Management of Innovation

Although scientific and technological breakthroughs are offering unprecedented opportunities, innovation remains a tricky issue at global, industrial and firm level. At global level, firms in the markets and public institutions do often complement each other, so that the relative position of each nation in the innovation race can rapidly change, making specific settings more suitable for new ideas. At industrial level, innovations can be so disruptive to threaten large firms, not able to change their business models. At firm level, previous success and in-use technologies might limit the ability to adapt to changing environments. By using these three interconnected dimensions, the course offers student a broad and practical portfolio of concepts and tools to understand the innovation puzzle.Students will learn how to interpret the dynamic of innovative markets, the dilemmas incumbents and new companies face in making critical decisions, as well as the managerial challenges they both face.

Participants in this course will learn how to manage innovation challenges. They will know how to assess the impact of innovation on existing businesses and the potential of new ones. They also will learn how multifaceted the diffusion processes is and what kind of open innovation-based strategies can be put in place to control for risks and maximize opportunities. These take-aways do represent a useful platform to assess the feasibility of entrepreneurial initiatives in new as well in established companies. Together with the new start-up course, students will apply knowledge and understanding to the identification and exploitation of new opportunities.