Innovation Management

E2025

Business Administration and Leadership

Course

Mandatory

English

Read about the Master Programme and find the Study Regulations at ruc.dk

You register for activities through stads selvbetjening during the announced registration period, which you can see on the Study administration homepage.

When registering for courses, please be aware of the potential conflicts and overlaps between course and exam time and dates. The planning of course activities at Roskilde University is based on the recommended study programmes, which should not overlap. However, if you choose optional courses and/or study plans that goes beyond the recommended study programmes, an overlap of lectures or exam dates may occur depending on which courses you choose.

10

Flemming Sørensen (flemmiso@ruc.dk)

Maria Duclos Lindstrøm (marial@ruc.dk)

ISE Registration & Exams (ise-exams@ruc.dk)

U60023GB

The course introduces students to recent knowledge on processes of innovation and their complexity. Insight is provided into how innovation takes place within companies, among employees, and between companies and organisations in networks, in interaction with other actors, including users, and in a broader, complex, societal context. The course also discusses how a company’s innovation leads to value creation in the interaction between the company and its environment. There is also a focus on the role of management in promoting and organising innovation and innovation processes in companies. The course introduces management- and employee-oriented tools that can promote innovation and support innovation processes. Additionally, the course reflects on the relation between innovation and sustatinability issues. The course is organised as a process-oriented course in which the knowledge acquired is continuously translated into a practical innovation process carried out by the students.

The course presents, discusses and applies modern theories of innovation and innovation processes. The focus will be on internal processes as well as on processes between companies and organisations, interactions with users and other stakeholders, and the significance of the wider societal context. Emphasis will also be placed on how management can support and lead innovation processes.

The course sessions will consist of lectures with presentations and discussions on theory, and of group work where the theories will be applied in an innovation process. In the group work, the students plan and implement an innovation process from idea generation to innovation pitch. The innovation idea is pitched in front of a feedback panel during the final lecture of the course.

The teaching is, thus, planned as a coherent, process-oriented course, in which an innovation process is planned and implemented by the students. At the course sessions, students will for example develop and apply various types of idea generation and user involvement methods, develop business models, outline innovation networks, prepare an innovation pitch, etc.

The groups also produce an analysis covering all the different parts of the students’ innovation process. The analysis is submitted as a portfolio assignment. In the portfolio the students analyse and reflect on the specific innovation process and its individual/characteristic elements, on the basis of the course literature, lectures and group work. Active participation is therefore important during the lectures. The portfolio is included in the examination.

Topics covered during the course include:

• Creativity, including “the fuzzy front end of innovation”: how innovative ideas arise, how ideas are chosen from a range, and how the creative organisation is formed. • The nature and significance of various forms of innovation processes, including stage gate models, open innovation, and bricolage, and the various phases of the processes. • Business models, business model development and innovation, and the organisational possibilities and barriers towards this. • Introduction to different types of prototypes, service blueprints, scripting, etc., their meaning and application in a broader context. • Different types of user involvement processes and methods, and their advantages and disadvantages. • The importance of, and possibilities for, integrating sustainability and CSR in innovation. • Organisation of the innovative organisation, its innovation networks and the role of the surroundings in innovation. • The importance of the good pitch, and its characteristics. • Possibilities and barriers to funding and profiting from innovations.

Selected journal articles and book chapters, which will be indicated on Moodle.

Teaching, including presentations, dialogue, small exercises and group work (40 hours)

Class preparation, consisting of literature reading and preparation for activities related to the innovation process (140 hours)

Activities related to the innovation process, including for example user involvement and pitch preparation (30 hours)

Examination, including completion of portfolio and preparation for the oral examination (60 hours)

Total: 270 hours

This study activity is not part of ISE's evaluation rotation this semester, so it is not evaluated by the ISE Admin (by questionnaire).

Students will receive feedback and advice about their innovations, innovation processes and applications of the course material throughout the course.

The course consists of 10 lectures of 4 hours each. Lectures include a mix of presentations, guest lectures by professionals and group work.

Preliminary programme prone to small changes: Course session 1: Introduction to the concept of innovation, innovation processes and management of innovation processes Course session 2: Creativity and idea generation Course session 3: Innovation processes and the organisation of innovation processes Course session 4: Business Model Innovation Course session 5: Prototypes, service blueprints, scripting, etc. Course session 6: User involvement Course session 7: Perspectives on CSR and innovation Course session 8: The innovative organisation and its environment Course session 9: Possibilities and barriers to funding and profiting from innovations Course 10: Pitch

• Via the course, students gain knowledge and insight into recent theories and empirical academic knowledge on innovation and complex innovation processes. The students acquire insight into how innovation processes are organised and managed, and how they involve various internal and external actors, including employees, users and other companies. In addition, students gain knowledge of how innovation forms part of a broader societal and systemic context. Students acquire skills in leading, organising, working with, analysing and reflecting on innovation processes. The students thereby gain insights that will enable them to lead complex innovation processes in and between companies and organisations.

Individual oral exam based on group product.

Permitted group size: 2-6 students.

The character limit of the written product is maximum 24,000 characters, including spaces.
The character limits include the cover, table of contents, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude any appendices.

Time allowed for the exam including time used for assessment: 20 minutes.

The students are examined separately.

The assessment is an overall assessment of the written product(s) and the subsequent oral examination..

Permitted support and preparation materials for the oral exam: All.

Assessment: 7-point grading scale.
Moderation: Internal co-assessor.

Samme som ordinær eksamen / same form as ordinary exam

The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) may be used as a tool in the students innovation process, just like other tools, for example for idea generation or prototyping. Where and when GAI is used, it must be clearly mentioned and referred to in the written product. Using artificial intelligence during the innovation process without stating this clearly in the written product will be considered plagiarism similar to other forms of plagiarism.

RUC’s guidelines on using GAI in written assignments for exams

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theories and empirical evidence presented regarding innovation and innovation processes.

Explain and reflect on how innovation processes are organised and managed, and how they involve different internal and external actors, including employees, users and other companies.

Explain and reflect on how innovation forms part of a wider societal and systemic context.

Theorise, analyse and reflect on an innovation process carried out by the students themselves during the course, together with its structure and individual activities.

In this exam, the use of generative AI (GenAI) tools is allowed as per the university's guidelines for the use of AI. Specifically, the following points must be observed: • When using GenAI tools, you must include a description of the purpose of using GenAI and which GenAI are used and how they have used. The description is assessed the same way as other methodology sections regarding the use of relevant literature, course’s general learning objectives, and assessment criteria. • Text copied from GenAI chats must be quoted the same way as citations from other texts. The citations and your demonstrated ability to interpret, evaluate and critically assess them is part of the overall assessment of the exam. Please consider including the prompt in a footnote to the citation if you find it relevant to demonstrate your description and analysis of the subject matter. • Ordinary spell checking and other language suggestions as known from Word or other word processing programs are allowed without declaration.