Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The digital economy encompasses more than half the world, and in today’s business market, those with a technology background have an advantage. This textbook provides students who already have digital expertise with a solid foundation in business and entrepreneurship in order to launch and run a business. Using a logical, objective-based structure, the book guides students to a comprehensive and practical understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship. Chapters progress through the steps in creating a successful digital business: framing the business, promotion and sales, delivery and operations, value capture, growth and scalability, intellectual property and protection, and leadership and structure. Features include: learning objectives, introductions, conclusions, tables and figures, highlighted key terms, and analysis and design exercises in each chapter; a wide range of real-world examples; a rolling case study of a hypothetical digital business that models the concepts covered in each chapter; appendices of business terms, including those relating to product licensing, customer service agreements and customer delivery contracts; and key terms explained throughout. Supplementary online resources include a test bank, lecture slides and a teaching guide for instructors, and a business design template for student use.

Author Biography

Dick Whittington is a serial entrepreneur, business mentor and investor, focusing on the software industry and digital marketplaces, with over thirty years of experience in business. His experience has included co-founding a successful international software business recognised in UK through three Queen’s Awards covering both Innovation and International Trade. In 2012 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering where he plays an active role, including as a mentor for early-stage technology companies through its highly successful Enterprise Hub. From 2015 Dick has been Visiting Professor of Business Innovation at the University of York, where he has developed and delivered a respected course in Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship for students and staff. He is also an active mentor and angel investor within several London and regional technology accelerator programmes. Prior to pursuing business interests, Dick lectured in Computer Science at the University of York. He managed a successful research team and published a number of research papers and books, including Database Systems Engineering (1987), which became a standard text within many universities. He also contributed to several significant texts including The Software Life Cycle (1990) and the Software Engineers’ Reference Book (1991).