GRA 6834 Business Development & Innovation Management
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APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017 |
GRA 6834 Business Development & Innovation Management
Responsible for the course
Espen Andersen
Department
Department of Strategy
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
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 spesific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
Compulsory reading
Books:
Christensen, Clayton M., Michael E. Raynor. 2013. The innovator's solution: creating and sustaining successful growth.. Harvard Business School Press. 2003 or 2013. Both editions can be used.
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:
Arthur, W. Brian. 2009. The nature of technology : what it is and how it evolves. Penguin
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
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
The 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%.
Individual class participation (which includes classroom participation and online participation): 30%
Assignments: 20% (based on online simulation)
| Form of assessment | Weight | Group size |
| Term paper | 50% | Optional (individual or group of max 3 students) |
| Class participation | 30% | Individual |
| Assignment | 20% | Individual |
Specific information regarding student assessment will be provided in class. This information may be relevant to requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several components of the overall assessment. This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded using points on a scale from 0-100. The final grade for the course is based on the aggregated mark of the course components. Each component is weighted as detailed in the course description. Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam components will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the points system and the mapping scale in the student portal @bi. Candidates may be called in for an oral hearing as a verification/control of written assignments.
Examination code(s)
GRA 68341 continuous assessment accounts for 100% of the final grade in the course GRA 6834
Examination support materials
Permitted examination support materials for written examinations are detailed under examination information in the student portal @bi. The section on support materials and the use of calculators and dictionaries should be paid special attention to.
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. All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee. Please note that you need to retake the latest version of the course with updated course literature and assessment. Please make sure that you have familiarised yourself with the latest course description.
Additional information
Honour code. Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and are values that are integral to BI's honour code system. Students are responsible for familiarising themselves with the honour code system, to which the faculty is deeply committed. Any violation of the honour code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for academic misconduct. Issues of academic integrity are taken seriously by everyone associated with the programmes at BI and are at the heart of the honour code. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honour code, please ask. The learning platform itslearning is used in the teaching of all courses at BI. All students are expected to make use of itslearning.