Digitisation, Business Ecologies and Business Models, 6 credits

Digitalisering, affärsekologier och affärsmodeller, 6 hp

TDEI71

The course is disused. Offered for the last time Spring semester 2024. Replaced by delvis TDEI73.

Main field of study

Industrial Engineering and Management

Course level

Second cycle

Course type

Programme course

Examiner

Alf Westelius

Director of studies or equivalent

Daniel Ellström

Education components

Preliminary scheduled hours: 34 h
Recommended self-study hours: 126 h

Available for exchange students

Yes

Main field of study

Industrial Engineering and Management

Course level

Second cycle

Advancement level

A1N

Course offered for

  • Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management
  • Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management - International

Prerequisites

Industrial Engineering or similar

Intended learning outcomes

The overarching goal of the course is to provide a realistic view of digitisation, its business potential and consequences. More specifically, the engineering student should, on completing the course, be able to: 

  • Using business ecology tools, identify and analyse prerequisites and consequences of digitisation
  • Assess fast-growing, IT-intense enterprises through fundamental analysis
  • Autonomously and with a critical stance identify and reflect on connections between digitisation and its influence on society, industry structures, organisations and individuals

Course content

Digitisation matters. Look at the stock markets. Much of the growth in wealth lies in new, fast-growing, IT-intense enterprises. How do they function? How do they interact with their surrounding? How are they valued? What challenges do they face? How do they affect us? In this course, you will learn to see behind the hype and will acquire tools to autonomously evaluate business models against a backdrop of technical and economic possibilities, standards and trends.

Teaching and working methods

The course is based on lectures, seminars and a group project.

Examination

UPG2Seminars1 creditsU, G
UPG1Project work with written report2 creditsU, 3, 4, 5
KTR1Written examination3 creditsU, 3, 4, 5

The course grade is set based on the results on the parts and an assessment of the whole formed by the parts.

Grades

Four-grade scale, LiU, U, 3, 4, 5

Department

Institutionen för ekonomisk och industriell utveckling

Course literature

Articles


  • The course literature consists of a selection of academic articles. The selection will be adjusted to the development, and course participants will have a possibility to affect the selection. Below, is an example of potential course literature:
    • Ch. 3, Business ecologies : A way of understanding your environment. In Nils-Göran Olve, Mathias Cöster, Carl-Johan Petri, Einar Iveroth & Alf Westelius (2013) Pricing: Business ecologies, Business Models, Price models. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
    • Understanding 5G: Perspectives on future technological advancements in mobile. GSMA Intelligence, December 2014
    • Zott, Christoph & Amit, Raphael, 2013. The business model: A theoretically anchored robust construct for strategic analysis. Strategic Organization, 11(4), pp.403–411.
    • Einar Iveroth, Alf Westelius, Carl-Johan Petri, Nils-Göran Olve, Mathias Cöster & Fredrik Nilsson (2013) How to differentiate by price: Proposal for a five-dimensional model, European Management Journal, 31:2, pp 109-123.
    • European Central Bank. (2015). Virtual currency schemes - a further analysis. Frankfurt: European Central Bank.
    • Westelius, Alf - The Internet and Entrepreneurship : The Entrepreneurial LEGO. Lecture at Macquarie University, 9 Dec 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyWKXWwbwck 
    • Lundmark. Erik and Alf Westelius (2014) Entrepreneurship as Elixir and Mutagen. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 38:3, 575-600.
    • Lundmark, Erik and Alf Westelius (2012) Exploring entrepreneurship as misbehaviour. In special issue Rethinking Misbehavior and Resistance in Organizations, Lucy Taksa & Alison Barnes (eds.) Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, Vol. 19, 209 - 235, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN: 0742-6186. 
    • Leonardi, Paul M.; Huysman, Marlene & Steinfield, Charles (2013). Enterprise Social Media: Definition, History, and Prospects for the Study of Social Technologies in Organizations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19.(1), 1-19. 
    • Levine, Sheen S. and Michael J. Prietula (2013) Open Collaboration for Innovation: Principles and Performance. Organization Science, Published online in Articles in Advance 30 Dec 2013, 1-20. 

Other

Code Name Scope Grading scale
UPG2 Seminars 1 credits U, G
UPG1 Project work with written report 2 credits U, 3, 4, 5
KTR1 Written examination 3 credits U, 3, 4, 5

The course grade is set based on the results on the parts and an assessment of the whole formed by the parts.

