The final 10-15 page paper will give students the chance to more closely examine a weekly topic from the course. A list of supplemental readings is provided and the paper should include citations from the selected week. The final paper may take one of three forms:
Case Study
- illustrate how experiences in a company relate to one of the weekly topics
- company background info can come from personal experience or public documents
- think about important facts, events, people, decisions, and turning points in the case
- key evaluation criteria for case study is an interesting story about managing innovation
- format of paper should model a Harvard Business School case, such as Corporate New Ventures at Procter & Gamble or Digital Equipment Corporation: The Kodak Outsourcing Agreement
Critical Essay
- write an analytical assessment of one of the weekly topics
- typologies, archetypes, or frameworks can come from your observations or the articles
- think about exceptions to the rule, competing hypotheses, and generalizability of ideas
- key evaluation criteria for critical essay is a unique perspective on managing innovation
- format of paper should model an overview article from the readings, such as Gunfire at sea: A case study of innovation or Organizing and leading “heavyweight” development teams
Research Report
- empirically investigate an idea related to one of the weekly topics
- data can come from surveys, interviews, or third-party sources
- think about alternative explanations, unmeasured variables, and response biases
- key evaluation criteria for research report is solid evidence about managing innovation
- format of paper should model a data-driven article from the readings, such as Special boundary roles in the innovation process or Interpretive barriers to successful product innovation in large firms
Online Forum: What can we learn about “managing the innovation process” from your final paper? (be sure to include which weekly topic you selected and readings you cited)
