Course
MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATION
Teacher
YLENIA CAVACECE
The course addresses innovation management as a strategic process that starts from assessing competitive dynamics and the technological environment, to strategy formulation and implementation. The first part of the course provides basic knowledge about the dynamics of innovation and its implications, helping students to better interpret technological environments and identify significant trends. The second part of the course focuses on the process of defining the company's innovation strategy, including project selection, collaboration strategies and strategies for protecting the company's property rights. Finally, the course covers the innovation implementation process, including the implications on the organization and its organizational structure, managing new product development processes, building and managing new product development teams, and defining the company's implementation strategy.
The course aims to consolidate the following knowledge and skills:
1. Knowledge and understanding: at the end of the course, students will be able to describe the main innovation models; use analytical tools to understand and interpret technological innovations; list the market strategies for introducing an innovation; illustrate the basic characteristics of innovation processes; understand and discuss the processes of developing and commercializing a new product; identify the challenges faced when operating in a complex and competitive ecosystem; and discuss and understand the specifics of implementing innovation strategies.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding: the course will provide students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills to apply in decision-making and problem solving with reference to the processes of innovation project design, development and implementation.
3. Making judgements: through practical exercises, project work and case study analysis, the student will be enabled to link economic and technological aspects of innovation, make general assessments of the economic aspects of innovation, and understand the socioeconomic implications of technological and digital ecosystems.
4. Communication skills: students will be able to enrich their technical language in order to interact with experts in the field, independently process information related to business innovation and communicate their opinions, evaluations and achievements.
1- Industry dynamics of technological innovation
2 - Sources of innovation
3 - Translating creativity into innovation
4 - Innovation in collaborative networks
5 – Types and patterns of innovation
6 - Technology S-Curves
7 - Technology cycles
8 - First-Mover advantages and disadvantages
9 - Factors influencing optimal timing of entry
10 - Strategies to improve timing options
11 - Defining the organization’s strategic direction
12 – Assessing the firm’s current position
13 - Identifying Core Competencies and Dynamic Capabilities
14 - Choosing innovation projects
15 - The development budget
16 – Quantitative and qualitative methods for choosing projects
17 – Collaboration strategies
18 - Protecting innovation
19 - Patents, trademarks, and copyrights
20 – Implementing technological innovation strategy
21 – Managing innovation across borders
22 - Managing the New Product Development process
23 -Managing New Product Development teams
24 - Crafting a deployment strategy
Schilling (2017) Strategic Management of Technological Innovation, McGraw Hill (5th Edition)
The course integrates video lectures on the main topics of the program and in-depth web seminars on specific topics with interactive teaching methods organized by e-tivity, which include exercises, discussion forums, and question/answer forums that give students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the topics and interact with the lecturer and the tutor.
Self-evaluation tests for each course topic are made available to the student on the course webpage.
The final evaluation will consist in an oral test involving open questions relevant to the course syllabus. Interactive activities carried out by the student during the preparation period will be considered and discussed during the examination session
The Management of innovation course provides in-depth preparation in the area of innovation strategy management by integrating knowledge from the matrix of business studies. This preparation can find application primarily for positions such as advisor to certified incubators, risk manager, corporate reporting manager, digital manager, advisor to innovative start-ups, chief financial officer, and industry analyst.
Students will be provided with handouts and background materials pertaining to the topics covered in the course.