New theory
  • Teacher’s own research
Research-like activities
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
Description of the teaching methods
The pedagogical approach is based on a mix of the following activities

- In-person lectures on the relevant theories and frameworks from the fields of innovation management, cognitive science, and strategic management.

- Hands-on in-class activities such as “hackathon challenges”, case study analysis, "idea journaling" exercises, pitching and storytelling practice, hypothesis generation sessions, and “what-if” exercises.

- Throughout the course, students will work on a group project to develop an innovative idea. On the final day, they will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to the class.
Feedback during the teaching period
Students will benefit from direct feedback on their projects and learning progression, through both peer reviews and guidance from the course instructor during in-class presentations and activities.
Student workload
Teaching 18 hours
Preparation 66 hours
Further Information

This is an intensive 2-week course that cannot be combined with any other course.
Expected literature
  • Simonton, D. K. (2007). Featured article: The creative process in Picasso's Guernica sketches: Monotonic improvements versus nonmonotonic variants. Creativity Research Journal, 19(4), 329-344.
  • Afeyan, N., & Pisano, G. P. (2021, September–October). What evolution can teach us about innovation. Harvard Business Review, 99(5), 62–72.
  • Maggitti, P. G., Smith, K. G., & Katila, R. (2013). The complex search process of invention. Research Policy, 42(1), 90-100.
  • Marchesini, G. (2024). Turning the Tide: Persistent Search after Technological Failures. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2024, No. 1, p. 14317).
  • Lady Gaga Case Study (From Robert M. Grant Foundations of Strategy and Contemporary Strategy Analysis, 2018)
  • Valentino Case Study (From Lojacono, Varacca Capello, Marchesini, 2018, SDA Case Collection)
Last updated on 20/11/2025