Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Understanding the Dynamics of Value Creation

This course offers a comprehensive exploration of innovation as a multidimensional phenomenon—simultaneously economic, social, organizational, and ethical.

Module 1: Foundations of Value Creation examines the fundamental economic mechanisms underlying innovation. Students explore how value is created through production processes, the growing importance of intangible assets in the contemporary economy, and the distinction between productive and unproductive activities. The module establishes that innovation lies at the heart of economic growth and transformation.

Module 2: Innovation as a Social Process reveals that innovation is not merely technological but profoundly social. Key topics include diffusion mechanisms (Rogers’ S-curve, Moore’s chasm, Granovetter’s weak ties), appropriation dynamics, and adoption as negotiation among social groups. Students analyze innovation communities—from geographical clusters to open source ecosystems—and examine how large firms increasingly externalize innovation through startup partnerships and corporate venture capital.

Module 3: Digital Transformation, Intangible Capital, and Responsibility addresses contemporary challenges. The digital revolution fundamentally changes competitive dynamics, favoring agility over resources. Intangible capital—human, social, and intellectual—becomes the critical strategic resource. The module explores externalities (positive and negative), the essential role of public investment, and corporate social responsibility. It concludes with innovation management approaches, from intrapreneurship to open innovation.

Throughout the course, students engage with seminal thinkers: Schumpeter, Rogers, Porter, Christensen, Chesbrough, Mazzucato, Von Hippel, Alter, and others. Real-world cases—from Silicon Valley to Dieselgate, from Post-it to WhatsApp—ground theoretical concepts in practical reality.

The central question emerges: can we innovate responsibly, balancing private profit with the common good?