Course 2006-2007 a.y.

Go to class group/s: 31

CLEA (6 credits - II sem. - RR) - CLAPI (6 credits - II sem. - AI) - CLEFIN (6 credits - II sem. - AI) - CLELI (6 credits - II sem. - AI) - CLEACC (6 credits - II sem. - AI) - DES (6 credits - II sem. - AI) - CLEMIT (6 credits - II sem. - RR) - DIEM (6 credits - II sem. - AI) - CLSG (6 credits - II sem. - AI)

Course Director:
BORIS DURISIN

Course Objectives

The Management of Competition and Innovation provides a framework and strategic tools to better understand issues surrounding competition on knowledge creation and innovation. The main focus is on the acquisition of a set of powerful analytical tools that are critical for the development of a strategy in high-technology sectors. High-technology sectors exhibit specific characteristics that require particular approaches to cope with their dynamics. Among others, competitive dynamics of sectors such as streaming media, digital music, home video gaming, disk drives, wireless service providers, and mobile television will be discussed. These tools can provide the framework for insightful planning when deciding which technologies to invest in, how to structure those investments and how to anticipate and respond to the behavior of a variety of economic actors. Guest lectures and a variety of company examples provide evidence on how firms have succeeded in out-innovating their competition and successfully establishing themselves as the dominant firm.

Knowledge creation, Intellectual Capital, and Innovation are at the core of value creation for many firms in the new competitive landscape, especially in knowledge-intensive businesses in high-technology sectors. Despite the importance of knowledge conversion to value creation, relatively few companies have mastered the ability to identify, create, and exploit opportunities for innovation on a systematic basis. Some organizations are routinely more innovative than others. Different strategies can be pursued to capture value from innovation. Mechanisms must be developed in order to ensure that a firm responds effectively to sudden and dramatic technological and/or market changes. These issues are among the greatest challenges facing general managers across a variety of industries and are explored in this course.

Course Content Summary

• Coping with the uncertainty and ambiguity of high-tech sectors: Understanding knowledge creation, knowledge conversion, and innovation
• Competition and the dynamics of high-tech sectors: Patterns of change in technologies and markets
• Innovation and the dynamics of high-tech sectors: enabling knowledge creation and conversion within the firm

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

Attending students
The final evaluation consists of participation, a group project, and a written exam.

Non-attending students
The final evaluation consists of a written exam.

Textbooks

Attending students:

• D.J. TEECE, Managing Intellectual Capital: Organizational, Strategic, and Policy Dimensions, New York, Oxford University Press, 2000.
• G. VON KROGH, I. ICHIJO, I. NONAKA, Enabling Knowledge Creation: How to Unlock the Mystery of Tacit Knowledge, New York, Oxford University Press, 2000.

Non-attending students:

• D.J. TEECE, Managing Intellectual Capital: Organizational, Strategic, and Policy Dimensions. New York, Oxford University Press, 2000 (All chapters and appendices);
• G. VON KROGH, I. ICHIJO, I. NONAKA,  Enabling Knowledge Creation: How to Unlock the Mystery of Tacit Knowledge. New York, Oxford University Press, 2000. (All chapters);
• R.N. Foster, S Kaplan, Creative Destruction: From built to last to built to perform. Prentice Hall, London, 2001 (Chapters: 1,2,12, Appendix C)

Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Last change 03/05/2006 00:00