GRA 6834 Business Development & Innovation Management

GRA 6834 Business Development & Innovation Management

Course code: 
GRA 6834
Department: 
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Espen Andersen
Course name in Norwegian: 
Business Development & Innovation Management
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Business - Elective course
Semester: 
2017 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
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 outcomes - Knowledge

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

  • understand how technology develops and the drivers of technology evolution
  • 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, particularly disruptive change
Learning outcomes - Skills
  • analyze technology-rich and complicated business cases and recommend strategic initiatives
  • be able to identify disruptive innovations and formulate technology strategies to adopt or overcome them
  • be able to identify obstacles to innovation and suggest ways to overcome them
Learning Outcome - Reflection
  • Critical reflection and thinking, developing technology and strategic insight
  • Appreciation for the complexity of managing and introducing technologies
  • recognize technology hype and hubris in all its varied an interesting forms
  • have learned how to learn and keep learning about technological change
Course content
  • 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
Learning process and requirements to students

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 It's learning or text book.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course start.

At resit, all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
50
Grouping: 
Group/Individual (1 - 3)
Duration: 
1 Semester(s)
Comment: 
Term paper
Exam code: 
GRA68341
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Activity
Form of assessment: 
Class participation
Weight: 
30
Grouping: 
Individual
Exam code: 
GRA68341
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
20
Grouping: 
Individual
Duration: 
2 Week(s)
Comment: 
Assignment based on online simulation
Exam code: 
GRA68341
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam organisation: 
Continuous assessment
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Total weight: 
100
Sum workload: 
0

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.