Course syllabus

A syllabus must be established for each course. The syllabus specifies the aim and contents of the course, and the prior knowledge that a student must have in order to be able to benefit from the course.

Timetabling

Courses are timetabled after a decision has been made for this course concerning its assignment to a timetable module. 

Interruption in and deregistration from a course

The LiU decision, Guidelines concerning confirmation of participation in education (Dnr LiU-2020-02256), states that interruptions in study are to be recorded in Ladok. Thus, all students who do not participate in a course for which they have registered must record the interruption, such that the registration on the course can be removed. Deregistration from or interrupting a course is carried out using a web-based form Forms

Cancelled courses and changes to the course syllabus

Courses with few participants (fewer than 10) may be cancelled or organised in a manner that differs from that stated in the course syllabus. The Dean is to deliberate and decide whether a course is to be cancelled or changed from the course syllabus. 

Guidelines relating to examinations and examiners 

For details, see Guidelines for education and examination for first-cycle and second-cycle education at Linköping University, Dnr LiU-2020-04501  (http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592).

An examiner must be employed as a teacher at LiU according to the LiU Regulations for Appointments, Dnr LiU-2021-01204 (https://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622784). For courses in second-cycle, the following teachers can be appointed as examiner: Professor (including Adjunct and Visiting Professor), Associate Professor (including Adjunct), Senior Lecturer (including Adjunct and Visiting Senior Lecturer), Research Fellow, or Postdoc. For courses in first-cycle, Assistant Lecturer (including Adjunct and Visiting Assistant Lecturer) can also be appointed as examiner in addition to those listed for second-cycle courses. In exceptional cases, a Part-time Lecturer can also be appointed as an examiner at both first- and second cycle, see Delegation of authority for the Board of Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Forms of examination

Principles for examination

Written and oral examinations and digital and computer-based examinations are held at least three times a year: once immediately after the end of the course, once in August, and once (usually) in one of the re-examination periods. Examinations held at other times are to follow a decision of the faculty programme board.

Principles for examination scheduling for courses that follow the study periods:

  • courses given in VT1 are examined for the first time in March, with re-examination in June and August
  • courses given in VT2 are examined for the first time in May, with re-examination in August and January
  • courses given in HT1 are examined for the first time in October, with re-examination in January and August
  • courses given in HT2 are examined for the first time in January, with re-examination in March and in August.

The examination schedule is based on the structure of timetable modules, but there may be deviations from this, mainly in the case of courses that are studied and examined for several programmes and in lower grades (i.e. 1 and 2). 

Examinations for courses that the faculty programme board has decided are to be held in alternate years are held three times during the school year in which the course is given according to the principles stated above.

Examinations for courses that are cancelled or rescheduled such that they are not given in one or several years are held three times during the year that immediately follows the course, with examination scheduling that corresponds to the scheduling that was in force before the course was cancelled or rescheduled.

When a course, or a written examination (TEN, DIT, DAT), is given for the last time, the regular examination and two re-examinations will be offered. Thereafter, examinations are phased out by offering three examinations during the following academic year at the same times as the examinations in any substitute course. If there is no substitute course, three examinations will be offered during re-examination periods during the following academic year. Other examination times are decided by the faculty programme board. In all cases above, the examination is also offered one more time during the academic year after the following, unless the faculty programme board decides otherwise. In total, 6 re-examinations are offered, of which 2 are regular re-examinations. In the examination registration system, the examinations given for the penultimate time and the last time are denoted. 

If a course is given during several periods of the year (for programmes, or on different occasions for different programmes) the faculty programme board or boards determine together the scheduling and frequency of re-examination occasions.

Retakes of other forms of examination

Regulations concerning retakes of other forms of examination than written examinations and digital and computer-based examinations are given in the LiU guidelines for examinations and examiners, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592.

Course closure

For Decision on Routines for Administration of the Discontinuation of Educational Programs, Freestanding Courses and Courses in Programs, see DNR LiU-2021-04782. After a decision on closure and after the end of the discontinuation period, the students are referred to a replacement course (or similar) according to information in the course syllabus or programme syllabus. If a student has passed some part/parts of a closed program course but not all, and there is an at least partially replacing course, an assessment of crediting can be made. Any crediting of course components is made by the examiner.

