Innovation strategy is about creating unique value for consumers by delivering a great product that satisfies their needs.
This course introduces the fundamental strategy concepts and tools that enable firms to manage technological innovations for competitive advantage. It does so by first considering the sources of technological change and how to leverage technologies to create firm value. It then examines the various mechanisms for extracting value from technologies, both legal (e.g., patents, trade secrecy, etc.) and strategic (e.g., lead time, complementary assets, etc.). We will explore the fundamentals of technology strategy through readings and case studies in both established and entrepreneurial firms across a range of technology-based industries.
You will be able to:
- Learn fundamental strategy concepts and frameworks for technology-based firms
- Apply theories and frameworks toward the analysis and formulation of strategies for creating and capturing value through technological innovations
- Develop an ability to think strategically and make decisions under uncertainty and risk
- Develop skills in performing analytic research and preparing professional reports
- Develop skills in managing diverse teams and working under time and resource constraints
This course is part of Gies College of Business’ suite of online programs, including the iMBA and iMSM. Learn more about admission into these programs and explore how your Coursera work can be leveraged if accepted into a degree program at https://degrees.giesbusiness.illinois.edu/idegrees/.
Strategic Innovation: Building and Sustaining Innovative Organizations
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign via Coursera
Overview
Syllabus
- Course Introduction and Module 1: Innovation Life Cycles
- You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course. Module 1 provides a lifecycle perspective of the link between innovation and strategy. We will examine where innovations come from, how they change over time, and how these changes influence firms’ incentives to invest in different types of technologies. We will also discuss customer adoption and how this shapes firms’ decisions of whether and when to enter new markets. We will also learn about prospect theory and how it relates to developing successful winning innovations.
- Module 2: Disruptive Innovation
- This module focuses on how innovating entrants can disrupt industry leaders. We will learn the concepts of sustaining and disruptive innovation and consider frameworks for how entrants can leverage disruptive innovations to overcome incumbents’ competitive advantage. We will also consider how incumbents can and should respond to disruptive innovations.
- Module 3: Open Innovation
- This module examines innovation and firm boundaries. We will consider when firms should invest in developing innovations internally versus when they should pursue an “open” strategy by seeking new ideas and technologies outside the firm. In addition, we will learn about different mechanisms that enable firms to capture value from innovations, including the importance of patents and specialized assets and capabilities in providing a competitive advantage. Finally, we will consider when innovators should forward integrate to compete with other firms in product markets and when they should license their innovations to other firms in technology markets.
- Module 4: Multi-Sided Platforms
- In this module we examine multi-sided platform businesses. Platforms enable firms to both create and capture value by bringing together sellers and buyers and controlling the transactions between them. We will distinguish between value chain and platform businesses, and we will examine the critical role of various players in a platform. In addition, we will learn about network effects, which are central to enabling and sustaining multi-sided platforms.
Taught by
Raj Echambadi
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premise: I work in a consulting company. Once I completed the course, I adopted the entire knowledge and frameworks in the actual workflow to improve my business successfully. The lessons are engaging, clear and thorough; the tutors? awesome. Assign…
