The management of innovation is one of the most talked about, loved, challenging and respected issues on any business degree program. Many participants come to a business school with the misconception that technology management is more of a gut-feeling, seat-of-the-pants discipline than are, say, Finance, Production and Operations Management, or Accounting. As you will learn during the course, good innovation development and management is based on designing and managing appropriate innovation processes and practices, and organizational structures in accordance with strategic goals and industry conditions.

By completion of the course, students will have: • A familiarity with the theoretical foundations of innovation management and strategy; • An understanding of current topics in strategic innovation management, such as innovation networks, idea brokering, open innovation; • A familiarity with innovation processes and structures such as R&D team and incentive design, innovation portfolio management, idea generation processes, the pros and cons of various organizational configurations, and the challenges of innovation in large and small firms; • An understanding of the strategies most effective for exploiting innovations; • The ability to apply concepts and theories directly to real world situations; • Skills to identify, evaluate, and resolve a variety of issues relating to innovative performance in firms.

The course is structured into two main blocks. The first block focuses on the strategic issues associated with innovation processes and activities. We will learn how firms develop and implement innovation strategies by selecting innovation projects and business models, and designing and managing innovation processes accordingly. The second block focuses on the organizational and managerial issues associated with innovation processes and activities. We will learn how firms can sustain the generation, development, adoption and diffusion of innovation activities by designing an organizational structure (formal and informal, micro and macro) and culture enabling firms to innovate and spread innovation. The central challenges and available solutions to organize innovation activities and practices will be discussed.

The course will rely on a core textbook, case studies, and papers. • Textbook: Strategic Management of Technological Innovation (6th ed) by Melissa Schilling. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers. This book provides a comprehensive reference source for the theories, concepts and tools we will work through. • Cases: We will use case studies to understand how different aspects of innovation management apply to different business situations. • Papers: Academic articles are intended to promote thinking about insights on theories, tools and issues not covered by the course text and cases. It is important that you carefully work through all the readings assigned for each class. Doing so will help you (i) make valuable contribution to the class, (ii) participate in course exercises, and (iii) complete assignments and exams effectively.

The course combines lectures, case analyses, and student presentations. The readings are drawn from research in the management of technological innovation and as well as from economics and organizational theory. The cases provide an extensive opportunity to integrate and apply these tools in a practical, business context, and draw from a variety of firms and industries. There will be group presentations, where groups of students will give a 15-minute presentation of the topic for that week.

• Individual Participation (20% or 6 points) – see below for more information. • Group presentation (20% or 6 points) – see below for more information. • Exam (60% or 18 points) – see below for more information. INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATION Your participation grade Is based on your attendance, preparation and engagement toward the learning in this course. You are expected to attend all schedules classes. The criteria used to assess participation are: • Preparedness and attitude (max 2 points) – Are you prepared for class and able to express foundational knowledge? Do your contributions rely on appropriate innovation management language and concepts? Do you show a positive attitude and cooperative behavior during class discussions and exercises? • Engagement (max 4 points) – Are your contributions insightful and do they enhance learning? Do you effectively identify and summarize key learning points? Do your contributions relate to, connect and apply appropriate theory and examples within the course and between courses? GROUP PRESENTATION Each group is required to deliver a 15-minute presentation on the innovation topic assigned for that week. Groups will be formed in week 1, and the order of sequence for presentations chosen randomly. The objective of these presentations is to provide a good overview of what a general manager, not an innovation specialist, should know about the topic of the day. Every group member is expected to contribute to the development and delivery of the presentation. You are required to send the slides the course instructor before the presentation takes place. All the group members’ names and IDs must appear on the Title slide. The assessment criteria for presentations are the following: • Does the presentation inform a general manager about the topic, in an interesting and compelling way, and in such a way that we can all say, after the presentation: “I think I know the most important and fundamental things there are to know about (insert the topic here)”? (max 4 points) • Is the topic well presented by the group? Does it flow well, and is the audience engaged by it? (max 2 points) EXAM Duration: 60 minutes Instructions for the written exam: • This is a closed-book exam. • The exam consists of four open discussion questions (4 points per question; 16 points max); and four multiple-choice questions (0.5 points per question; 2 points max). • Multiple-choice questions have only one correct answer. • The points for each question are indicated next to each question in the exam script. The final exam will include questions based on (i) key readings and cases, (ii) slides presented in class, and (iii) class discussion.

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