Innovation Studies – Innovation and Commercialisation – Module III
Insight, Search, and Disruption
Introduction and reflection
Module III marks a clear shift in the study of innovation – from the establishment of concepts and models to a more exploratory, analytical and outward-looking phase.
Here, the focus shifts from what innovation is to how it actually arises, is identified and is implemented in practice. The module is characterized by a stronger interaction between theory, contemporary examples and systematic information gathering, and functions as an important bridge between the academic foundation in Modules I and II and the more applied, international perspectives later in the study.
A common realization in Module III is that innovation can rarely be planned linearly. It emerges at the intersection of technology, market, organization and society – often driven by actors outside established structures, and often visible only in retrospect.
Program overview
The module is structured around three main tracks: academic in-depth study of innovation theory, methodological work with information and insight seeking, and analysis of concrete innovation examples – including disruptive changes. The program combines lectures, literature presentations, newspaper clippings and discussions, and places great emphasis on training participants in reading the present with an analytical eye.
A central element is the orientation towards San Francisco and Silicon Valley, not as a mythical ideal, but as an empirical field for studying how innovation is actually organized, occurs, and scaled in practice.
Main academic topics
Innovation as a process – not an event
Building on Van de Ven's perspective, Module III makes it clear that innovation must be understood as a long, often unpredictable process characterized by feedback loops, rematches, and temporary setbacks. The newspaper clippings and contemporary examples emphasize how rarely innovation follows a neat division of phases, and how dependent it is on context, timing, and player interaction.
Disruptive innovation
Christensen's concept of disruptive innovation is given concrete content through examples from technology, telecom and consumer markets. The module shows how established players often lose precisely because they do "everything right" within existing business logic, while new players win with simpler, cheaper or more accessible solutions.
Strategic satisfaction and customer value
The Strategic Satisfaction Matrix is introduced as an analytical tool for understanding the tension between customer needs, performance, and cost. It clarifies the difference between incremental improvements for existing customers and more radical moves that open up new markets.
Alternative professional perspectives
The module also opens up critical and complementary perspectives on innovation, where technology is not understood as a neutral driving force, but as part of larger social, economic and institutional contexts. This gives the study a breadth that challenges pure technological optimism.
Case studies
Through newspaper clippings and case-based examples, the following are analyzed:
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The telecom industry's encounter with new competition and cheaper technologies
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LEGO as an example of an established company under strong global pressure
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The emergence of new players that challenge existing value chains
These examples are not used as definitive answers, but as analytical exercises: What did the actors overlook? What signals were visible – and to whom?
Reflections and discussion:
A central discussion in Module III is about who sees innovation first. Is it established businesses with resources and market power – or is it often users, niche players and outsiders?
The module also challenges participants to reflect on their own role: How do we read the market? Which information sources do we trust? And how easy is it to get caught up in established thought patterns?
The discussions reveal a clear gap between analytical insight and organizational implementation ability – a theme that recurs throughout the study.
International perspectives
The orientation towards San Francisco serves as a concrete international anchor. Here, the focus shifts from the Norwegian and Nordic context to a global innovation ecosystem characterized by:
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Close connection between academia, capital and entrepreneurs
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High tolerance for risk and error
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Rapid spread of ideas and practices
At the same time, the transfer value is problematized: What can actually be taken home – and what is context-dependent?
Insights taken further in the study
Module III gives participants a sharper eye for early signals, weak trends and structural changes. The insight serves as a methodological tool that is taken further into the study, especially when faced with more applied projects and international studies.
Relevance today
Today, Module III appears perhaps even more relevant than when it was taught. Digitalization, platform economy, artificial intelligence and global value chains reinforce precisely the dynamics the module describes:
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Established players are challenged by new business models
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Information is available, but insight is scarce
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Innovation occurs in the interaction between technology, people and institutions
The module's emphasis on critical analysis, information literacy, and systems understanding directly addresses today's debates about adaptability - in both the private and public sectors.
From studies and seminars to today's professional universe
The studies, seminars and field trips documented on this page are part of the knowledge base behind The Invisible Capital. Topics such as customers, technology, innovation, digitalization and value creation have followed developments over several decades – but the disciplines have also continued to develop.
At The Invisible Capital, we are therefore continuing to work on these questions in our own subject series. Here, we connect previous theory, research and experiences with newer knowledge, new technologies and today's challenges for people and businesses.
Innovation
Innovation is not just about new ideas. Value is created when knowledge, technology and ideas are developed into products, services, processes, organizational forms and business models that are actually used. The series on innovation goes from Schumpeter to modern innovation research and covers, among other things, incremental, radical, disruptive, open and user-driven innovation.
→ Explore the Innovation Series
The customer
The customer is not just the recipient of what the business produces. In a competitive market, the customer is a crucial determinant of whether the business actually succeeds in creating value. The series about the customer goes deeper into customer orientation, customer insight, customer experience, satisfaction, loyalty, trust and the encounter between people.
→ Read the subject series about the customer
Value creation
What does it really mean to create value – and who creates it? The series on value creation moves from economic theory and key researchers to a broader understanding of how people, expertise, institutions, businesses and the public sector contribute to value creation.
→ Read the series on value creation
Digitization
Digitalization has evolved from stand-alone technologies to a fundamental part of how businesses work and create value. The Digitalization from A–Z series follows the development through internet, web, e-commerce, search, UX, social, mobile, omnichannel, cloud, data, platforms and digital transformation – up to today’s AI First development.
→ Read the series Digitization from A–Z
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence represents the next chapter in digital evolution. In our own AI universe, we investigate how artificial intelligence works, how AI finds and uses information, how it evaluates sources and websites, and what the development can mean for people, businesses, and value creation.
→ Go to the articles about artificial intelligence
Recommended literature
The Innovator's Dilemma
One of the most influential books on innovation and technological change, Clayton Christensen explains why established businesses often struggle to cope with disruptive change, even when they do “everything right.” The book has gained significant traction in the fields of innovation, digitalization, and strategic management.
