Core courses on the MPhil in ISO

This course focuses on some key theories and central debates that help us conceptualise the relationship between information systems, innovation, and strategic change. The main texts will draw from information systems, sociology, sociology of technology, and organisation theory. The course examines 3 key themes:

• The role of new information technologies in processes of innovation and strategic change within and between industries
• The role of information systems in enabling innovative work practices and the organisational issues involved in implementing and using technological innovations
• The relationship between information technology and processes of globalisation

This course focuses on 3 elements of qualitative research methodology:

• research philosophy, in which you are introduced to some basic philosophical concepts and tools – particularly in the area of epistemology
• qualitative research methods, where we look at the principal types of qualitative data used in management research and the practical and epistemological issues associated with their collection, analysis and use
• research design, in which you will come to understand the links between theory, methodology and choice of research techniques; the principles and practice of research design and data access and collection using experiment, observation, interviews, surveys and archival and database retrieval; and issues of research validity, reliability, bias and ethics

This course covers key theories in the field of strategy, innovation and organisations. We discuss the foundational theories, central debates and key readings that help us understand organisations and their strategies to survive and innovate through both technological and managerial innovations. Discussions include why managers adopt particular courses of action, how innovation is fostered, how are new markets created and how is strategy formulated. The field of innovation, strategy and organisations is inherently interdisciplinary, and so is this course. Accordingly, we not only discuss the underpinnings of research in innovation, strategy and organisations but also a host of related questions that have since become significant to understanding this body of research. The course is based around intensive seminar-based sessions. The format is group debates around contrasting perspectives related to the readings. The course enables you to critically interpret, analyse and problematise scholarly material and develop an understanding of how to make theoretical contributions in the field.

This course focuses on the foundational theories, central debates and key texts that help us conceptualise organisational dynamics. It provides you with advanced reading, writing and interpretation skills relating to, for example, organisational identity, organisational control and theories of entrepreneurship. It is based around intensive seminar-based sessions in which key articles are closely read and discussed. Having completed the course, you will be equipped to interpret and problematise scholarly material relating to the organisation of innovation in a creative and critical manner.

This is the first in the sequence of Econometrics modules designed for Research MPhil students who intend to use econometric methods in their PhD research at Cambridge Judge Business School. It is taught in Michaelmas term.

This introductory module develops your capability in using linear regression and associated statistical techniques to examine causal relationships from primarily cross-sectional, observational data. By the end of the module you will be able to specify, estimate, test, interpret, and critically evaluate single equation regression models, with applications in subject areas of management, finance, and business economics.

The module is followed in Lent Term by Econometrics II, training you in methods and applications of Micro-econometrics. A further module on Time Series Econometrics is offered as an elective in Easter term.

This introductory course enables those of you without prior knowledge of quantitative methods to become conversant in the language of statistics and be able to assess and critique statistical analyses in management research papers (students who have undertaken such training during their first degree will have to take Econometrics I instead). The course is purely conceptual. While the focus of the course is on statistical intuition, you are introduced to the mathematical notation that is required to understand the methods sections in quantitative research papers.

The course covers the following concepts:

• Social science theory and methods
• Population models of data generating processes and the estimation problem
• The sampling distribution of a statistic and the central limit theorem
• Prediction versus causal explanation
• Hypothesis testing and effect size estimation
• Endogeneity
  • Omitted variables and the purpose of control variables
  • Reverse causality and simultaneity
• Making causal inference in the presence of endogeneity: instrumental variables
• Transformation of variables
• Interactions of variables
• Categorical dependent variables
• Longitudinal data analysis