Innovating is no longer a choice, but a business imperative. This imperative demands a clear strategic direction for the innovation activities. This week will introduce the central challenges and available solutions to develop and execute an innovation strategy. In addition, you will study the typologies and evolution of change in the business environment, and discuss tools that can help you make sense of your business environments. An important element in this module is that the change does not always occur independent of the firms, but firms are both subjects and agents of change. In particular, you will discuss how firms can shape their environment through disruptive innovations.

This week’s module is about portfolio management, which covers how to implement your innovation strategy. We introduce the concept of the funnel. We show two alternative funnels, reactive and proactive, and we explain the differences. You will explore three practical examples of the proactive process: Ericsson, Lego and Philips. Next, we will elaborate on an important consideration in portfolio management, which is protecting intellectual property. Finally, you will learn two specific tools that you can use in portfolio management. The first is a financial tool, the real options method, and the second one is the planning tool called ‘roadmapping’.

By studying the materials of this week and doing the associated exercise you will learn how innovation projects can be managed. You will understand and describe the different elements of stage-gate models. Also, you will familiarise yourself with the concepts of experimentation and enlightened experimentation within the context of innovation project management. As a result, you will be equipped with an understanding of the peculiarities of innovation projects, and how companies deal with these peculiarities.

How do teams and social networks affect the development and the sharing of knowledge and innovation? The module will consist of four videos that will help you develop conceptual and practical knowledge on these topics. After a brief introduction of what teams and social networks are – and of what they are not – you will learn how these every-day concepts relate to innovation in organisations. You will explore key concepts about teams and networks, and become more aware of how you can generate and transmit innovation in your work activity.