Grad Prereq: QST AC710 or AC711, QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST MO712 or MO713, QST PL727 or PL730, QST SI750 or SI751
Technology Strategy is an advanced graduate class that equips students with an array of interrelated frameworks, concepts, and tools for analyzing and managing businesses in an environment with rapid technological change. The course complements both a core strategy course and other strategy and functional electives. It should be particularly valuable for students who want to work in or start businesses in high-technology sectors, and also those who want to better understand how growth and wealth are created through technological innovation in a modern economy. Technology Strategy provides a comprehensive review of the key theories and tools needed to understand: (a) how technological change creates new markets and prompts new business models; (b) how technology- based firms can outcompete rivals in fast-growing markets characterized by high uncertainty; (c) how firms assemble the resources required to commercialize an innovative technology; and (d) how the evolution of technology affects the type of firm capabilities needed to succeed in an industry over time. Specific topics covered in this class include: technology diffusion, models of industry evolution, technological discontinuities and disruptive innovation, R&D management, intellectual property, complementary assets needed to profit from innovation, industry standards, platform dynamics, and technology policy.
[ 3 cr.]