Overview

The tremendous technological and market dynamics of our times require firms to develop smart strategies for their businesses and technologies. There are various examples of how strategic decisions and innovation activities make firms flourish on (e.g., Apple) or disappear from (e.g., Kodak) the market. Moreover, knowledge about strategy and innovation is not only critical for top managers, it is also crucial at lower levels of the hierarchy, e.g. for middle and lower managers, project managers, consultants, new business developers, and many others. This theory-led and practice-oriented module equips you with essential knowledge in the areas of strategic management and innovation management. It is a primer on these topics that provides a broad overview on the field.

Lecture schedule

Strategic management
(1) Introduction (Week 17)
(2) Strategic analysis (Week 18)
(3) Business strategy (Week 19)
(4) Corporate strategy (Week 20)
(5) Strategy implementation (Week 21)
(6) Strategic leadership (Week 22)
(7) Internationalization, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility (Week 23)

Innovation management
(8) Introduction (Week 24)
(9) Sources of technology and innovation (Week 25)
(10) Developing new products and services (Week 26)
(11) Introducing new products and services (Week 27)
(12) Technology and innovation strategy (Week 28)
(13) Open innovation (Week 29)
(14) Wrap-up and Q&A (Week 30)

The module will follow an inverted classroom approach, where lecture videos are provided in advance (i.e., by Monday 10:00 am of the respective week) and students reflect on, critically discuss, and apply lecture contents in the workshops (‘exercises’).

Educational aims

• Understand the role of strategic and innovation management
• Understand theoretical concepts related to strategic and innovation management
• Critically appraise alternative approaches to strategic and innovation management
• Evaluate the boundaries and risks of strategic and innovation management

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module you will be able to:

• Create and evaluate concepts related to strategic and innovation management
• Assess the role of strategic and innovation management for creating and sustaining competitive advantage
• Make judgements about the organizational and managerial implications of strategic and innovation management
• Systematically choose between different routes of action

Registration and WueCampus
No registration is needed to take the module. However, make sure to enroll into WueCampus by end of the last lecture week. No further enrolments will be possible beyond that date and we will not manually enroll any students missing the registration deadline. The registration will remain valid for two terms. Course materials are strictly restricted to students who attend this module and are registered in WueCampus. They are not to be uploaded or shared with others in any other way.

Language
The default language of the module is English. Students can choose to answer exam questions in German or English language.

Attendance
Attending lectures and workshops is optional and we do not monitor attendance in any form. However, it is important to note that the pedagogic approach of this module requires attendance and I design exams based on the assumption that students have attended both lectures and workshops. Only then can you benefit from the full learning experience.

This course awards 5 ECTS in the modul „Trendanalyse“.

Registration for the lecture

JMU-Students

THWS- and THAB-students can easily register by emailing zentria@uni-wuerzburg.de.

Registration for the tutorial

JMU-Students

THWS- and THAB-students can easily register by emailing zentria@uni-wuerzburg.de.