Registration for examination

In order to take an written, digital or computer-based examination, registration in advance is mandatory, see decision in the university’s rule book https://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622682. An unregistered student can thus not be offered a place. The registration is done at the Student Portal or in the LiU-app during the registration period. The registration period opens 30 days before the date of the examination and closes 10 days before the date of the examination. Candidates are informed of the location of the examination by email, four days in advance. 

Code of conduct for students during examinations

Details are given in a decision in the university’s rule book: http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622682.

Retakes for higher grade

Students at the Institute of Technology at LiU have the right to retake written examinations and digital and computer-based examinations in an attempt to achieve a higher grade. This is valid for all examination components with code “TEN”, “DIT” and "DAT". The same right may not be exercised for other examination components, unless otherwise specified in the course syllabus.

A retake is not possible on courses that are included in an issued degree diploma. 

Grades

The grades that are preferably to be used are Fail (U), Pass (3), Pass not without distinction (4) and Pass with distinction (5). 

  • Grades U, 3, 4, 5 are to be awarded for courses that have written or digital examinations.
  • Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) may be awarded for courses with a large degree of practical components such as laboratory work, project work and group work.
  • Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) are to be used for degree projects and other independent work.

Examination components

The following examination components and associated module codes are used at the Faculty of Science and Engineering:

  • Grades U, 3, 4, 5 are to be awarded for written examinations (TEN) and digital examinations (DIT).
  • Examination components for which the grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) may be awarded are laboratory work (LAB), project work (PRA), preparatory written examination (KTR), digital preparatory written examination (DIK), oral examination (MUN), computer-based examination (DAT), home assignment (HEM), and assignment (UPG).
  • Students receive grades either Fail (U) or Pass (G) for other examination components in which the examination criteria are satisfied principally through active attendance such as tutorial group (BAS) or examination item (MOM).
  • Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) are to be used for the examination components Opposition (OPPO) and Attendance at thesis presentation (AUSK) (i.e. part of the degree project).

In general, the following applies:

  • Mandatory course components must be scored and given a module code.
  • Examination components that are not scored, cannot be mandatory. Hence, it is voluntary to participate in these examinations, and the voluntariness must be clearly stated. Additionally, if there are any associated conditions to the examination component, these must be clearly stated as well.
  • For courses with more than one examination component with grades U,3,4,5, it shall be clearly stated how the final grade is weighted.

For mandatory components, the following applies (in accordance with the LiU Guidelines for education and examination for first-cycle and second-cycle education at Linköping University, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592): 

  • If special circumstances prevail, and if it is possible with consideration of the nature of the compulsory component, the examiner may decide to replace the compulsory component with another equivalent component.

For possibilities to alternative forms of examinations, the following applies (in accordance with the LiU Guidelines for education and examination for first-cycle and second-cycle education at Linköping University, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592): 

  • If the LiU coordinator for students with disabilities has granted a student the right to an adapted examination for a written examination in an examination hall, the student has the right to it.
  • If the coordinator has recommended for the student an adapted examination or alternative form of examination, the examiner may grant this if the examiner assesses that it is possible, based on consideration of the course objectives.
  • An examiner may also decide that an adapted examination or alternative form of examination if the examiner assessed that special circumstances prevail, and the examiner assesses that it is possible while maintaing the objectives of the course.

Reporting of examination results

The examination results for a student are reported at the relevant department.

Plagiarism

For examinations that involve the writing of reports, in cases in which it can be assumed that the student has had access to other sources (such as during project work, writing essays, etc.), the material submitted must be prepared in accordance with principles for acceptable practice when referring to sources (references or quotations for which the source is specified) when the text, images, ideas, data, etc. of other people are used. It is also to be made clear whether the author has reused his or her own text, images, ideas, data, etc. from previous examinations, such as degree projects, project reports, etc. (this is sometimes known as “self-plagiarism”).

A failure to specify such sources may be regarded as attempted deception during examination.

Attempts to cheat

In the event of a suspected attempt by a student to cheat during an examination, or when study performance is to be assessed as specified in Chapter 10 of the Higher Education Ordinance, the examiner is to report this to the disciplinary board of the university. Possible consequences for the student are suspension from study and a formal warning. More information is available at Cheating, deception and plagiarism 

Regulations (apply to LiU in its entirety)

The university is a government agency whose operations are regulated by legislation and ordinances, which include the Higher Education Act and the Higher Education Ordinance. In addition to legislation and ordinances, operations are subject to several policy documents. The Linköping University rule book collects currently valid decisions of a regulatory nature taken by the university board, the vice-chancellor and faculty/department boards.

