Managing innovation: emerging trends

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

This course is intended for students who want to know what is going on at the leading edges of innovation practice. Important trends in innovation are identified and their implications for innovation management explored. Major topics include: the trend to open information ("open source") rather than protected intellectual property; distribution of innovation over many independent but collaborating actors; and toolkits that empower users to innovate for themselves.

All assigned readings are available in the course reader. The main text for the class is:

von Hippel, Eric. Democratizing Innovation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 0262002744.

Note that it is available free in electronic format from the MIT Press Web site, for reproduction for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution.

Your course grade will be determined primarily on the basis of the quality of two 7-page papers (1.5 line spacing, please). Both papers are due on the last day of class. Detailed suggestions will be made to you with respect to desirable paper content and methods as the term progresses. You are, of course, expected to prepare for classes by doing the assigned readings, and the quality of your class participation will be used as a supplementary input to the grading process.

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