MG104: Innovation Management

To stay relevant in today’s dynamic marketplace, companies must continually seek ways to generate new ideas and innovate in order to remain competitive.

Whether it is the fortune 500 companies that have used innovation to transform their businesses (e.g. Proctor and Gamble and Apple) or even start-ups (such as Istockphoto); innovation is disrupting markets and altering the nature of industries.

According to Innosight’s corporate longevity forecast, half of the S&P 500 is forecasted to be replaced in the next ten years unless they continue to innovate, making it a top priority for executives. The Accenture 2015 Innovation survey concurs stating that 84% of executives consider that their future success depends on innovation. This makes being able to understand and manage innovation a critical skill in every business moving forward.

Based on recent leading-edge research, this course will give you the concepts, theories, insights, and tools necessary to inspire and empower you to better manage innovation, in some ways helping you to pre-empt the high failure rates associated with innovation in the real world. Particular emphasis will be placed on more contemporary forms of innovation such as open innovation.

Interactive case studies and innovation exercises form an integral part of the course as innovation cannot simply be taught but must be experienced. The course also integrates and deepens your knowledge, insights and skills through a group project that requires you to innovate a solution to a challenging social problem using tools taught to you in class.

Students who receive an offer for this course are also eligible to apply for the Academic Director's Scholarship.

Prerequisites: This is not a technical course, so it does not require knowledge of coding or complex technologies. It is a course that utilises business and innovation insights via a group project focused on solving a problem / leveraging an opportunity using the frameworks discussed in class.

Level: 100 level. Read more information on levels in our FAQs

Fees: Please see Fees and payments

Lectures: 36 hours

Classes: 18 hours

Assessment: 30% group project presentation and 70% final exam

Typical credit: 3-4 credits (US) 7.5 ECTS points (EU)

Please note: Assessment is optional but may be required for credit by your home institution. Your home institution will be able to advise how you can meet their credit requirements. For more information on exams and credit, read Teaching and assessment

This course is suited to future managers and executives, who want to better understand the key facets of managing innovation, explore the latest best practice and gain first-hand experience applying key principles of social business development.

By the end of this course, you will be able to master the fundamentals of innovation management. You will:

• Have a clear understanding of the various types of innovation, differentiating between the distinctive types
• Be able to identify and predict sources of challenges associated with implementing innovation
• Understand how large companies address innovation challenges
• Be able to utilise design thinking and lean design to problem solve and generate innovation
• Know how to innovate business models in order to commercialise your idea/ solution

The design of this course is guided by LSE faculty, as well as industry experts, who will share their experience and in-depth knowledge with you throughout the course.