Strategic Management of Disruptive Innovation & Exponential Technologies (2235.YR.009419.1)

General information

Type:	OPT	Curs:	1	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	3 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 1	Xavier Ferrás Hernández	Operaciones, Innovación y Data Sciences	ENG

Class attendance: 24 hours
Assignments & cases preparation (in group): about 20 hours
Readings: about 20 hours

The pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the recent international events have placed science and technology at the center of global society and the economy. The strategic rivalry between China and the US is opening a new cold war in a scenario of technological hyper-competition. Investments in R&D, at both the corporate and public levels, are reaching dimensions never seen before. The new globalization seems to be changing course: from a globalization driven by the outsourcing of low-cost activities to a globalization driven by the internalization and attraction of high-tech activities.

This subject is about the strategic management of technology. According to McKinsey, there is a set of approximately 12 exponential technologies which are rewriting the world's operating system. This course demonstrates how to strategically manage technology in organizations, especially how to manage disruptive technologies with exponential growth. It covers topics such as how these technologies are transforming the economy and society, how to develop them, how to create new business models from them, and how to introduce them into the market. The course expands the vision of the master's program, from a focus on fundamental technology (big data & artificial intelligence) to the complete set of technologies with exponential growth (Internet of Things, 3D printing, 5G, supercomputing, semiconductors, advanced robotics, renewable energies, driverless vehicles, or synthetic biology). It discusses how different businesses have succeeded or failed when dealing with these technologies and shows the theoretical models behind the dynamics of exponential technology in business.

- Analyze the impact of exponential technologies in the global economy:. See the global forces breaking all the trends. Know the new paradigm of "Economy of Abundance" versus the old "Economy of Scarcity". Have an strategic and business approach to the set of exponential technologies that are transforming the world: Internet of Things, 3D Printing, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Driverless Vehicles, Renewable Energy, Next-Generation Genomics, New Materials, Artificial Food...
- Analyze the new competitive contexts and the new rules of the corporate strategy in world of technological hypercompetition: principles of differentiation, lean organization and continuous strategic adaptation.
- See how to compete on resources: core competencies, capacity-push dynamics and the creation of new waves of competitive advantage based on technology.
- Understand the link between corporate strategy and innovation in high-tech environments. Study the dynamics of leading-edge industries, such as semiconductors
- Evaluate the critical role of technology in modern competition: how technology creates non-linear increases of productivity and superior barriers to the entrance of new competitors
- Understand the dynamics of technological innovation and its disruptive nature. S-curve model and strategic management of technology.
- See how new technological opportunities in low-end markets can beat superior products attacking from inferior positions ("attacks from below" or "torpedo attacks")
- Have an approach to the innovator's dilemma: how to solve the exploration-exploitation dilemma and how to allocate talent to new technological ventures
- Know how to take strategic decisions concerning on technology management. New technology development, introduction, exploitation and protection.
- Analyze the role of the ecosystem in technological innovation: See the different waves of innovation, from supply-chain ecosystems to open innovation.
- Understand the role of location in innovation and the keys for national competitiveness in a global world. Analyze global clusters of innovation (SiIlicon Valley, Israel, Finland, South Korea, Shenzhen...) and the forces behind them: attraction, anticipation, information, interaction and local rivalry.
- Understand the new model of high-tech globalization
- See particular cases of high-tech industries through business cases and guest speakers

1. Exponential Technologies: Impact in Business and Society According to McKinsey, there are a set of 12 exponential technologies that are transforming the world. Which are these technologies? How do they impact? We will make an overview on artificial intelligence, the internet of things, supercomputing, synthetic biology, driverless cars...

2. Towards a world driven by technological hypercompetition: Implications in strategy formulation How is the new economic context? How technology is changing the rules of competition? How can we do strategic planning in a world of technological disruption and R&D hypercompetition? How does this fact change the rules of competitive strategy?

3. Strategic Management of Technology: principles Today, competitive strategy is shifting from a market approach to a resource-based approach. Competing on technology is competing on resources. Which is the dynamics of technology, and how can we create value from exponential technologies? Why innovation and technology are "stuck" to some particular places? Here we will review the links between strategy, innovation, technology and territory.

4. The key role of technology in business competitiveness Technology is a key driver of innovation. Technology creates monopolies, "de facto" and "de iure". Which are the attributes that make technology so powerful to develop new competitive advantages?

5. Dynamics of technological change - Technology Disruption Technology follows a "S-shape" dynamics. How can we predict the future behaviour of technology? In which moment can we introduce a new technology in the market? How a company can shift its technological base? We will see the dynamics of the so-called "torpedo attacks", many times triggered by startups, that can destroy the basics of former, well consolidated, industries.

6. Attacks from below Technology follows disruptive laws. Managing disruption with exponential technologies is one the the key success factors of modern management. Disruption is often originated in low-end, inmature markets, that suddenly explodes exponentially and threatens old incumbents. Startups, thanks to their superior strategic flexibility, have a window of opportunity through technological change.

7. Technology adoption Identifying lead users, interacting with them, and making a reference of them is a good strategy to convince further waves of potential users. Which are the best approaches to introduce disruptive technologies in the market?

8. Technology exploration Ambidexterity is the ability for a company to operate with efficiency in the core business, and at the same time develop new radical technologies. Which kind of organizations are the most prepared for this duality? How to manage high performance teams to deal with disruptive innovation?

9. Competing in the ecosystem: from supply chain dynamics, to open innovation, to local innovation systems Knowledge is stuck to some territories that have been able to develop high-tech innovation ecosystems. Why innovation today is so related to specific places and ecosystems?

10. Microeconomics of competitiveness and national innovation systems. Examples of global clusters of innovation (Silicon Valley, Massachussets, South Korea, Israel, Finland, Baden-Württemberg¿) In this section we will analyze the economic forces behind innovation ecosystems, and we wil review some examples of global clusters of innovation. We will also discuss the new global context, driven by a new cold war between two technological superpowers (China and the US)

The dynamics of the course will alternate theoretical presentations (lectures) with business cases and invited top executives.
The classes will be divided into: theoretical framework (30% time), business case and teamwork (30%), practical presentations (30% time) (aprox)
During the course, cases about high-tech companies companies will be discussed (among them, Boeing, Apple, VW, Tesla or IBM).
Supplementary readings will be provided.

- Arthur, W.B., 2009. The nature of technology: What it is and how it evolves. Simon and Schuster.
- Chan, K. W., & Renee, M. (2011). Blue ocean strategy.
- Chesbrough, H.W., 2006. Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Harvard Business Press.
- Christensen, C., 2013. The innovator's dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail. Harvard Business Review Press.
- Diamandis, Peter H., and Steven Kotler. Abundance: The future is better than you think. Simon and Schuster, 2012.
- Dobbs, R., Manyika, J. and Woetzel, J., 2015. No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends. PublicAffairs.
- Hamel, G. and Breen, B., 2013. The future of management. Harvard Business Press.
- Ismail, S., 2014. Exponential Organizations: Why new organizations are ten times better, faster, and cheaper than yours (and what to do about it). Diversion Books.
- Mazzucato, M., 2011. The entrepreneurial state. Soundings, 49(49), pp.131-142.
- McGrath, R.G., 2013. The end of competitive advantage: How to keep your strategy moving as fast as your business. Harvard Business Review Press.
- Narayanan, V.K., 2000. Managing technology and innovation for competitive advantage.
- Utterback, J., 1994. Mastering the dynamics of innovation: how companies can seize opportunities in the face of technological change. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership Historical Research Reference in Entrepreneurship.

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 1	Xavier Ferrás Hernández	Operaciones, Innovación y Data Sciences