2025/2026

Strategic Management of an Innovative Company

Type: Mago-Lego

Delivered by: School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Where: School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

When: 1 module

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Sergei Titov

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 32

Course Syllabus

Abstract

**Overal description**: The discipline is aimed to deliver fundamental and applied knowledge, up-to-date analytical frameworks, and contemporary practical tools neccessary and sufficient for sustainably successful long-term management of innovations in the corporate context within high dynamics and environmental uncertainty. The course includes a combination of theoretical concepts, views, and approaches as well as analytical tools and practical instruments of strategic management applicable for an innovative company. The course conceptually and practically synthesizes and systematizes the knowledge, frameworks and competences from other managerial disciplines. In this way the course not only enhances this knowledge, but also applies it to the strategic perspective of managing the whole business. It covers such topics as business transformation, dynamics of innovative and technological markets, frameworks of external and internal strategic analysis, generic and innovative strategies, transforming companies for innovation strategy implementation, organizational design for innovative companies. **Course structure**: Classes are organized as an interactive combination of lecture and seminar parts. Lecture parts are more theoretical and allow students to understand, learn and structure mostly theories, concepts, terms, and models of contemporary strategic management. Actively using mini-cases and stories, lectures illustrate the theoretical and conceptual materials of the course. Lectures are very helpful to study the recomendations related to models and frameworks application specific for the course. Seminar parts focus more on the practical side of the discipline and provide the opportunity to practice with the concepts, models, and frameworks through their application for case analysis and exercises. Seminars are necessary for the correct application of strategic tools and techniques needed for course team project and examination. ** Special considerations**: When preparing papers and answers to tests, examinations and other tasks, it is not allowed to use information prohibited for children or prohibited for distribution on the territory of the Russian Federation. Papers and answers containing such information will be cancelled. By submitting written and oral answers and works, students agree to the possibility of their use within the educational process by publicly discussing, commenting, analyzing them orally or in writing during face-to-face classes or correspondence communications. ** Communications**: All official communications between students and instructors are organizied through corporate email service or LMS. Additional communications channels (such as messengers) are allowed as informal means of correspondence only if they exclude transborder data trasmission. All presentation slides, reading recommendations, links to valuable materials are available through LMS. Control elements (testing, projects, exam) are organized with LMS. ** Overall grading orientation**: Grades of 8 imply explicitely and unambiguously demonstrated knowledge and skills based on main, additional and recommended literature and materials. They are also reflect competencies related to practical application of all tools, techniques, and frameworks studied in the course following the recommendations and rules provided from the instructor. Some recommendations and rules from other sources may be insufficient to excellent grades, and in some instances be so incompatible with the content of the course that it may lead to significant decrease of answers' quality. The answers, written or oral, prepared with the help of artificial intelligence are allowed only if they are marked as produced by AI. As almost all questions and tasks within the course imply as specific answers as possible, the answers or their parts of general or generic nature will not be considered as of high quality. ** Literature and learning materials**: Due to the limits of class hours reading and homework is the integral part of the course. Students are expected to read extensively main, additional, and recommended literature and materials (including videos). Good knowledge of the theoretical materials is crucial for full participation in discussion. Literature mentioned as main is necessary to satisfactory completion of the course. For higher levels, students are expected to learn from additional literature, and also additional and recommended sources and materials provided in the course program. More sources and materials will be announced during the classes. Realistically considering the informational constraints imposed by foreing institutions on Russian universities, including HSE, notable part of the knowledge necessary for excellent grades will be delivered through live interactions during classes. Students are expected to take notes, actively study presentations and learn their content, read core, additional and recommended literature, and participation in discussions.

Learning Objectives

• perform analysis of strategic problem situation using critical reasoning and system thinking, develop strategy of actions in the context of innovative business
• define and realize long-term priorities in business and plan strategically the trajectories of business development
• develop corporate, business, and functional strategies in innovative context under the pressure from technological disrupts
• make strategic decisions, elaborate strategic plans based on thorough analysis of external and internal environments
• manage the relationship with stakeholders to ensure long-term sustainable development of an innovative business

Expected Learning Outcomes

• analyze operations and functions, strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages with value chain
• elaborate key element of blue ocean strategy
• identify pluses and minuses of different integration strategies
• analyze the antecedents and outcomes of different growth strategies
• perform industry analysis in its statics and dynamics
• identify patterns of industry life cycle and technology cycle
• evaluate the appropriateness of different strategies at different stages of industry life cycle
• perform PESTEL analysis
• perform five forces analysis
• analyze competition with strategic group maps and strategy profile
• integrate the results of strategic analysis with SWOT-like tools
• peform comparative analysis of resources and competencies
• analyze different firm's scope strategic decisions
• describe differences in lead and lag markets
• evaluate the competitive advantages of innovative business
• describe the features of corporate, business, functional stragies
• apply generic strategies for innovative businesses in different contexts
• identify innovations applicable for different generic strategies
• integrate the results of strategic analysis with SWOT/TOWS/... framework
• identify organization design options for innovative business
• desing business processes for new product development
• elaborate corporate culture development plan
• design open innovation processes and systems
• apply causal loop diagrams for strategic dynamics analysis
• identify pluses and minuses of international strategies

