İZMİR EKONOMİ ÜNİVERSİTESİ
BA 565 – INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY
Spring 2013/2014
Lecturer, Dr. Selen Ünlüoğlu
e-mail: selen.unluoglu@ieu.edu.tr
web: sunluoglu.weebly.com
Office: C 822
Phone: 488 8552
Office Hours: Tuesday, 17.30-18.20 (or by appointment)
INTRODUCTION
This course examines the theory and practice of promoting innovation in start-ups and
existing firms. It is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of how innovative
activities of a firm are managed by developing students’ understanding of how firms use
innovation and creativity in order to position themselves strategically on the competitive
landscape. The course begins with an overall understanding and focuses on key concepts,
models, and methods. Students have the opportunity to explore the way in which many
innovations involve crossing boundaries; why some innovations fail; how entrepreneurs
innovate to survive and the extent to which innovation is a collaborative activity.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The goal is to develop an understanding of innovation processes. The course aims to link
theory and practice and thus enabling students to discuss and apply on theories and models
of innovation in order to value the applicability and practicality of the concepts introduced
during the course is a major objective.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the course students should be able to:
(1) To assess the importance of innovation to individual businesses, the wider economy
and society.
(2) To assess the range, scope, and complexity of the phenomena, issues, and problems
related to technology innovation management
(3) To identify, critically analyse and discuss the possible connections and synergies
between the different theories, models, and concepts
(4) To set contemporary innovation experience against academic theory
(5) To apply critical thinking skills to a variety of different situations
TEXTBOOK
There is no textbook for this course. You are assigned some articles aiming to introduce a
broad spectrum of contemporary perspectives on the complex nature of creativity and
innovative behavior -- from theoretical and conceptual to practical and applied. These articles
can easily be reached via web. If you any problems feel free to e-mail me.
COURSEWORK AND ASSESSMENT
5%
10%
15%
20%
20%
30%
Class Participation
Case Analysis Assignments (2 x 5% each = 10%)
Creative Problem Solving Assessment
Midterm Exam
Innovation Search (group work to submitted every week for 10 weeks x 2%)
Final Project (to be done individually or as part of a group, please see below)
– Final report 15%
– Presentation 15%
Class Participation (5%)
Class attendance is mandatory. However, mere attendance is not sufficient. This course
requires active participation. Students must actively participate in case study and related
discussions, whether as individuals, designated speakers, or members of project teams.
Thus, timely preparation of readings and case analyses is required. The quality and level of
preparedness of each student’s contributions matters as much as the number of times a
student volunteers in class.
Written Case Analysis Assignments (10%)
Written analyses of the two assigned cases must be submitted before their discussion in
class. Please observe the due dates in the schedule. Each student should keep a copy of
these written case analyses to aid in the class discussion.
Creative Problem-Solving Assessment (15%)
Each student will choose a nagging workplace problem that has been difficult for them to
"solve." Using at least two different creativity techniques from the class, you are to revisit the
problem utilizing these new tools and perspectives. What insights have you gained into the
nature of the problem and any possible "solutions" to the problem? This written analysis
should describe the problem or situation in detail, describe the use of different creativity
techniques and their outcomes, and finally should describe any possible "solutions"
generated. In closing, the paper should summarize the use of the techniques chosen and
review what was learned from this exercise.
Innovation Search Assignment (20%)
What is Innovation Search?
Innovation search which is a group assignment and has several aims:
 To stay abreast of innovation trends in the serious business press worldwide.
 To identify and analyse emerging trends in innovation.
 To develop your ability to search for information online and interpret it.
 To confront theory with practice.
What to do each week
 Each student should search and select an article on innovation appearing in the
serious business during the week. The innovation trend chosen has to have emerged
in the press no earlier than the beginning of the course, 24th February 2014.
NOTE!!! You should use the serious business press such as: Financial Times, The
Economist, The Times, The Guardian, Technology Review, New Scientist, BBC
Technology, http://www.innovationwatch.com (these are just suggestions you are
encouraged to search more widely)
 As part of your lecture preparation each week you should compare articles with group
members and each group should choose 1 article for further discussion. Then the
following information must be summarised in the form of a report no longer than 1page and this short report should be submitted at least 24 hours before the lecture.
o Companies involved
o Technologies involved
o What kind of innovation is this?
o Why it is interesting?
o What are the benefits of this innovation and who is the user?
 You will brief the class about the innovation that you have found at the beginning of
the lecture every week. A different student from each group should be responsible for
leading the innovation search discussion in the workshops each week.
Final Group Project: Innovation Analysis (25%)
You have two options for the final project. You can choose wither one according to your
interests and availability.
Group Project: Innovate!
The purpose of this group project is to develop your ability to identify and evaluate innovation
opportunities. I hope you will gain insights on how innovations can be managed in a real life
example by considering theoretical tools taught at course. Each group will consist of 3-4
students.
Each team will be responsible for identifying an attractive market space for an innovative
idea (business model, service, product, or whatever; you are free to choose). Each team will
then perform a rigorous analysis of market dynamics and value propositions to propose a
novel business idea in this space.
You will decide whether they would like to propose their innovation as an internal initiative for
an existing market firm or if their proposal will be positioned as new venture for entry into the
market space as an entrepreneurial start-up. If the proposal focuses on an internal initiative,
the proposing team must clearly identify the specific firm they are targeting for this
innovation, and the proposal will be made if they are employees in this organization
presenting the proposal to the top management (or board of directors). If the proposal
focuses on a new entrant strategy, the proposal will focus on gaining support of venture
capitalists (or similar) for their proposal.
The net result of this work will be reflected in two deliverables in class. One will be a final
project proposal, laying out the idea and support for the proposal. The second will be an inclass presentation of the idea. The submission deadline for the final report is 25th May
2014 by midnight. You will present the outcomes of your project based on the final report
that you have submitted to the class during the last lecture on 27th May 2014, Tuesday.
Individual Project: Innovation Analysis
If you choose to work on your own for your final project, you should select one innovation
search assignment out of your innovation postings and write a 2000 words (5-6 pages)
analysis on the chosen innovation trend. The submission deadline for the final report is
25th May 2014 by midnight. You will present the outcomes of your project based on the final
report that you have submitted to the class during the last lecture on 27th May 2014,
Tuesday.
In your analysis:
- Identify all relevant longer term trends surrounding the innovation: this could include
technology, society, business, economic, political, environmental
- Demonstrate appreciation of context – which contextual factors might have triggered the
search and launch of this innovation.
- Demonstrate an understanding of theory of innovation introduced throughout the course
and link it to your chosen article
- Demonstrate an understanding of implications for business and/or potential related
innovations, other potential uses/applications. How you interpret this depends on the
article you choose.
- Assess the future you foresee for your chosen organization or entrepreneur based on this
innovation. Your forecast should also contain the data and rationale that led you to reach
this conclusion.
!!! Don’t forget in-text citations when you relate the innovation search to innovation theory
and include a full set of references including academic articles and any URLs for web
materials. Work that is not cited properly it constitutes PLAGIARISM and in extreme cases
zero will be recorded.
What gets credit?
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
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Wide ranging analysis
Ability to draw out implications for wider business environment
Application of theory
Well illustrated web pages with imaginative use of images etc
Original and unusual interpretation
What will be penalised?
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

