Innovation Management

Innovations are a prerequisite for survival and sustained growth in most industries. The course covers strategic, organizational and procedural aspects of managing product, process and business model innovation in different industrial and competitive environments. It is designed to help students understand why innovation is critical for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. It further illustrates what innovation strategies firms can pursue as part of their business strategy. Based on the fundamental understanding of the strategic importance of innovation, the course will contrast the experience made by firms which successfully anticipated and drove change proactively to gain competitive advantage with those firms that failed to react to disruptive changes in the competitive environment and hence fell behind. Multiple real-life examples from firms across multiple industries will be used. Based on these examples and latest research, best management practices will be outlined that should be understood and implemented by managers who seek to profit from disruptive change in their competitive environment. In this context, the course puts a special emphasis on the role of leaders during the process of innovation and strategic change. Multiple examples are used to illustrate what effective leadership requires for successful innovation and corporate renewal. In addition, this course will address relevant emerging and strategic innovation themes such as open innovation, frugal innovation, reverse innovation and innovation for and from emerging markets.