AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to reflect on the close link between innovation and useful knowledge, analyzing first the theoretical aspects that refer to the current debate between neoclassical approach and evolutionary-institutionalist approach. Then we deal with the difficult relationship between the production and dissemination of knowledge, and clarify the different options that businesses can pursue to expand its capacity for innovation, looking both internally and externally. In this direction a special attention is paid to the issues of the community of practice, to the relationship with the user and open innovation, all of which involve modifications of traditional organizational architectures.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures will aim to an effective involvement of attending students who are expected to read the texts indicated in the syllabus distributed at the beginning of the course. The lecture will be both traditional as interactive, based on open discussion of the proposed texts.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is organized in two parts:

In the first part we present the various theoretical options relating to innovation-knowledge (neo-classical, evolutionary-institutionalist) and, following the book by D. Foray, we illustrate the fundamental characteristics of knowledge as an economic good, the problem of its codification, the huge economic impact of its externalities, the relationship between public and private, the issue of knowledge management.

In the second part the focus will be on four themes and attending students will be asked to participate actively reading the essays and articles indicated. The topics are as follows:

1.The features of knowledge as an economic good: we deepen the aspects of the knowledge and the knowing related to the process of innovation

2. How the company is organized to generate knowledge within and acquiring it from outside: a number of case studies is brought to light how knowledge, both inside and outside the firm, can be captured, produced, used and recombined to start the process of innovation

3. Open Innovation: we will analyze this current perspective that implies a redefinition of the traditional realm of the traditional firm’s borders

4. Patents and appropriability, an economic historian approach: we deal with the appropriability in a historical perspective and we highlight the non linear relationship between patents and economic growth. The course will be closed with a discussion of an essay on the evolution of the Italian national system of innovation.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Obligatory texts: in the first part of the course you refer to the following texts for a general overview of the issues of the economy of knowledge and of the economy of innovation:

1. Dominique Foray, L’economia della conoscenza, il Mulino, Bologna, 2006, pp.160
2. D. Fagerberg, David C. Mowery e Richard Nelson (a cura di), Innovazione. Imprese, industrie, economie, Carocci, Roma, 2007, capitoli 1 (pp. 31-51) e 8 (241-264)

In the second part of the course we will discuss the following essays.

1. The features of knowledge as an economic good:

J. Mokyr, I doni di Atena, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2004, pagine selezionate indicate dal docente, Nonaka, I.,  Takeuchi H., The knowledge creating company. Creare le dinamiche dell'innovazione, Guerini e associati, 1997, cap. 3 93-138

Seely Brown J. -  Duguid, P., Knowledge and Organization: A Social-Practice Perspective, Organization Science, 2001

Orlikowski, W., Knowing in Practice: Enacting a Collective Capability in Distributed Organizing, in Organization Science, 2002

2. How the company is organized to generate knowledge within and acquiring it from outside

Nonaka, I.,  Takeuchi H., The knowledge creating company. Creare le dinamiche dell'innovazione, Guerini e associati, 1997, cap. 4 pp. 139-174

Bettiol, M. e  De Pietro, L., Comunità di pratica e organizzazione: un rapporto da scoprire (aulaweb)

Von Hippel, E.  User-innovators and “local” information: the case of mountain biking, Research Policy, 2006 (aulaweb)

Ponomariov, B. and C. Boardman, “Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management for Public to Private Knowledge Transfer: An Analytic Review of the Literature”, OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers, 2012/01, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k9d4gt7mdbp-en

S. Shane, “Conoscenze antecedenti e scoperta di opportunità imprenditoriali”, Sviluppo & Organizzazione, 183 gennaio-febbraio, 98-12

3.Open innovation

Boudreau Kevin J e  Lakhani,  Karim R., How to Manage Outside Innovation, MIT Sloan Management Review (aulaweb)

Lakhani, Karim R. e Tushman,  Michael L., Open Innovation and Organizational Boundaries: The Impact of Task Decomposition and Knowledge Distribution on the Locus of Innovation, Harvard Business School (aulaweb), solo la parte dedicata ad Apple

4. Patents and appropriability, an economic historian approach

O. Granstrand, Innovazione e diritti di proprietà intellettuale, in D. Fagerberg, David C. Mowery e Richard Nelson (a cura di), Innovazione. Imprese, industrie, economie, cit., pp. 91-111

M. Boldrin e D. K. Levine, What's Intellectual Property Good for?, in Revue economique, vol. 64, n. 1, janvier 2013, pp. 29-54

A. Nuvolari - M. Vasta, The Ghost in the Attic? The Italian National Innovation System in Historical Perspective, 1861–2011, Enterprise and society, 2015

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

GIAN CARLO CAINARCA (President)

ROBERTO TOLAINI (President)

FRANCESCO DELFINO

MARCO RABERTO

LESSONS

Class schedule

INNOVATION ECONOMICS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of a preliminary report of no more than 5 pages (> 10,000 characters, including spaces) on a topic agreed with the teacher, and an oral examination which can be accessed only after submitting to teacher that report, at least 10 days before.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The examination starts from the discussion of the report, which must be original and must highlight the argumentative abilities of the student. After that the professor will make questions about various topics of the course, to check the level of learning. In the evaluation, as well as the completeness and accuracy of the answers about the content, it will take into account the level of detail and articulation of the proposed themes and the ability to problematize the different approaches.

Exam schedule