The course “Advanced Strategy and Organization: Global Innovation Management” is structured in four sections of topics relevant to all globally operating organizations relying on innovation. Specifically, this course illuminates various advanced topics at the intersection of Strategic Management and Innovation Management. First, students will learn about fundamental theories and concepts of global innovation to understand the context and “bigger picture” of innovation in our society. Second, students will learn about external markets, industry characteristics, intellectual property rights, innovation systems and standards to understand how a firm must adapt its corporate innovation strategy to maintain successful. Third, students will learn how to identify opportunities for innovation within global value chains. Fourth, students will learn about related operations consisting of hands-on methods and dedicated activities inside the firm that support innovation. The five interactive sessions combine elements of traditional lectures coupled with quizzes, group tasks, case studies, literature reviews, presentations, and in-depth discussions. Students will develop a deeper understanding of why innovation is crucial for firm survival in today’s fast-paced and uncertain business environments.

Students who have passed this course successfully are able to:

• (society) understand the bigger picture of innovation and R&D,
• (society) explain fundaments and theories about innovation and technology,
• (markets) discuss implications of innovation standards for different industries and innovation systems,
• (markets) understand global innovation processes and timing strategies,
• (opportunities) identify external potentials and internal barriers to innovation,
• (opportunities) understand creative people and cultural issues in international teams,
• (operations) apply hands-on creativity methods to improve their innovation capabilities,
• (operations) conduct a thorough analysis of external and internal factors that affect firm innovativeness.

In addition, students will develop teamwork quality and improve their social skills by working in teams and learning how to give constructive peer feedback. In doing so, students will learn the application of theory to practice and find feasible solutions to global challenges in a connected digital world.

Attendance in the first and the last session is mandatory. The last session is reserved for the final exam which will be based on a real-life or fictional case study analysis. You are only allowed to miss one of the remaining three sessions. If you miss more than one session, you will automatically fail the course. Please inform the instructor about any absence prior to the session.

The course builds on a variety of teaching methods including traditional lectures, literature reviews, in-class discussions, case studies, reading assignments, group assignments and presentations of group work. The lecture supports self-learning and team learning objectives. Students will acquire theoretical know-what related to the subject of Strategic Innovation Management, as well as practical know-how related to group presentations in collaborative-competitive scenarios. The course provides an up-to-date literature review of relevant journal articles and mostly follows two textbooks on “Global Innovation Management” by Westland (2008) and “Innovation Management” by Ahmed and Shepherd (2010). Students may access the referenced course materials in preparation and revision of individual sessions. The teaching methods may vary depending on the COVID regulations at the WU. The use of AI-based software for text generation, creation of presentations, and writing support (e.g., ChatGPT, SlidesGPT or Grammarly) is explicitly allowed but must be indicated.

Individual performance: ∑ 50%

• In-class participation: 20%
• Peer feedback: 10%
• Three mini-quizzes (only your best two account for 10% each): 20%

  Group assignments: ∑ 20%

• Two group tasks à 10%

  Final case study analysis: ∑ 30%

Overall grading:

There are no specific pre-requirements apart from a first-come-first-serve course registration.

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