STRATEGY, INNOVATION AND IMPACT-1

The course of "Strategies, Innovation, and Impact" is a characterizing course of the curriculum of "Business administration". The main goal of the first part of the course is to provide an advanced understanding of innovation dynamics, and in particular of those managerial aspects related to the involved organizational processes.
The course analyzes how business organizations develop their knowledge and resource base in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The course provides students with analytical tools to understand and identify the mechanisms that explain why persistent differences in economic performance between industries, and even between firms within the same industry, are generally observed. The course focuses on the strategic organization of innovation in explaining firms’ performance differentials.

The expected learning outcomes for the first part of the course are:
1. Knowledge and understanding. Students are expected to acquire knowledge of the fundamental concepts of innovation management and to understand how the underlying mechanisms of firms' strategic choices related to innovation policies development.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding. Students will develop their capability to apply concepts and theoretical models proposed during the course to specific examples, often based on in-depth case studies, and to reason critically on the assumptions underlying such concepts and the limits of their applicability.
3. Judgmental capabilities. Students will learn to compare critically alternative explanations of phenomena related to managerial and strategic aspects of innovation, and to develop their own analysis and suggest solutions in case studies.
4. Communication abilities. Students will learn to communicate with groups through in-class groupwork opportunities and to discuss their ideas with a broader audience in the classroom.
5. Learning abilities. The course will enhance the ability of students to make a critical use of the textbook and on theoretical models it presents, to look into integrative readings and empirical examples, and to integrate different forms of learning, in particular integrating text-based learning with case studies discussion.

No prerequisites are required.

The contents for the first part of the course are:
1. Intoduction to the course: competitiveness and innovation
2. The dynamics of technological innovation and diffusion
3. Analysis of a firm’s technology and innovation strategy
4. The creation and capture of value and the formulation of a technological innovation strategy
5. The operational implementation of a technological innovation strategy

The book for the first part of the course is:

Melissa A. Shilling and Francesco Izzo, Gestione dell’innovazione, V edizione, 2022, Mc Graw-Hill

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

The exam consists of two written tests, one related to the first part and one related to the second part of the course, which will be held simultaneously on a single exam date. Each test will be evaluated with 15 points (the sum of the two tests will result in the final score out of thirty). To pass the exam, it is necessary to achieve a score of at least 9/15 in both tests.
For the first part, the exam will be written, with one open question and thirteen multiple choices, to be completed in 20 mins. Questions will ascertain the knowledge of concepts and models presented in the course, the capability to apply it to examples, and the critical understanding of such concepts. The open question scores maximum 4 points. A student scores +2 points for every correct answer and gets a penalty of -0.5 for every wrong answer. Attending students will get extra-points on the final grade if participating in all learning activities during the course: the average of the evaluations from the activities in the first and second parts of the course will be awarded as extra marks to the final exam, up to a maximum of +2 points.

Regarding the grading scale (method by which grades will be assigned), regardless of attendance mode:
A. Scores in the range of 18-22 will be assigned based on:
- Sufficient knowledge and understanding applied in reference to the course curriculum;
- Limited ability to apply knowledge by forming independent judgments;
- Adequate communication skills, especially concerning the use of specific language related to the strategy and innovation areas;
B. Scores in the range of 23-26 will be assigned based on:
- Fair knowledge and understanding applied about the course curriculum;
- Fair ability to apply knowledge by forming independent judgments;
- Fair communication skills, especially concerning the use of specific language related to the strategy and innovation areas;
C. Scores in the range of 27-30 will be assigned based on:
- Good or excellent knowledge and understanding applied about the course curriculum;
- Good or excellent ability to apply knowledge by forming independent judgments;
- Fully appropriate communication skills, especially concerning the use of specific language related to the strategy and innovation areas;
D. Distinction will be awarded based on excellent knowledge and understanding applied to the curriculum, exceptional judgment, and communication skills.

The first part of the course will be based on classroom teaching, with all material used during classes made available to attending students through the moodle platform.
During classroom hours there will be practical activities used to apply theoretical concepts presented during the week's classes to empirical cases. During the course there will be the opportunity to attend firms presentations, held by managers of firms particularly exposed to innovation dynamics.
Additional readings and materials will be available to attending students on the course moodle page.

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COVID-19 EMERGENCY
During possible Covid-19 emergency periods, there could be some changes in teaching and exam modalities for the sake of students' safety.


Exam registration

Only registered students will be allowed to take the exam. Any registration problems must be solved with the Campus Economico before the registration deadline.


Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion
Accommodation and support services for students with disabilities and students with specific learning impairments

Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with
mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it

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This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development