BSc Management

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme.

The Manchester Bursary is available to UK students registered on an undergraduate degree course at Alliance MBS who have had a full financial assessment carried out by Student Finance England. 

In addition, Alliance MBS will award a range of Social Responsibility Scholarships to UK and international/EU students.

These awards are worth £2,000 per year across three years of study. You must achieve AAA at A-level (or equivalent qualification) and be able to demonstrate a significant contribution and commitment to social responsibility.

The School will also award a number of International Stellar Scholarships to international students achieving AAA at A-level (or equivalent qualification). Applicants who exceed AAA and/or have supplementary qualifications (such as EPQ) will receive additional consideration.

Additional eligibility criteria apply - please see our scholarship pages for full details.

Grounded in Schumpeterian, evolutionary and institutional economics (which unlike other forms of economics are based on mathematical modelling) this course examines the ways in which technologies and their associated products, markets and industries evolve through processes involving entrepreneurship, innovation, competition, imitation and diffusion. Emphasis is placed on why and how innovations are introduced, and the factors which influence their success or failure, including their diffusion among users and imitation by competitors. The topics covered will include: institutions (including intellectual property rights) and how these shape ‘the rules of the game’ in markets,  associated appropriation strategies and who ‘wins’ from innovation; entrepreneurship, including Kirznerian “discovery” and Schumpeterian “creativity”; how niche market technologies go mainstream; why incumbents are often slow to respond to technological threats (i.e., myopia and the ‘incumbents curse’), the importance of networks and platforms in the development of inter-connected markets; understanding the diffusion of technologies and associated products, including the role of social movements; and why innovation and market activities are geographically concentrated. This list of topics is not exhaustive but intended to give an overview of the content of the course.

Only available to students on: Mgt/Mgt Specialism; IMABS; IM; IBFE and ITMB.

Note that, while advantageous, prior knowledge of economics and economics-based perspectives such as strategy is not required.
 

Students undertaking the course will acquire an understanding of the forces and processes that shape industries and markets over time, including the role of product, service and process innovations in the evolution of industries and markets.

Through coursework, students will undertake a case study in which the development of an innovation and its associated market are examined by combining theoretical perspectives with empirical material. This will develop students’ understanding as to how innovations shape markets (and competition) as well as how markets (and competition) shape innovations.  Practical skills in report writing, searching for literature and evidence will also be enhanced.

Methods of Delivery
The course is delivered in a series of 10 lectures, each of 1.5 hours, accompanied by 10 weekly seminars (for small groups of up to 15-20 students).
Lecture hours:  10 lectures, 1.5 hour each
Seminar hours: 10 seminars, 1 hour each.
Private study:    75 hours

Total study hours: 100 hours

Informal Contact Methods
1. Office Hours and appointments by email arrangement
2. Specific questions can be asked during or after the lecture, in seminars or via email contact

Coursework report (100%)

Methods of Feedback to Students
- Written and/or verbal comments on proposed case study (formative assessment)- 
- Responses to questions raised by students in lectures and seminars. 
- Feedback comments on the assessed coursework

The course does not follow a textbook. Warde and Metcalfe’s (2003) book “Market relations and competitive process” (https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/35035) provides a flavour of the analytical perspectives applied while Paul Geroski’s (2003) “The Evolution of New Markets” (available on-line from JRULM) is also relevant. Specific readings will be identified to support learning on each of the topics covered. in the lectures and seminars.

Additional notes: Other teaching staff and guest lecturers may be included.
Pre-requisites: None
Co-requisites: None
Dependent courses: None
Programme Restrictions: Available to Management, Management (Specialisms), IM, IMABS, IBFE and ITMB

For Academic Year 2023/24

Updated: March 2023

Approved by: March UG Committee