Wholesale copying and pasting materials from the internet or from course materials. The idea of
this piece of work is to analyse using your own words and to demonstrate originality in
interpretation of articles and in the application of theory.
Discussion of the innovation but no attempt to link to the theories used on the course
Description without analysis
DETAILED CLASS SCHEDULE
Week 1 (25th February) – Helping you Get Started: introduction to the course
Week 2 (4th March) – What is Innovation?

Birkinshaw, J., Cyril B., and Barsoux, J. L. (2011). The 5 myths of innovation. MIT
Sloan Management Review, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 43-50.
Week 3 (11th March) – Where does Innovation Come from?


Start submitting weekly Innovation Searches
Drucker, P. F. (2002). The Discipline of Innovation. Harvard Business Review,
Special Issue, pp. 5-10.
Arthur, B. W. (2007). The Structure of Invention. Research Policy, Vol. 36, No.2, pp.
274-284.
Week 4 (18th March) – Patterns and Cycles of Innovation
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Utterback, J. M. (1996). Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation. Cambridge: Harvard
Business School Press, pp. 23-55.
Anderson, P. and Tushman, M. L., (1990). Technological Discontinuities and
Dominant Designs: a cyclical model of technological change. Administrative Science
Quarterly, Vol. 35, No.4, pp. 604-633.
Cooper, A. C. and Smith C.G. (1992). How Established Firms Respond to
Threatening Technologies. Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp.
55-70.
Week 5 (25th March) – Innovation Processes
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Cooper, R. G. (2008). Perspective: The StageGate® Idea-to-Launch Process:
Update, What's New, and NexGen Systems. Journal of Product Innovation
Management, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 213-232.
Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 86, No., pp. 8492.
Day, G. S. (2007). “Is it real? Can we win? Is it worth doing?: managing risk and
reward in an innovation portfolio”. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 85, No. 12, pp.
110-120.
Week 6 (1st April) – Service Innovation
Case Analysis Assignment: details to be announced by the lecturer.
Week 7 (8th April) – MIDTERM
Week 8 (15th April) – Creativity: a review of perspectives

Sutton, R. I. (2001). “The Weird Rules of Creativity”. Harvard Business Review, Vol.
79, No. 8, pp. 94-103.
Week 9 (22nd April) – Creating new markets and avoiding competition


Kim, W.C. and Mauborgne, R. (2005). “Blue Ocean Strategy: from theory to practice”.
California Management Review, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp 105-121.
Suarez, F. and Lanzolla, G. (2005). “The Half-truth of First-mover Advantage”.
Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83, No. 4, pp. 121-127.
Week 10 (29th April) – Creative Thinking Workshop

Sutton, R. I. (2001). “The Weird Rules of Creativity”. Harvard Business Review, Vol.
79, No. 8, pp. 94-103.
Week 11 (6th May) – Collaborative Innovation: Firm Networks and User Innovation
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Chesbrough, H. (2006). “Open Innovation: a new paradigm for understanding
industrial Innovation” in Chesbrough, Vanhaverbeke and West (eds.), Open
Innovation: Researching a New Paradigm, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1-14.
Porter, M. E. (1998). Clusters and the New Economics of Competition. Harvard
Business Review, Vol. 76, No. 6, pp. 77-90.
Thomke, S. H. and von Hippel, E. (2002). “Customers as Innovators: a new way to
create value”. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 80, No. 4, pp. 74-81.
Week 12 (13th May) – Organizing for Innovation: building the innovative organization
Case Analysis Assignment: details to be announced by the lecturer.
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Catmull, E. (2008). “How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity”, Harvard Business
Review, Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 64-72.
Evans, H. (2005). “The Eureka Myth”. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83, No. 6, pp.
18-20.
Hargadon, A. and Sutton, R. I. (2000). “Building an Innovation Factory”. Harvard
Business Review, Vol. 78, No. 3, pp. 157-167
Kanter, R. M. (2006). “Innovation: the classic traps”. Harvard Business Review, Vol.
84, No. 11, pp. 72-83
Week 13 (20th May) – PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
Week 14 (27th May) – PROJECT PRESENTATIONS