STR460 Managing Change and Innovation

• Topics

  It is often stated that making strategic decisions around change and innovation is the easy part, implementing them is the hard part. In this course we draw on cases and research to discuss how to implement strategies that require radical change and innovation in established firms. This includes strategies aiming for renewal, innovation, restructuring, offshoring/outsourcing and other radical changes. Students gain hands-on experience through case discussions of various aspects of planning and managing the transformation/innovation process. Themes include: setting up structures and processes that enable change and innovation, understanding reactions to change and innovation, mobilizing support, managing stakeholders, orchestrating external partnerships, handling unforeseen events, and developing capacity for radical change and innovation. 

• Learning outcome

  Knowledge - upon successful completion the student

  • can demonstrate knowledge and understanding of central themes within strategic change and innovation
  • can demonstrate an  understanding of research-based knowledge on strategic change and innovation processes
  • has a critical and reflective approach to understanding transition processes at group and organizational level
  • can demonstrate a reflective approach to real-life strategic change and innovation processes

  Skills - upon successful completion the student can

  • apply research-based models and theories to analyse strategic change and innovation processes
  • reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of their own analysis
  • organize and plan strategic change and innovation in an organization
  • make research-based suggestions on how to manage strategic change and innovation

  General competencies

  • can understand and communicate various different approaches to strategic change and innovation
  • can understand and communicate various different reactions to strategic change and innovation
  • can understand path dependencies and process dynamics
  • can engage in a meaningful and reflective dialogue with industry/practitioners on strategic change

• Teaching

  Classes consist of case discussions and role play combined with video-based lectures that will be prepared before or after class. Students are expected to contribute and participate in discussions and exercises.

  The class can be moved to an online format (e.g. zoom) should this be necessary.

• Recommended prerequisites

  Students will benefit from having an introductory strategy course with knowledge of strategic analyses and strategic choices.

• Requirements for course approval

  The pedagogical approach requires active student participation. Minimum 80% class attendance is therefore required for course approval. 

  All students must hand in one case analysis (individual work) for course approval.

• Assessment

  Case-based individual home exam, eight hours, between 08:00 and 16:00 on the exam day. Maximum 10 pages.

• Grading Scale

  A-F

• Literature

  List of articles and cases will be distributed electronically prior to course start.

  Recommended background reading: 

  Balogun, J. Hope Hailey, V. and Gustafsson, S. 2016. Exploring Strategic Change. 4th ed. Pearson