The main objective of the course is to present and deepen innovation theories and models, with particular attention to digital technologies (products, services, processes). On the one hand, therefore, the course explores the main economic theories of innovation and information; on the other hand, it provides concrete tools for understanding through exercises and business cases.
Course Prerequisites
The course does not include specific or particular prerequisites, however, basic knowledge of economics (business planning) and digital marketing will be useful.
Teaching Methods
Lectures, planning exercises, interactive analysis with debate on business cases and papers.
Assessment Methods
Written exam.
Texts
Original course pack, slides, academic papers.
Contents
The course seeks to read innovation as both an economic phenomenon and a business practice, from classical theory through to the digital economy of platforms. It is not enough for an idea to be born: it must be introduced into the economic system and transform its structures.
We begin with the economic theories of innovation, centered on the Schumpeterian reading (the entrepreneur as agent of change, the productive "new combinations", and creative destruction as a motor internal to capitalism), and then move on to themes ranging from the replacement effect to Arrow's learning by doing, and from the role of information to informational asymmetries (Akerlof, Spence, Stiglitz) — essential for understanding trust, signaling, and how markets function.
From here the course follows the evolution of the technological product through to digital innovation (the cost structure of information goods, network effects and lock-in mechanisms, exponential growth, and innovation as a shift of techno-economic paradigm).
At the level of the firm, we address the role of innovation in business processes and the transition from innovation-thinking practices to so-called digital transformation, with particular attention to Christensen's theories.
Part of the course is also devoted to how a digital product is built and governed: business models and value chains, the logic of platforms and two-sided markets, product iteration and metrics, unit economics, through to lean and agile approaches and an introduction to business planning.
Some of the business cases covered: Kodak, Lego, Amazon, Facebook/Meta and Alphabet/Google, Netflix, Spotify, et alia.
