INNT9001 Innovation Management Assignment Brief 2026 | TU Dublin

INNT9001 Assignment Brief

This document summarises the three assessed elements of the module:

1. Innovation Audit Essay

“…..an audit that intends to investigate and improve a firm’s capabilities to innovate and perform innovation processes” (Björkdahl & Holmén, 2016: p842).

The existence of a strong and positive relationship between a company’s capacity to innovate and its continued market prosperity underpins the literature on innovation. Despite myriad tools and frameworks to facilitate ‘next practice’ (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004, P.5) innovation, organisations apply processes arbitrarily or neglect to apply any at all. A consequence of this is that companies fail to review their approach to innovation, potentially undermining business growth.  Firms who develop and sustain competitive advantage are those who are disciplined in their pursuit of innovation, particularly as this enables them to develop and deploy new products or services more efficiently, effectively and profitability (Cormican & O’Sullivan, 2004).

The rationale for this assignment originates in the complexity of innovation management. The literature on innovation audits helps to uncover that complexity. One example – the fast audit, based on the Pentathlon Framework (Figure 1), is designed to offer a simple overview of an organisation’s capacity to innovate. According to Goffin and Mitchell (2017, p.354) the aims of an audit are to:

• Identify an organisation’s innovation capability – the strengths and weaknesses of its innovation processes – by gaining the views of a representative sample of managers and employees (you are not being asked to undertake an audit).
• Collect ideas on how to make improvements.

Figure 1: The Innovation Pentathlon Framework (Goffin and Mitchell, 2017, p.29).

Please use the following to structure your essay:

• Why is innovation auditing of interest? What makes it significant and worthy of focus?
• What management challenge/opportunity does innovation auditing address?
• How might an organisation you are familiar with[1], apply an innovation audit?
• Select key themes (5 max) that you would employ/adapt from the theory?
• B. You are not being asked to carry out or pilot an audit
• Identify five key implications of your learning on your current/future management practice

SUBMISSION

1. All essays must contain a typed declaration by the participant, that they have sole authorship.
2. Each report must be supported by a bibliography.
3. Please use 11 pt. font, 1.15 line spacing and adequate margins.
4. 1,200 words (+/-10%) excluding appendices, diagrams, and bibliography.
5. Deferred submission: Standard penalties apply
6. Marks 25%

The following criteria will be used to assess your paper

• Evidence of critique, synthesis of frameworks and theories and application of knowledge and concepts
• Ideas expressed clearly/Appreciation of barriers and enablers to auditing and implementation
• Quality and qualification of the overall rationale and recommendations
• Logical argument, clear presentation, quality of structure and flow
• Referencing standard per Style Guide and overall quality of the document see http://www.apastyle.org/ (excellent blog/e.g. quick answers on formatting)

2. Critique Assignment [Group]

The critique topic and a suggested anchor reading is given for each group. Participants will take ownership of the learning by selecting refereed journal articles[2] (one core reference per group member – and you may refer to other sources, e.g. grey literature) to support their understanding of the topic and to create a platform for a critique which will ultimately be presented to the cohort, in a presentation and synthesised/cited in MindMap form[3]. The group will engage independently in a discussion forum on the merits/demerits of the supplementary articles before progressing to a critique which leverages the collective review of the literature. Subsequently, this forms the basis of the group presentation. The assignment invites you to delve into the literature on Innovation Management while exploring the topics, issues and questions outlined in the brief below. It will also facilitate peer learning and peer teaching, drawing the competencies and experience of cohort members.

Focus on relevance to practice in conjunction with conceptual rigor – this approach largely underpins your assigned work within this Level 9/MSc programme.

The original Stage-Gate system was created in the 1980s, based on an in-depth study of successful “intrapreneurs” within major corporations as they drove successful new products to market. Their practices and the lessons they learned provided the foundation for that early stage-and gate model. Over the years, Stage-Gate has evolved and incorporated many new practices (see, for instance. Cooper 1994, 2008, 2011). Some companies have also developed their own versions of Stage-Gate, building in some positive elements, but also some negative ones.

The number of service innovation articles has increased dramatically in the past 25 years. By reviewing 128 articles published between 1986 and 2010, primarily in leading marketing and innovation journals, this study analyzes the progression of service innovation research according to topicality and perspective. The authors summarize prior research by clustering it into three evolutional phases and drawing parallels with the evolution of the wider services marketing field. Overall, the view of service innovation has evolved, from a complement of traditional product innovation to a multidimensional, all-encompassing notion that entails several functions, both within and outside the firm.

Design thinking has attracted considerable interest from practitioners and academics alike, as it offers a novel approach to innovation and problem-solving. However, there appear to be substantial differences between promoters and critics about its essential attributes, applicability, and outcomes. To shed light on current knowledge and conceptualizations of design thinking we undertook a multiphase study. First, a systematic review of the design thinking literature enabled us to identify 10 principal attributes and 8 tools and methods. To validate and refine our findings, we then employed a card sorting exercise with professional designers. Finally, we undertook a cluster analysis to reveal structural patterns within the design thinking literature. Our research makes three principal contributions to design and innovation management theory and practice.

Your initial objective is to create a group discussion around the allocated theme (see group setting on Brightspace) and subsequently to use that as the basis for your group presentation. The critique will follow the headings below. Upload your annotated presentation deck to Brightspace.

Key Criteria For The Discussion, Slide Deck & Presentation

Some Tips To Make The Task Easier

Trial the discussion board to familiarize yourself with the functionality.

1. Stick to the PowerPoint page limit and don’t make the pages too long, focus on quality not quantity. Your bibliography does not count toward the page total.
2. It is better to include all the information and then edit it rather than try to exclude it from the outset. That way, content can be synthesized/moved rather than excluded.
3. If you are having a problem – the forums, your group and your tutor are there to resolve it. Chances are it is a very common concern and can be easily fixed.
4. Remember that the written word is a powerful tool. Use it wisely and remain professional at all times.'

Workload

The objective of creating the discussion board is not length, it is relevance, depth and quality. Thereafter you will produce a high quality, concise guide to a particular topic.

There are a number of ways you can project manage the work including underlying roles such as; researcher, editor, writer and communicator etc. There is one cardinal rule when working online – be upfront about what you can do and follow through. Your group will rely on each other. Set a course and work together to achieve it. You will have an opportunity at the next seminar to talk it through, but don’t leave the work until the deadline. Start early.

Please Remember

Your group timeline is up to you, manage the time you have well. You can (and should) embed multimedia, link to websites and reference articles and cases as necessary.

Grading

Grades are assigned using the standard grade descriptors which detail the relevant standards.

Your grades will be assigned using the following criteria:

• The completion of the assignment objectives in the format provided by the given due date.
• The overall standard of the information included in the presentation in terms of its relevance, clarity and applicability to a level 9 course
• The interpretation and application of the information assembled in the discussion/presentation as it pertains to the management of innovation and creativity in organisations
• Your participation at all stages of the idea generation and on the clarity and coherence of the presentation.
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