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Innovation & Start Up (IFLV6613)
Department
- International Program
Course unit code
- IFLV6613
Level of course unit
- Bachelor
Year of study
- Fall 2024
Semester when the course unit is delivered
- 1
Number of ECTS credits allocated
- 3.0
Name of lecturer(s)
- Professor Baraldi Enrico
Learning outcomes of the course unit
- Business success and competitive advantage are increasingly based on innovation, rather than merely price competition and cost efficiency. Innovating includes also identifying, creating and seizing new commercial opportunities, especially through the creation of start-ups and new ventures. Therefore, managers at all levels and entrepreneurs need to understand the dynamics and mechanisms of innovation. This includes being able to handle the following issues: where do innovative ideas comes from? how can they be transformed into successful products launched on the market? which barriers and opportunities emerge during the innovation process? how can the creativity, uncertainty and risk in this process be managed? how can start-ups and innovations be developed in a socially responsible and sustainable way?
The course addresses the issues above in both theory and practice. The relevant models and concepts are first introduced by the teacher and then applied by students to a series of practical cases, discussed either in pair or by the whole class. Participants will also train in developing and defending their own start-up ideas in front of panel of peers during an “entrepreneur-venture capitalist” roleplay. To successfully complete the course, participants will have to prepare, analyse and deliver to the teacher an own case of innovation or start-up process.
Mode of delivery
- face-to-face
Recommended optional program components
- none
Course contents
- 1. New products as innovations connecting technology and marketing (Day 1)
1.1 NPD strategy: combining Marketing and Technology strategy:
1.2 User value. Identifying customer needs
1.3 Innovation: adoption and use. Key factors behind product innovation
2. The innovation process and its sources (Day 1)
2.1 The sources that stimulate innovations
2.2. Lead users (von Hippel)
2.3 New Product Development as an innovation process: the “Innovation Journey”
2.4 BIG Idea case classroom discussion (pre-reading required)
3. The business network surrounding product development (Day 1)
3.1 The interaction model and business relationships.
3.2 The ARA model.
3.3 Markets-as-Networks
3.4 Product development in business networks
4. Presentations of students’ own innovation cases (Day 1 & Day 2)
5. Combining resources for product development (Day 2)
5.2 Resource interactions around the product
5.2 The 4Rs model
5.3 Furniture cases: Edsbyn’s El-Table, IKEA’s Lack table and Billy bookshelf
5.4 Classroom discussion of the three furniture cases
6. Exploiting innovations in a network (Day 2)
7. Disruptive technologies and new ventures (Day 2)
7.1 The “innovator’s dilemma” (Christensen)
7.2 Mechanisms of disruption
7.3 The “innovator’s solution” as new corporate ventures
8. Entrepreneurship as starting up new businesses (Day 3)
8.1 Identifying business opportunities (Kirzner’s alertness)
8.2 Creating business opportunities (Schumpeter’s creativity)
9. New-technology based firms (Day 3)
9.1 Spin-offs & start-ups
9.2 Starting up in networks
9.3 Challenges of science-based firms: the ParAllele case
9.4 Classroom discussion of the ParAllele case
10. Planning a start-up (Day 3)
10.1 Modelling a new business with “Business Model Canvas”
10.2 Value creation, “Unique Selling Proposition” (UPS) and protection via IPRs (Intellectual Property)
10.3 Market and financial forecasts: estimating profitability (Net Present Value, NPV analysis)
10.4 Interacting with Venture Capitalists
11. Role play venture capitalists Vs entrepreneurs with own business ideas (Day 3 & Day 4)
12. Responsible entrepreneurship (Day 4)
12.1 From profit vs sustainability to profits AND sustainability
12.2 Environmental and social responsibility
12.3 Embracing external stakeholders and Building & sharing values internally
12.4 Classroom discussion of the Body Shop International case (pre-reading required)
Recommended or required reading
- Next to the two cases required for pre-reading (BIG Idea and Body Shop), selected articles and book chapters will be provided upon course start.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
- Face-to face teaching. In addition, group work and class assignments will complement the overall teaching load to enable students to apply theory to professional practice. Class assignments include individual and pairwise case discussions, presentation of own example/mini-cases and role-plays.
Assessment methods and criteria
- Exam
- Exam
Course assessed by continuous evaluation
Language of instruction
- English
Work placement(s)
- none