MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship / Course details

Innovation provides the basis for corporate efficiency, profitability and national wealth. It can enhance our quality of life (living and working conditions, health and communications) and protect the environment. This course unit explores the nature, determinants and consequences of innovation for environmental sustainability. It focuses on the strategic challenges facing firms with respect to eco-innovation, and assesses how successful firms have overcome them. Drawing upon interdisciplinary theoretical approaches and empirical research, some of which has been undertaken at MIoIR, it explores the key issues that inform our understanding of eco-innovation, innovation for sustainable consumption, and sustainability transitions, and assesses the methods, tools and techniques firms use to embed sustainability into their innovation strategy.

BMAN70372 Programme Req: BMAN70372 is only available as an elective to students on MSc IME

The aim of the module is to explore the nature, determinants and consequences of sustainable innovation and to assesses the methods, tools and techniques firms use to embed environmental sustainability into their innovation strategy.

At the end of this course unit students should be able to:

Knowledge and understanding.

•           understand critically the challenges associated with environmental sustainability and (specifically) climate change for firm competitiveness;

•           appreciate the role of innovation in responding to these challenges

Intellectual skills.

•           appreciate different perspectives on environmental sustainability and sustainable innovation

•           apply a holistic and systemic approach to investigating complex, "messy" open-ended problems

•           apply the common approaches, frameworks and analytical techniques used in the assessment of sustainable innovation, which is often complex, multi-faceted and uncertain

Practical skills.

•           Apply and develop self-directed learning and information literacy skills.

Transferable skills and personal qualities.

•           acquire research, analysis and organisational skills through the enquiry based coursework including formulation, implementation and write-up of a substantive management report.

•           work both individually and collaboratively as a member of a team, contributing to the development of effective team dynamics and project management processes.

•           Demonstrate skills in communicating ideas and making arguments in writing and verbally.

 

 

 

100% coursework:

70% individual report

30% group presentation.

 

 

Informal advice and discussion during a lecture, seminar, workshop or lab.

Responses to student emails and questions from a member of staff including feedback provided to a group via an online discussion forum.

Written and/or verbal comments on assessed or non-assessed coursework.

Written and/or verbal comments after students have given a group or individual presentation.

You are not expected to have any specialist technological or sustainability knowledge. We will take time to introduce you to issues related to sustainability and some of the main technologies that firms need to get to grips with at the start of the 21^st century.

 

There is no core text for the lectures. All relevant readings will be posted on Blackboard or can be obtained through links via the annotated lecture slides. For those in need of a very quick and general introduction to sustainability, Chris Goodall’s (2012) Sustainability, published by Hodder, is useful. Helen Kopnina and John Blewitt’s (2018) Sustainable Business contains many helpful links to other more in-depth sources. The Handbook of Sustainable Innovation (2019), edited by Boons and McMeekin, captures up to date expert knowledge on different topics across the field of sustainable innovation, and will form the basis for several of our seminar sessions. A full list of readings to be presented and discussed during seminar sessions is available on Blackboard. Further supplementary readings can be obtained through links via the annotated lecture slides.

Informal Contact Method

Office Hours