Course Name: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Company: LEGO Each must develop a case study looking at the innovation process for a new product of their choice and ‘test’ it in the class. The product launch should not be earlier than 1999. Secondary information about the company and the project, in particular, should be collected from the popular business press. The objective of the case is to highlight management ‘lessons’ related to the NPD process. Summarised sets of ‘lessons’ for good practice (based on extensive academic research) can be found in the above papers. Your aim is to illustrate such issues in practice. Remember that these ‘best-practice’ lists are by no means exhaustive – you can be creative and identify different ‘lessons’ based on your experience or, indeed, your analysis of the case. Moreover, it is useful to note that even the most complex case studies can never capture the whole spectrum of issues – so you will probably need to focus on some of them. Deliverables: Individual assignment (20% of the total mark) A formal assessment of the case where you will analyze the company and the situation and highlight the lessons. Typical questions to be answered here are: What went well and the problems with this project? What are the pluses and minuses of the different options open for the manager-hero? What is particularly interesting about this case? What happened in the end and why? The instructor will supervise the case developing process, and you can make an appointment to see him at any stage. You are required to distribute the case study to the class and the formal assessment to the instructor. Marks will be allocated for inherently interesting lessons identified, identification of accurate information about the company, good quality of the case write-up, in-depth analysis-report, and finally, a good presentation and performance in the class discussion of the case. Useful sources: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jun/04/how-lego-clicked-the-super-brand-that-reinvented-itself https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-rctom/submission/the-lego-success-story-getting-everything-to-awesome/ https://innovationmanagement.se/2016/07/11/from-bankruptcy-to-industry-leading-success-the-lego-story/ https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/innovation-almost-bankrupted-lego-until-it-rebuilt-with-a-better-blueprint/ https://bearing-consulting.com/2013/02/the-lego-innovation-story/ https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/innovating-existing-markets-3-lessons-lego https://thestrategystory.com/2020/08/17/lego-innovation-strategy/
