HISTORY OF INNOVATION

In accordance with the learning objectives of the Degree in Innovation and Marketing, the course intends to provide an overview of most important critical approaches to the history of innovation and entrepreneurship.
During weeks 1 and 2, the teacher will provide students with key theoretical instruments to study innovation and technology borrowed by sociology of technology and economic theory.
In the following weeks, the course will focus on specific technical and organizational innovations and case studies. These will be used by both teacher and students to shed light on and discuss the complexity of innovation processes and their social determinants.

1) Students will develop an understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship as complex phenomena resulting from interactions between groups of people and institutions (entrepreneurs, experts, managers, consumers, firms, governments).
2) Students will obtain a basic understanding of the methods and contents of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and of the Social Construction of Techology (Scot) and their implication for historical analysis
3) Students will become aware of the main historical debates on innovation and entrepreneurship
4) Students will become familiar with the most important trends and innovations in the history of technology and organizations.

Good- Excellent English skills

Week 1. Course Introduction: what is innovation? How does technology work? Concepts from sociology and history of technology
1/15 Introduction
2/15 Innovation: A few things I (need to) know about it
Jan Fagerberg, Innovation. A Guide to the Literature, in Oxford Handbook of Innovation, 1-23.
3/15 Why an historical approach?
Christine Bruland, David Mowery, Innovation through time, Oxford Handbook of Innovation, 349- 379.
Week 2. How does innovation come about? Actors, processes, systems
4/15 Innovation in the making. How does innovation occur? When is a firm innovative?
Bill Lazonick, The innovative firm, Oxford Handbook of Innovation, 29-56
5/15 The Innovation Process: which challenges has to face a firm to be innovative?
Keith Pavitt, Process of Innovation, Oxford Handbook of innovation,
6/15 The systematic nature of innovation
Charles Edsquit, Systems of Innovation. Perspectives and challenges, Oxford Handbook of Innovation

Week 3. Inside the Black Box (and beyond economics). The Social Construction of Technology
7/15 Towards a theory of sociotechnical change
W. Bijker, The King of the Road, the Social Construction of the Safety Bike, pp. 19-100
8/15 Large Technological systems
T. Hughes, The Evolution of Large Technological Systems, pp. 51-82
9/15 The role of consumers
R. Schwartz Cowan, The Consumption Junction: A proposal for research strategies in the Sociology of Technology, pp. 261- 281
Week 4. Innovation in the history of different industries. Ceramics, cars, computers
10/15 N. Koehn, Josiah Wedgwood an the First Industrial Revoluton in T. McCraw, Creating Modern Capitalism, 17-49
11/15 T. McCraw, Ford and Sloan in T. McCraw, Creating Modern Capitalism, 264-301
12/15 IBM, in T. McCraw, Creating Modern Capitalism, 349-396
Week 5. Towards a theory for sustainable innovation: the new is the new old!
13/15 Towards a new theory of innovation
W. Bijker, A. Mamidipudi, Innovation in Indian Handloom Weaving, T&C, vol. 59, 3 (1918)
14/15 Transition and Innovation
15/15 Conclusion

Relevant articles and chapters will be made available to students on Moodle platform

Bijker W, Thomas P. Hughes, Trevor Pinch, The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology, MIT Press, 2012 (new edition).
Fagerberg J., D. Mowery and R. Nelson (eds) Oxford Handbook of Innovation, OUP, 2005.
T. McCraw, Creating Modern Capitalism. How Entrepreneurs, Companies and Countries Triumphed in Three Industrial Revolutions, Harvard University Press, 2003.

Written exam
One question, two hours
Students' presentation of case studies (1-2 points)
HISTORY OF INNOVATION

EXAM (2021-2022)

This program is valid for both attending and non-attending students

Written exam

Two questions (2 HOURS)
• one on the 4 compulsory readings,
• one on the 2 readings free choice (among the ones of the list B)
Both questions need to be answered to pass the exam
Answers to the questions must be based on the exam’s literature

Students are required to prepare the four following READINGS

LIST A: COMPULSORY READINGS

1. Jan Fagerberg, Innovation. A Guide to the Literature, in Oxford Handbook of Innovation, 1-23.
2. Charles Edsquit, Systems of Innovation. Perspectives and challenges, Oxford Handbook of Innovation, pp 181-209
3. Wiebe Bijker, The King of the Road, the Social Construction of the Safety Bike, in The Social Construction of Technological Systems, pp. 19-100
4. C. Bruland, David Mowery, Innovation through time, Oxford Handbook of Innovation, 349- 379
Plus 2 readings at their choice among the following:

LIST B. FREE CHOICE

1. Bill Lazonick, The innovative firm, Oxford Handbook of Innovation, 29-56
2. R. Schwartz Cowan, The Consumption Junction: A proposal for research strategies
3. Holt, Popp, Josiah Wedgwood, Manufacturing and Craft
4. T. McCraw, Ford and Sloan in T. McCraw, Creating Modern Capitalism, 264-301
5. Seven Eleven in Japan and US
6. Rowena Olegario, IBM, in T. McCraw, Creating Modern Capitalism, 349-396
7. W. Bijker, A. Mamidipudi, Innovation in Indian Handloom Weaving, T&C, vol. 59, 3 (2018)

Frontal lessons\ presentations and discussion by the students
Questions forum on Moodle

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Circular economy, innovation, work" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development