I am the Rast Professor (previously: Benson Professor) at UGA’s Terry College of Business. I was previously on Emory's faculty, which I joined after my Ph.D. (IS) in 2001 at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Before UGA, I held the Union Pacific professorship at Iowa State University. I've also taught in Holland and held visiting professorships in Japan.    

 

Research

My research (Google Scholar, DLBP, CSB) focuses on IT governance. It has appeared in journals in information systems (ISR, JMIS, MISQ), as well as adjacent fields such as strategy (SMJ, CMR), marketing, finance, and software engineering (ACM Transactions, IEEE Software). 

 

I have served as a senior editor at MIS Quarterly and  Information Systems Research (ISR); serve on the editorial boards of Strategic Management Journal and Journal of Management Information System, and previously I&M and IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. I received ISR’s Outstanding Associate Editor award in 2009 and two service awards in 2011 (AE) and 2016 (as a Senior Editor).   

  Representative recent research

            Evolutionary Competition in Platform Ecosystems, Information Systems Research (ISR).

            Platform Synergy, ISR.

            Platform Evolution, ISR.

            Evolvable Systems, ISR.

            Discriminating IT Governance, ISR.

            From Bricks to an Edifice, ISR.

            Complementarities between Organizational IT Architecture and Governance (PPTs), ISR.

Knowledge-Governance Fit in Systems Development (solo), ISR. 2010 best paper runner-up.

Does Interfirm Modularity Complement Ignorance? (solo), Strategic Management Journal.

Does Modularity Substitute for Interfirm Control? (solo), Strategic Management Journal.

Does Peripheral Knowledge Complement Control?, Strategic Management Journal.

Do Bridging Ties Complement Strong Ties?...Ambidexterity, Strategic Management Journal.

Process Integration in the US Electric Industry, MIS Quarterly.

Platform Desertion, JMIS.

Concurrent IT Sourcing, JMIS.

Design Convergence in Systems Development,(solo), JMIS.

A Comparison of TCE, Agency, & KBV Predictors of IT Outsourcing (PPTs) JMIS.

Complementary and Substitutive Roles of Formal and Informal Controls, JMIS.

Control in Internal & Outsourced Systems Development , JMIS.

Expertise Integration in Systems Development, JMIS.

The IT Governance Cube, JMIS. (PPT)

Whistleblowing, Decision Sciences.

Project Escalation: A Real Options Model, Decision Sciences. 2006 Best Paper Award. Others>>

Bounded Rationality Bias in Real Options Valuation, Decision Sciences.

Real Options Thinking in Project Management, California Management Review.

See complete list >>

 

Corporate Collaborations

Organizations that have supported my field research include UPS, Hitachi, Toshiba, HP, Fujitsu, Ericsson, Lilly, SAP, Mitsubishi, IBM, Japan Electronics & IT Industries Association, Italy’s Istituto Superiore Universitario di Formazione Interdisciplinare, Japan’s Joint Forum for Strategic Software Research, Japan’s Information Science Foundation, US DoD, and NASSCOM. I serve on various industry advisory boards. I also cochaired the AMCIS 2014 program. Popular press coverage includes Nikkei (interview in Japanese), the notorious SlashDot (archive), and Microsoft (interview). 

 

Teaching

I teach in Terry’s Executive MBA, MBA, Ph.D, MIT, and BBA programs. I received 2017 and 2014 Terry Outstanding Teacher awards and the 2015 SMIS Teacher of the Year Award. I was Terry's MIS doctoral coordinator from 2012-2014. My teaching in the MBA, MS, and BS programs at Iowa State (blurb) was highlighted in its BusinessWeek’s profile. I taught in Emory's MBA and BBA programs from 2001-2004, and as an instructor at Georgia State from 1998-2001. I’ve also taught invited Ph.D.-level mini seminars in Italy, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, and Japan; and a graduate course on platforms in Holland. I have frequently taught in Japan in various government and industry funded initiatives. 

My 1999 book on knowledge management (2^nd edition) is widely translated; a book on platforms appeared in 2014. MIT Press published my 2017 book on IT strategy. I’ve pledged its royalties to two charities; Women in Technology helps women enter technology careers and Code for America fosters American competitiveness.   

 

And...

My pre-MIS work from 1989-1996 in semiconductor applications design also influenced my research philosophy towards nomothetic positivist empiricism. More on influences (and celebrity pictures)>> 

Rand's Fountainhead and Bach's Illusions, top my perennially-favorite books. Miles Davis, Chris Rea, Mark Knopfler, 50¢, 2Pac, Metallica, and AC/DC top my music list. I’m a Mac user since OS8, Linux dabbler, and a reluctant Windows user. Links to my research are up top.