Technology And Innovation Management

Overview

The history of technological innovation has been nothing short of remarkable, affecting our lives, the effectiveness of organisations, the profitability of industries, the well-being of societies, the prosperity of nations, and the environment. Understanding the processes that underpin innovation is therefore crucial, whether you are a user or producer of technological innovation. If you are involved in managing innovation processes, understanding the overall process of innovation and its variations is a core professional competence.

The Technology And Innovation Management module at The Open University UK   aims to develop your knowledge, understanding and skills; and open you to new ways of thinking about technology and innovation management (TIM) and applying your learning to your professional practice. TB801 will introduce you to innovation theories and practices and a broad range of related concepts and debates, supported by illustrative contemporary case studies and resources.

You’ll spend time exploring the innovation process and the importance of value creation as a fundamental feature of any innovation process – for example, commercial, social or environmental value. You’ll find that the module adopts a broad definition of technological innovation, addressing both innovation processes and different types and forms of innovation.

The module will begin by exploring innovation in terms of:

• types of product innovation (goods and services), process innovation (e.g. production, marketing, and organisational processes) and system innovation (particularly sociotechnical innovation)
• degrees of novelty in innovation, ranging from incremental improvements at one end to radical innovation at the other extreme
• levels of innovation, ranging from component level innovation to whole system-level innovation
• impacts of innovation, ranging from ‘sustaining’ innovation to ‘disruptive’ innovation.