Merging Business Innovation and Information Technology in the MBA Curriculum

By Pavel Kantorek Updated May 01, 2016

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Introduction
Using information technology in the workplace
How a good partnership helps: The Capgemini example
Why an understanding of business innovation is important

This article is sponsored by Nyenrode Business Universiteit.

Visit its website to find out more about its MBA programs

From utilizing technologies to shape business models to channeling social media, information technology is a crucial aspect of any business today. Professor of international business strategy at Nyenrode Désirée van Gorp explains why courses that merge innovation and information technology are so relevant to the modern MBA curriculum.

Using information technology in the workplace

“One of the main aspects about an information and innovation course in the MBA curriculum is that it bridges technology and business. There’s still this attitude that technology is only for information technology specialists, but we talk about information technology in this course in the context of what it means for business. We discuss how do you actually use it in a way to be closer to the customer and provide better customer experience, so it’s a very different angle,” says van Gorp.

Candidates who opt for an information and innovation course such as the one offered at Nyenrode will typically start to look at changes in the industry and the application of new technologies to companies. In addition to this candidates benefit from the opportunity to attend lectures from people who are involved in actually implementing these changes in companies, to add some real-world perspective to the MBA curriculum.

Candidates who enroll on the course also work with companies as part of a team, gaining invaluable direct insight into the workings of a business.

“Working with the company helps them formulate a question which they will then help find a solution to. This often leads to the implementation of a project,” says van Gorp, who feels that Nyenrode’s focus on gaining this first-hand experience of information technology rally allows candidates to get a handle on the challenges facing 21^st century business.

“Most of the time nobody knows what the solution to the problem the company is facing is. This gives the candidates an opportunity to look at their own companies and others and see what their future will bring. So it really places candidates a step ahead in the workplace because they’ve dealt with it, and not just in the MBA curriculum.”

How a good partnership helps: The Capgemini example

Finding oneself on an MBA program that affords opportunities to gain exposure to big business names can be extremely advantageous. “At Nyenrode, for example, we were perfectly aligned with Capgemini and they could relate to our vision, which helped in setting up the course. Some of our students could end up at Capgemini, and the company knows that these students will offer great value as employees because of their strong background in innovation and information,” van Gorp reflects.

Choosing a course where the MBA curriculum aligns itself with the attitude and the vision of a major industry player can help candidates understand how and what they can contribute. “For the company, this means they can help [the school] educate the next generation. They also support the course in terms of knowledge, and they have their people who work for social media provide guest lectures throughout the course. In addition, Capgemini also conducts an innovation session, where candidates can pitch their ideas on how they would like to solve their case studies. Capgemini will then provide feedback and fine-tune it before the end presentation in front of the companies take place.”

Why an understanding of business innovation is important

Without understanding business innovation, a candidate cannot hope to take a company into the future, van Gorp posits. “Look at Burberry, for example. If their CEO hadn’t used business innovation, and they hadn’t applied new technologies to create a new customer experience from before, they would have been bankrupt, and they wouldn’t have been the brand they are today. Business innovation is the difference between remaining a big brand in the future and not existing in the space at all. So innovation is needed to really deal with business issues.”

While dealing with innovation in the MBA curriculum is important because it provides an avenue to discuss the developments that take place in the business world, van Gorp thinks that having practical experience in a company, and sharing that experience between participants, is what builds knowledge, awareness, understanding and the experience to use it to the best advantage of a company. “Many people talk about innovation, but to really deal with it on a day-to-day basis and to really crack cases that are happening across companies now -- that is the real challenge.”

Business innovation and information technology are linked but one is more of a catalyst for the other. Information technology can enable business innovation and even if they’re separated in theory, they are aligned in practice. That’s why it’s important that we bring them both together on the MBA curriculum,” says van Gorp.

Van Gorp is of the opinion that business innovation and information technology are must-haves in any business scenario. “No matter what part of a business you’re in, you can’t face the future challenges within companies without information technology and business innovation.”

This article is sponsored by Nyenrode Business Universiteit.
Visit its website to find out more about its MBA programs

Written by

Pavel Kantorek

Mansoor is a contributor to and former editor of TopMBA.com. He is a higher and business education specialist, who has been published in media outlets around the world. He studied English literature at BA and MA level and has a background in consumer journalism.