Innovation

Course Director: Valentina Tartari

Innovation has become the key driver of growth and competitiveness for most firms and organizations. Globalization and technological progress create growing pressure on firms and organizations to craft and deploy innovation strategies to continuously develop and introduce new products and services, and to even reinvent their entire business models.

In this course, you will learn about the strategic management of innovation. Key topics include types and sources of innovation; creating value from innovation; design thinking, profiting from innovation; open innovation; disruption and industrial dynamics; science-based innovation. The BE0701 course was first developed in 2021 and it is run by faculty from the SSE House of Innovation (https://www.hhs.se/en/research/research-houses/house-of-innovation/).

The sessions introduce and explain innovation in a broad sense – not only as new product and service development but also as the redesign of business models, start-up entrepreneurship, creative problem solving, process improvement. The concepts you will learn apply to large incumbent firms and small ventures; private as well as public organizations; and to firms operating in both the online and offline worlds. Innovation management is fundamentally important for both commercial and other organizations, and so it is imperative for you as a Bachelor student to understand and reflect critically on the concepts and techniques that will be covered. The course maintains a strategic focus, while also touching upon the operational development and implementation of innovation.

The applied part of the course will focus on a specific context, namely the food industry. Over the last ten years it has become clear that our current food system – the planet's largest sector – needs to be radically transformed to feed the population on planet Earth in a healthy and sustainable way, ensuring the long-term survival of both our species an the companies/organizations/individuals involved in feeding us. While the food sector is not known for its pace of innovation, this stands to change, and a new cadre of managers and entrepreneurs will be needed that can embrace both problems and opportunities in the context of strategic food sector innovation and transformation. The ambition with the applied part of this course is to give you insights into the strategic issues facing our food system and the radical innovation tools that can be deployed to engage with the transformation, including how to handle resistance to change. You will furthermore be required to experience the transformation firsthand, and to develop ideas that can lead to new businesses.

Course administrator: Titus.Mathew@hhs.se

After this course, you will have gained the ability to:

• Understand what constitutes innovation in theory and in practice and how it can create value for businesses, organizations and for society.
• Identify sources for creative ideas for companies, both internal and external to the firm.
• Identify and address challenges that may emerge when collaborating and competing with external stakeholders.
• Learn basic concepts in intellectual property management, and how they relate to the commercial exploitation of innovations.
• Analyze how firms organize for innovation and know about different organizational forms to foster innovation and creativity.
• Engage with innovation strategies and processes, e.g. in problem solving – matching user needs and innovative solutions.
• Create an innovative solution to “wicked” problems in the food sector through the creation of a business.
• Select and critically apply theories, models and tools relating to different steps of the innovation value chain and translate them to practical implications in real life situations.

General entry requirements.

Course book:
Schilling, Melissa A. (2022). Strategic management of technological innovation (7th edition). McGrawHill Education

Additional readings will be posted on Canvas.

Examination consists of individual and group assessments. The examination will consist of three components: a midterm, a group project, and a final exam.

The midterm exam (max 10 points) is individual and will test your knowledge of the literature and cases presented up to that point. There may be questions about concepts that are mentioned in the literature/online materials, but that have not been covered during the lectures. The midterm exam consists of multiple-choice questions. If you do not take the midterm, you have the opportunity to answer additional questions on the final exam or on the retake exam (no extra time).

The group project (max 40 points) will be evaluated taking into account (a) the written material submitted as seminar assignments, (b) the video, (c) the presentation in Seminar 6, (d) a peer-evaluation of the participation of the individual member.

The final exam gives you a maximum of 50 points. It will consist of two essay questions (25 points each). The questions will test your knowledge of the theory and literature, and your ability to apply it to concrete cases.

Your grade depends on the sum of points obtained on the final exam (or retake), the midterm (or extra questions) and the group assignment.

The course design, content and examination changes from year to year. The right to be examined on the specific content and according to this specific examination design is therefore restricted to this academic year. Results are only valid the year they were obtained.

Find the course schedule in TimeEdit

Have you been granted educational support because of a documented disability? If so, please contact the course director as soon as possible so that adequate accommodations can be made.

Contact specialneeds@hhs.se if you have questions about being granted educational support or need a copy of your educational support certificate.

For more information, visit the Specific Educational Needs page on the Student Hub (login required).