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Faculty
Patricia Plackett, CBS

Course Coordinator
ISUP Secretariat

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Students should have had prior courses in one or more of the following: economics, management, strategy, marketing, finance, international business, or human resource management.

Course content, structure and teaching

Why do some companies find unconventional, yet highly profitable, business niches that other companies completely overlook? Why are some cities able to create highly profitable brands while others stagnate despite expensive marketing campaigns? And why do some individuals have success in marketing radically new products and services while most others fail?

Answers to such questions often lie in the ways that intangible assets are managed. Intangible assets – sometimes regarded as ‘hidden’ sources of value creation – are typically not given systematic attention in management and planning. As a result, these assets are routinely under-utilized and sometimes totally ignored. If the ways of mobilizing the potential of these resources are not fully understood in terms of their costs as well as their benefits, then the value that they represent may never be effectively captured.

This course aims to answer the question How do intangibles actually create value? The intention is to try to address the management challenge posed by limitations to our understanding of how intangibles actually function in different contexts so that they can be managed as effectively well as possible. It will follow a very practical approach to structuring thinking about intangibles. Various theoretical lenses will be introduced to reveal features of intangibles that would otherwise remain invisible. In this course a range of international cases and examples will be examined to identify specific ways in which intangible resources can help in resolving problems and in responding to opportunities. Classes will include mini-lectures, group case analyses, and group discussions with guest speakers to lead discussions on several key themes. The quality of the sessions will be monitored through feedback at the conclusion of each session.

The course's development of personal competences

The aim of this course is to allow students to gain exposure to, and build expertise in, developing and deploying intangible resources to create value. Students can expect to learn the basic concepts and theories as well as to gain insights about best practices in the real world.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course the student should be able to manage competently the following:

Learning Objective 1: To explain clearly how intangible assets can be used to create value using empirical examples [Be able to describe empirical examples of the ways in which intangibles can be managed to create value]

Learning Objective 2: To discuss knowledgably all key concepts, theories, models and frameworks that can be used in the analysis of intangible assets [Be able to show a clear understanding of the theoretical foundations of intangibles management]

Learning Objective 3: To describe precisely the design and implementation of value-creating strategies based on intangible assets [Be able to apply the course content rigorously and systematically in designing and implementing strategies to create value involving investments in intangible assets]

To obtain a score of 12 in this course a student must master the three learning objectives to an exceptional level with lower scores awarded in accordance with reductions in the levels of mastery.

Examination

Mandatory mid-term feedback assignment: In order to submit the final exam each student will be required to submit one written assignment (2 pages maximum) on a specified problem drawing on theoretical and empirical content from the course literature.

Final exam: Project/home assignment (written individually), 15 pages.

Re-take exam: Project/home assignment (written individually), 15 pages.

Recommended literature

• Chatterton, Paul and Hollands, Robert (2002), “Theorizing urban playscapes: Producing, regulating and consuming youthful nightlife city spaces,” Urban Studies, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp.95-116.
• DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) (2001),Creating value from your intangible assets: Unlocking your true potential.
• Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P. (2004), “Measuring the strategic readiness of intangible assets,” Harvard Business Review, February, pp. 52-63.
• Lev, Baruch (2001), Intangibles: Management, measurement and reporting. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, Chapter 1 – What, Why, and Who? and Chapter 2 - The Economics of Intangibles.
• Marr, Bernard, Schiuma, Giovanni and Neely, Andy (2004), “The dynamics of value-creation: Mapping your intellectual performance drivers,” Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 312-325.
• Millar, Carla CJM (2003), “Advertising and knowledge intermediaries: Managing the ethical challenges of intangibles.” Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 48, pp 267-277.
• Ulrich, Dave and Smallwood, Norm (2005), “HR’s new ROI: Return on intangibles,” Human Resource Management, Summer, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 137-142.

Case studies for analyzing the role of intangibles in three different contexts:

• A confrontation of mindsets: French retailers operating in Poland. [The CASE Association, 2009] – a case illustrating a new market launch by a large food retailer (a very different organizational culture and operating context).
• VeeV on the rocks? [Harvard Business School, 2009] – a case illustrating the challenges that a start-up company can face (product discolouration, CSR commitments and an equity split controversy).
• Zara: A cut apart from the competition [Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, 2009] – a case illustrating the development of a radical business model (‘fast-fashion’ business model that removed long production lead times and allowed rapid and inexpensive shifts in response to changing consumer tastes and emergent trends).

Last updated by ISUP Secretariat 28/01/2010