GRA 6834 Business Development & Innovation Management

APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014

GRA 6834 Business Development & Innovation Management


Responsible for the course
Espen Andersen

Department
Department of Strategy and Logistics

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
6

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
Much of an organization's value creation - and certainly most of its competitive advantage - comes from innovation. Innovation can happen through changes in technology - how an organization does things - or in business models - how it gets paid. This course will explore theories and cases of innovation and technology evolution within a strategic context, as well as the more theoretical concepts of dynamic organizational capabilities.

Learning outcome
The course aims to give the students a thorough understanding of strategic innovation management - how organizations change to adapt to changes in the external environment, evolve their technology, and understand the nature of technological change. After attending this course, the student will have learned to
- analyze technology-rich and complicated business cases and recommend strategic initiatives
- understand the concept of business models and business model innovation
- understand how industries are influenced by technological change and business model evolution
- understand the challenges involved in formulating strategic change and adapting an organization to external technological change

Prerequisites
A bachelor degree qualifying for admission to the MSc Programme + a basic course in strategy.

Compulsory reading
Books:
Arthur, W. Brian. 2009. The nature of technology : what it is and how it evolves. Allen Lane
Benkler, Yochai. 2006. The wealth of networks : how social production transforms markets and freedom. Yale University Press. selected chapters (available on the web)
Christensen, Clayton M., Michael E. Raynor. 2003. The innovator's solution : creating and sustaining successful growth. Harvard Business School Press
Shapiro, Carl and Hal R. Varian. 1999. Information rules : a strategic guide to the network economy. Harvard Business School Press


Articles:
Selected articles from journals such as Journal of Strategic Management, Communications of the ACM, and Harvard Business Review

Other:
During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination.
Various. Cases and articles to be determined



Recommended reading
Books:
Brynjolfsson, Erik and Adam Saunders. 2010. Wired for innovation : how information technology is reshaping the economy. MIT Press
Utterback, James M. 1994. Mastering the dynamics of innovation : how companies can seize opportunities in the face of technological change. Harvard Business School Press


Course outline
- Technology evolution and technology history
- Disruptive and sustaining technologies/innovations
- Entering new markets with technology
- Linking strategy and innovation
- Building strategic innovation capability
- Technology market structure and evolution
- Componentization and integration
- Industry structures and competitive environments in eBusiness
- Electronic markets and market facilitators
- Technology implementation and institutionalization
- The politics of technology and innovation

Computer-based tools
No specific uses of technology, but familiarity with and an interest in use of the Internet and personal information technology tools is assumed. Extensive use of collaborative tools can be expected, as well as experimentation with new tools in order to understand challenges to technology innovation.

Learning process and workload
A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.

The course is structured as a combination of lectures, discussions, in-class activities, case analysis, and case discussion. Substantial preparation and active involvement during and between classes is required.

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/LMS or text book.



Examination
Your course grade will be based on the following activities and weights:
Term paper (in groups of 2 to 3 students, in special circumstances individually): 50%.
and 50% individual participation (which includes classroom participation, online participation and various assignments)

All parts of the evaluation need to be passed in order to get a grade in the course.

Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for termpapers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam elements) and one final exam code. Each exam element will be graded using points on a scale (e.g. 0-100). The elements will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades on the course site in It’s learning.


Examination code(s)
GRA 68341 continuous assessment accounts for 100% of the final grade in the course GRA 6834

Examination support materials
Exam aids at written examinations are explained under exam information in our web-based Student handbook. Please note use of calculator and dictionary. http://www.bi.edu/studenthandbook/examaids

Re-sit examination
It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught.
The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code.
Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes.
Where this is not the case, all of the assessed components of the course must be retaken.
All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee.


Additional information
Honor Code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honor code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honor code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed.

Any violation of the honor code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honor code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honor code, please ask.