Aim
The overall aim of the course is for students to acquire a basic understanding of how firms in a variety of high-technology sectors develop and implement strategies in the context of global competition. General objectives are for students to grasp why profiting from R&D and technological assets has become a central theme in strategic thinking, how the role of the ‘standard firm’ has evolved, and how and why disruptive technologies constitute a threat to established firms. More specific objectives are for students to become familiar with several strategic mechanisms and processes in high tech sectors, including vertical disintegration (outsourcing and networking), standards and standard-setting, and the appropriation and use of intellectual property (IP). Practical objectives are for students to use basic concepts to discuss strategic options in emerging technologies and to apply the main lessons of the course in problem-oriented empirical research.

Knowledge and understanding
For a passing grade the student must

• why technology has become a central element of strategic management

• how an organisation can exploit its Research and Development /R&D)

• of the various roles that different organisations have in technological change

• of the role that vertical integration plays for technology-based competitiveness

• how firms can succesfully exploit its intellectual capital

Skills and abilities
For a passing grade the student must

• be able to apply basic concepts discussed in the course to discuss strategic management decisions in high-tech firms

• be able to summarize the course's main topics and demonstrate in group-based presentations how knowledge acquired in the course can be used in problem-based real-world questions

Contents
The course provides a basic understanding of how different technological strategies are formed in global competition. It will concentrate primarily on outlining the changing patterns of international trade and investment, the integration of business networks at regional and global levels, and how they are changing in response to ongoing processes of globalization.

The course is problem solving oriented and draws on a combination of real-world problem-based cases (based on Harvard Business School material) and state-of-the-art literature.

It is expected that students actively participate in the exercises (i.e. to be well-prepared for case discussions and project presentations) in order to practise the application of theoretical insights.

Competing Capitalisms

• Sources of competitiveness in the US computer industry

• Emergence of the Japanese innovation- and production system (how and why it ousted US advantage in computers)

• The regionalized Silicon Valley Model (how and why it out-competed the east-coast based computer industry in the USA)

• The rise of the Internet Economy

• European catch-up in collaborative manufacturing: Airbus, the Automotive Industry, Mobile Telecommunications

• The Emergence of Asian High-Tech Tigers (e.g., Taiwan, Korea and Singapore)

• The Asian crises and the rise of China as a dominant actor

• Wireless Data: The European model (UMTS) vs. the Internet Economy (WiFi)

• Software: why does IBM love Linux?

• Biotech: The formation of sustainable technology clusters

• Symbian: Software innovation in wireless telecommunications -- constructing a network of innovators

• Interorganizational networks for technology transfer from university to industry

• Sony Ericsson: The origins and anatomy of an international joint venture

• New Public Sector Roles: From Public Technology Procurement to Public-Private Partnerships

• Hydrogen fuel cell technology: globalization, triadic competition, and European innovation networks

Literature
Articles; information will be provided through CIRCLE.