Insegnamento a.a. 2024-2025

Accordingly, this course focus on developing strategies for coordinating growth activities within firms as well as fostering cooperation activities outside the firm, both of which are essential for innovation success. At the end of the course, students understand the fundamental issues a general manager must cope with when organizing innovation activities both within and outside the firm.

The course focuses on the main internal growth choices managers must make, with special emphasis on decision-making under uncertainty for innovation-focused firms. Topics include:

• Internal coordination.
• Organic growth.
• Make or buy decisions.
• Organization for innovation.
• Divestitures.

The cases and classes exercises span several current industries across several continents and include issues of practical importance such as sustainability and data ethics.

• Understand the different types of growth strategies for internal growth available to firms.
• Understand different types of innovation outcomes and strategies available to firms.
• Understand the different types of collaboration strategies available to firms.
• understand how firms can make decisions about complex problems under uncertainty.

This course is intended primarily for students who envision themselves occupying managerial positions in innovation-focused business organizations. Such positions are not limited to general management but rather include a variety of non-executive positions that entail managerial decisions and actions that have strategic implications. Therefore, it is increasingly important for many managers to acquire relevant skills needed to understand how their actions may affect the firms that employ them. The course incorporates conceptual readings, recent research findings, as well as cases of actual firms, to ensure an up-to-date perspective on the topic:

• Conduct cases analyses - qualitative and quantitative.
• Develop different product development strategies based on the type of firm and type of product.
• Interact with external speakers.
• Advise a company in solving real problems.

• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Practical Exercises
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

• Guest speakers may visit the class.
• In class activities and presentation either individual or in gorup may be assigned.
• Students are expected to read cases and complete group assignments before coming to class.

Attending students are assessed on their knowledge and understanding of the different strategies for internal growth, innovation, alliances, and collaboration:

• Through class participation (25%).
• A group assignment focused on an in-depth analysis of a company focusing on developing one of the above 4 strategies (50%). 
• In addition, at the end of the semester they submit learning logs (25%) which test how students apply what they have learned in a managerial setting.

For special students who are modifying their study course in July after the class has finished, there will be an exam in October. This will be an oral exam where the students will need to read and be prepared to answer questions about all of the material covered in the course. This includes: 

1. All the case studies which can be found under the respective sessions on blackboard. For example, the second class is about the Ducati case. 
2. All the readings that are posted in the sessions under each class. For example, the Decision-making under uncertainty class has 3 readings.  
3. All the research papers that are listed on the slides of each session of class (roughly 10 papers for each class) 
4. All of the material covered in class. The uploaded slides from blackboard will comprise the study materials 

The exam will cover all four of these teaching materials and will be conducted by the professor

Slides, book chapters, and articles are distributed in class and posted on Bboard.