Multidisciplinary Theoretical Knowledge: This course equips students with comprehensive knowledge across various fields, including strategy, organisational science and management. Each area is meticulously designed to enhance and strengthen the students' understanding of innovation management principles.

Strategic and Operational Skills: The course develops essential competencies and skills for effectively planning, implementing, and controlling activities in managing innovation. These abilities are tailored to address the increasing focus on digitalization, sustainability, and new data-driven management models. Students will gain practical experience to independently navigate and manage these processes.

Soft Skills Development: The program emphasizes intellectual and managerial skills. Intellectual skills include critical analysis, independent and informed judgment, and effective oral and written presentation. Managerial skills encompass teamwork, leadership, interpersonal relationships, and project management. These skills are fostered through lab activities in class, guests from firms, providing hands-on experience that complements theoretical learning.

Course learning outcomes (CLO):

CLO1 - knowledge and understanding
To understand the many faces of innovation and innovation types (discontinuous, disruptive, radical, incremental, etc.).

CLO2 - applying knowledge and understanding
To be able to understand the main organizational antecedents of innovation and the main sources of innovation and to apply them in real firms
To be able to describe the main approaches to innovation strategy and to apply them in real firms

CLO3 making judgements
To be able to judge is a firm is managing in an appropriate way innovation and new product development processes

CLO4 communication skills
To be able to work in group and to present the results of the work-group in front to a public

Knowledge of basic concept of business management

The course provides students with the basic theories and concepts regarding innovation management.
In the first part of the course, we will deepen the concepts of "innovation", “platform innovation”, “discontinuous innovation”, “disruptive innovation”. We will understand what each innovation type means to firms and discuss the many ways through which firms can innovate.
Then the course will move to the antecedents of innovation. In particular, organizational antecedents will be discussed. Then, innovation strategies will be deepened. The discussion on organizational and strategic aspects of innovation ends the first part of the course.
In the second part of the course the operational aspects of the innovation management process will be presented. Techniques for ideas generation and selection will be presented. Advantages and limitations of each mode will be discussed with the students.
The concept of "Open innovation" and “User innovation” will be then discussed in depth.
A discussion on the stage-gate model for selecting new ideas and on innovation diffusion theory will conclude the course.

Programme:
1 Key Issues in Innovation Management
1.1 Innovation: a definition
1.2 The different sides of innovation

2 The organizational and strategic sides of Innovation
2.1 Organizational antecedents to innovation
2.2 Innovation strategies

3 Innovation sources
3.1 The variety of Innovation sources beyond technology pushed and market pulled innovation
3.2 Open innovation

4 The management of the innovation process
4.1 Stage-Gate and similar management models
4.2 The diffusion of innovation

Any changes to the methods described here, which may be necessary to guarantee the application of the security protocols related to the COVID19 emergency, will be communicated on the website of the Department, the Degree Program and the teaching.

Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market and Organizational Change, 7th Edition by Joe Tidd, John Bessant

A goodwill to participate to class discussions is a necessary prerequisite to successfully complete the course. The use of laptops and tablets is always welcomed as long as its use is related to the course. Students are required to bring and use their laptops and tablets during Class Discussion and Reading & Discussion sessions. An internet connection is required

1 Key Issues in Innovation Management
1.1 Innovation: a definition
1.2 The different sides of innovation

2 The organizational and strategic sides of Innovation
2.1 Organizational antecedents to innovation
2.2 Innovation strategies

3 Innovation sources
3.1 The variety of Innovation sources beyond technology pushed and market pulled innovation
3.2 Open innovation

4 The management of the innovation process
4.1 Stage-Gate and similar management models
4.2 The diffusion of innovation

Frontal lessons; "Reading and discussion" sessions; Case studies discussion; seminars held by guest speakers

Further course requirements (attending students only):

1. “Readings and Discussion” sessions

During “Reading and Discussion” sessions, students will work in group. Every outcome will be evaluated and will contribute to each student’s final evaluation. Hence it is recommended that students read in advance the suggested materials at least twice.

Groups will be asked to provide written answers to specific questions formulated by the lecturer. Those answers will be sent via email to the lecturer by the Team Leader by the end of the class.

Groups will be evaluated on:
(1) the consistency of the answers provided and
(2) the ability to link the answers to the contents of the theoretical lectures.

Only students attending the session will be graded. Absentees will not receive any grade.
The readings will be part of the final exam


2. Class Discussions

During “Class Discussion” sessions, students will work alone or in group on a given task. Outcomes will NOT be evaluated. However, questions related to the content of such sessions could be included in the final exam.


3. Group Work

Specific instructions will be provided by the lecturer during the course

ATTENDING STUDENTS
Written exam. Multiple-choice test reserved to ATTENDING STUDENTS ONLY. Students belonging to a group are considered ATTENDING.
The scoring rule is the following: +1 for every correct answer; 0 for no answer; -0.5 for every wrong answer.
Multiple choice exam will count for the 70% of the final grade.
The 20% will be collected through the "Reading & Discussion” activities, while the remaining 10% will be collected in the Group Work

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
Non-attending students will be evaluated only on the results of the final exam (100%) that will consist in 3 open questions. To get prepared for the exam, non-attending students are required to STUDY in depth Chapters 1-10 (from 1 to 10) of the textbook, 7th edition with the exclusion of Chapter 2. Non-attending students using the content of the slides to answer to the questions will be penalized (-6 points per answer).

This course explores topics closely related to one or more objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations:
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