OPM 511: Management of Technology for Sustainability
Contents
The coming years will be, without doubt, a very challenging time for businesses. It will also be a very exciting moment from which many new opportunities will emerge. This module looks how organisations are responding to sustainability changes, navigating through trade-offs to survive or increase value as well as managing their impact on the environment and society.
This module will include case studies, the established theory of sustainability strategies, and new concepts such as essentiality and sustainability fitness in the discussion of managing technologies for sustainability.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to
- Comprehend the fundamentals of technology management and how it helps to address sustainability challenges
- Critically analyse the limitations and unintended consequences of technology adoption as the means to achieve sustainability goals, including the process of technology transfer to developing economies
- Recognise the economic, environmental, and social impacts of technologies, particularly emerging technologies
- Apply theory to a specific business context, i.e, use a range of tools and techniques to effectively manage technologies for a higher sustainability performance.
Necessary prerequisites
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Recommended prerequisites
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| Forms of teaching and learning | Contact hours | Independent study time |
|---|---|---|
| Seminar | 3 SWS | 8 SWS |
| ECTS credits | 4 |
| Graded | yes |
| Workload | 120h |
| Language | English |
| Form of assessment | group presentation |
| Restricted admission | yes |
| Further information | student portal, Please feel free to contact Ms. Christina Paul with any questions about the course: christina.pauluni-mannheim.de |
Examiner Performing lecturer |  | Prof. Dr. Christoph Bode Dr Breno Nunes |
| Frequency of offering | Spring semester |
| Duration of module | 1 semester |
| Range of application | M.Sc. MMM, M.Sc. WiPäd, M.Sc. VWL, M.Sc. Wirt. Inf., MAKUWI |
| Preliminary course work | – |
| Program-specific Competency Goals | CG 1, CG 2, CG 3 |
| Literature | Business media at large (The Economist, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, etc) Agarwal, N., Brem, A., & Grottke, M. (2018). Towards a higher socio-economic impact through shared understanding of product requirements in emerging markets: The case of the Indian healthcare innovations. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 135, 91–98. Beltagui, A., Nunes, B., & Gold, S. (2022). Sustainability and the digital supply chain. In The Digital Supply Chain (pp. 397–417). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91614-1.00023-X Cetindamar, D., & Phaal, R., Probert, D. (2017). Technology management: activities and tools. Bloomsbury Publishing. De Paulo, A. F., Nunes, B., & Porto, G. (2020). Emerging green technologies for vehicle propulsion systems. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 159, 120054. Gallagher, K. S., & Zhang, F. (2013). Climate Technology & Development Case study: Innovation and Technology Transfer Across Global Value Chains: Evidence from China’s PV Industry. Medford (MA): Tufts University.(Cit. on p. 61). Jackson, T. (2019). The Post-growth Challenge : Secular Stagnation , Inequality and the Limits to Growth. Ecological Economics, 156(June 2018), 236–246. Lomborg, B. (2020). Technological Forecasting & Social Change Welfare in the 21st century : Increasing development , reducing inequality , the impact of climate change , and the cost of climate policies. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 156(April), 119981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.119981 Managi, S., & Kumar, P. (2018). Inclusive wealth report 2018. Routledge: Abingdon: UK. Mazzucato, M. (2018). The value of everything: Making and taking in the global economy. Hachette UK. McMeekin, A., & Southerton, D. (2012). Sustainability transitions and final consumption: practices and socio-technical systems. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 24(4), 345–361. Nature, 2022. Are there limits to economic growth? It’s time to call time on a 50-year argument. [Editorial]. Nature 603, 361 (2022), 16 March 2022. Nunes, B., Alamino, R. C., Shaw, D., & Bennett, D. (2016). Modelling sustainability performance to achieve absolute reductions in socio-ecological systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 132, 32–44. Nunes, B., Batista, L., Masi, D., & Bennett, D. (2022). Sustainable Operations Management: Key Practices and Cases. Taylor & Francis. Nunes, B; Alamino, R.C; Bennett, D; & Brem, A. (2023) An Introduction to Product Essentiality: Conceptualisation and Measurement. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management. Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating Shared Value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62–77. Prahalad, C. K. (2012). Bottom of the pyramid as a source of breakthrough innovations. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 29(1), 6–12. Qiu, P., Nunes, B., Vaidya, K., Van De Kaa, G., & Greeven, M. (2022). Technological capabilities development model in Chinese energy service companies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 330, 129551. Van Wassenhove, L. N. (2019). Sustainable innovation: Pushing the boundaries of traditional operations management. Production and Operations Management, 28(12), 2930–2945. Zhang, F., & Gallagher, K. S. (2016). Innovation and technology transfer through global value chains: Evidence from China's PV industry. Energy policy, 94, 191–203. |
| Course outline | Module will cover: Introduction to the module & the sustainability fitness concept Fundamentals of technology management for sustainability CASE STUDY 1: “Fairphone and modular phones” CASE STUDY 2: “Development of PV Solar Energy in China” Grand challenges, Gartner Hype Cycle, and project ideas CASE STUDY 3: Strategies for hydrogen economy and green energy transition CASE STUDY 4: Technologies for sustainable urban mobility Assignment surgery Group presentations – Part 1 Group Presentations – Part 2 |