LiU’s rule book for education at first-cycle and second-cycle levels is available at http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/Innehall/Utbildning_pa_grund-_och_avancerad_niva

Articles

The course literature consists of a selection of academic articles. The selection will be adjusted to the development, and course participants will have a possibility to affect the selection. Below, is an example of potential course literature:

  • Ch. 3, Business ecologies : A way of understanding your environment. In Nils-Göran Olve, Mathias Cöster, Carl-Johan Petri, Einar Iveroth & Alf Westelius (2013) Pricing: Business ecologies, Business Models, Price models. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
  • Understanding 5G: Perspectives on future technological advancements in mobile. GSMA Intelligence, December 2014
  • Zott, Christoph & Amit, Raphael, 2013. The business model: A theoretically anchored robust construct for strategic analysis. Strategic Organization, 11(4), pp.403–411.
  • Einar Iveroth, Alf Westelius, Carl-Johan Petri, Nils-Göran Olve, Mathias Cöster & Fredrik Nilsson (2013) How to differentiate by price: Proposal for a five-dimensional model, European Management Journal, 31:2, pp 109-123.
  • European Central Bank. (2015). Virtual currency schemes - a further analysis. Frankfurt: European Central Bank.
  • Westelius, Alf - The Internet and Entrepreneurship : The Entrepreneurial LEGO. Lecture at Macquarie University, 9 Dec 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyWKXWwbwck 
  • Lundmark. Erik and Alf Westelius (2014) Entrepreneurship as Elixir and Mutagen. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 38:3, 575-600.
  • Lundmark, Erik and Alf Westelius (2012) Exploring entrepreneurship as misbehaviour. In special issue Rethinking Misbehavior and Resistance in Organizations, Lucy Taksa & Alison Barnes (eds.) Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, Vol. 19, 209 - 235, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN: 0742-6186. 
  • Leonardi, Paul M.; Huysman, Marlene & Steinfield, Charles (2013). Enterprise Social Media: Definition, History, and Prospects for the Study of Social Technologies in Organizations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19.(1), 1-19. 
  • Levine, Sheen S. and Michael J. Prietula (2013) Open Collaboration for Innovation: Principles and Performance. Organization Science, Published online in Articles in Advance 30 Dec 2013, 1-20. 

Other

Note: The course matrix might contain more information in Swedish.

I = Introduce, U = Teach, A = Utilize
I U A Modules Comment
1. DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE AND REASONING
1.1 Knowledge of underlying mathematics and science (G1X level)

                            
1.2 Fundamental engineering knowledge (G1X level)
X

                            
1.3 Further knowledge, methods, and tools in one or several subjects in engineering or natural science (G2X level)
X
KTR1
UPG1
UPG2

                            
1.4 Advanced knowledge, methods, and tools in one or several subjects in engineering or natural sciences (A1X level)

                            
1.5 Insight into current research and development work

                            
2. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES
2.1 Analytical reasoning and problem solving
X
UPG1
UPG2

                            
2.2 Experimentation, investigation, and knowledge discovery
X
UPG1
UPG2

                            
2.3 System thinking
X

                            
2.4 Attitudes, thought, and learning
X
KTR1
UPG1
UPG2

                            
2.5 Ethics, equity, and other responsibilities
X

                            
3. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION
3.1 Teamwork
X

                            
3.2 Communications
X
UPG1

                            
3.3 Communication in foreign languages
X

                            
4. CONCEIVING, DESIGNING, IMPLEMENTING AND OPERATING SYSTEMS IN THE ENTERPRISE, SOCIETAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT
4.1 External, societal, and environmental context
X
UPG1
UPG2

                            
4.2 Enterprise and business context
X
KTR1
UPG1
UPG2

                            
4.3 Conceiving, system engineering and management
X
UPG1

                            
4.4 Designing

                            
4.5 Implementing

                            
4.6 Operating
X
UPG1

                            
5. PLANNING, EXECUTION AND PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WITH RESPECT TO SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIETAL NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS
5.1 Societal conditions, including economic, social, and ecological aspects of sustainable development for knowledge development

                            
5.2 Economic conditions for knowledge development

                            
5.3 Identification of needs, structuring and planning of research or development projects

                            
5.4 Execution of research or development projects

                            
5.5 Presentation and evaluation of research or development projects

                            

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