BUSI4Q030: Innovation and Technology Management (Level 4)

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• To develop students critical understanding of innovation and technology management.
• To explore how the different models of innovation and technology management can be used to support competitiveness within and around organisations.
• To explore the role of new forms of organisations such as platforms, ecosystems, networks and communities in supporting innovation.
• To explore the role of the wider supply network in supporting innovation.
• To appreciate the key principles of managing risk across the supply chain.
• To ground students understanding of the different research methodologies used in innovation and technology management studies, and develop their appreciation of new techniques such as big data analytics.

• Models of innovation and technology diffusion cycles.
• Open innovation, network and distributed innovation.
• Innovation and exporting.
• Challenges of Implementation.
• Technology diffusion models.
• Innovation across the supply chain.
• Supply chain risk management.
• Absorptive capacity and learning across networks and communities.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Critical understanding of models of innovation, their development and limitations.
• Appreciation of the mechanisms used to extract knowledge from different organisational functions and their conversion to new products and services.
• Critical understanding of the processes used to manage risk and innovation across the supply chain.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Ability to critically assess existing innovation theories and research.
• Ability to design qualitative and quantitative studies for exploring innovation and technology management related problems.
• Ability to apply rigorous methodologies, such as big data analytics, for addressing industrial problems in innovation and technology management.

Key Skills:

• Written communication.
• Understanding of the extant literature and identifying research gaps.
• Formulating and communicating research questions that are relevant and novel.
• Developing, critically evaluating and implementing research designs.
• Managing research projects and time.

• The module will be delivered over four days and will be based on workshop style teaching. Students will be asked to review some key papers on innovation and technology management and will be asked to present their application in a practical context.
• There will be some lecture-type delivery where material on researching innovation will be explained, but the bulk of the delivery will be on the application of theory on solving practice driven problems in organisational contexts.
• The module materials will be both made available online in advance of the module delivery and afterwards on a dedicated e-learning platform.
• The summative assessment will be an in-depth case analysis, with two components: an analysis of an innovation process and a critical review of literature.
• The formative assessment will be a plan in preparation for the summative assessment, on which feedback will be provided.

Classes are based around reading and discussing selected journal articles and case studies. Formative feedback is provided on class participation. In addition, students will present an essay plan in preparation for the final case-based essay, on which formative feedback will be provided.

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