Course Contents

• Strategic management and innovations
• Innovative industry analysis
• Market and competition
• Strategic implementation and business development
• Internal analysis and strategy elaboration

Assessment Elements

• Exam
  Exam is written, based on all course materials. Students have to show their knowledge or ability in strategic management. It takes place at the end of the course. Exam may include the blocks: 1) tests similar to ones in midcourse tests, 2) case-based tasks implying preparation of the written answers (the text of the case/ cases can be open one day before the exam). Number and types of questions, proportions and sequence of different questions (by type, difficulty, ...), duration, day and time of the testing are announced before the exam session. Testing is planned with the of use Safe Exam Browser technology, which may require installing software on the computer and limit the use of equipment (number of screens, applications used, etc.). Excellent grade implies knowledge of main, additional, and recommended literature and materials; as well as theories, concepts, tools, frameworks, and cases discussed in classes during lectures and seminars.
• Group project
  The major academic purpose of the Group Project is to challenge students to apply theories, concepts, models and tools from the discipline including main, additional and recommmended literature and materials as well as learnt by students within their self-study beyond the scope of the discipline learning program but within the area of strategic management. Projects are to be performed withing student team of 4-5 students. All exceptions from the recommended team size should be formally (by email) approved by the instructors. The Group Project is a research & business practice project where students act as a consulting team to analyze a particular company and elaborate its strategy. Group Project is based on the case provided by the instructor (or approved by the instructor if the case is proposed by the student team). At the end of the course students should submit and present the key deliverables such as: 1. Written assignment report in docx format with answers to tasks. 2. File with the references in xlsx format. 3. Presentation slides in pptx format. 4. Oral presentation within 5 minutes (recorded). Deadlines are strict. Delays are not possible and lead to 0 grade.
• Mid-course testing
  Conducted in the second part of the module. Implemented as testing with limited time . Resit is not possible. It is not blocking. Number and types of tests, proportions and sequence of different tests (by type, difficulty, ...), duration, day and time of the testing are defined by the instructor of the course and are announced in advance (at least 3 days before the day of the testing). Testing is planned with the of use Safe Exam Browser technology, which may require installing software on the computer and limit the use of equipment (number of screens, applications used, etc.). Students are recommended to install and test the necessary software in advance. Maximum grade is 10. Excellent grade implies knowledge of main, additional, and recommended literature and materials; as well as theories, concepts, tools, frameworks, and cases discussed in classes during lectures and seminars.

Interim Assessment

• 2025/2026 1st module
  0.5 * Exam + 0.3 * Group project + 0.2 * Mid-course testing

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Porter, M. E. (2015). What is strategy? Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.C0E62A3B
• Strategic management of technological innovation, Schilling, M. A., 2023

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Contemporary strategy analysis, Grant, R. M., 2022
• Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary Strategy Analysis : Text and Cases: Vol. Text and Cases, Ninth edition. Wiley.
• Harvard Business Review, Michael E. Porter, A.G. Lafley, Clayton M. Christensen, & Rita Gunther McGrath. (2020). HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Vol. 2 (with Bonus Article “Creating Shared Value” By Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer). Harvard Business Review Press.
• Harvard Business Review, Michael E. Porter, W. Chan Kim, & Renée A. Mauborgne. (2011). HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy (including Featured Article “What Is Strategy?” by Michael E. Porter): Vol. [Academic Subscription]. Harvard Business Review Press.
• Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2015). Strategic management. Slovenia, Europe: South-Western College Publ. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.EE8047E5
• Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2015). Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition : How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant: Vol. [Academic Subscription]. Harvard Business Review Press.
• Mebert, A., & Lowe, S. (2017). Blue Ocean Strategy : How to Create Uncontested Market Space (Vol. First edition). London: Macat Library. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1552203
• Michael A. Hitt, R. Duane Ireland, & Robert E. Hoskisson. (2016). Strategic Management: Concepts: Competitiveness and Globalization, Edition 12. Cengage Learning.
• Porter, M. E., Kramer, M. R., & Magretta, J. (2014). Strategy and Competition : The Porter Collection. Harvard Business Review Press.
• Radical business model transformation : how leading organizations have successfully adapted to disruption, Linz, C., 2021

Authors

• Titov Sergey Anatolevich