I am an associate professor and hold the Union Pacific professorship in MIS at Iowa State University. I also hold a courtesy joint appointment in the Management department. I was previously on Emory University’s faculty in Atlanta, which I joined after completing my Ph.D. (IS) in 2001 at Georgia State University in Atlanta. I also held a visiting research professorship at Osaka Prefecture University in Japan from 2008-2009.
Research
My research (DLBP, CSB, Google Scholar, SSRN) focuses on IT governance, with an emphasis on systems development. My work has appeared in ISR, SMJ, JMIS, ACM Transactions, IEEE Transactions, Decision Sciences, CMR, IEEE Software, and others.
I currently serve as an Associate Editor for Information Systems Research (ISR), and received ISR’s Best Associate Editor award in 2009. I have also served as a special Associate Editor for MIS Quarterly.
Representative recent research
Complementarities between Organizational IT Architecture and Governance Structure (PPTs), Information Systems Research.
Knowledge-Governance Fit in Systems Development Projects (solo), Information Systems Research.
Does Interfirm Modularity Complement Ignorance?...in Outsourcing Alliances (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?...Alliance Ambidexterity, Strategic Management Journal.
A Comparison of TCE, Agency, & KBV Predictors of IT Outsourcing, JMIS.
Complementary and Substitutive Roles of Formal and Informal Controls, JMIS.
Control in Internal & Outsourced Systems Development , JMIS.
Expertise Integration in Systems Development, JMIS.
IT Project Escalation: A Real Options Model, Decision Sciences. 2006 Best Paper Award. Others>>
The Bounded Rationality Bias in Managerial Valuation of Real Options, Decision Sciences.
Real Options Thinking in IT 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, NSDA, US DoD, and NASSCOM. I serve on the advisory boards of Nobel Fulbright Institute and KM Professionals Society. Popular press coverage includes Nikkei (interview), the notorious SlashDot (archive), and Microsoft (interview).
Teaching
My teaching in the MBA, MS, and BS programs at Iowa State (blurb, RMP profile) is highlighted in ISU’s BusinessWeek’s national ranking profile. I taught in the MBA and BBA programs at Emory from 2001-2004, and at Georgia State from 1998-2001 (including one of the first KM courses in 1999). I’ve also taught invited Ph.D.-level mini seminars in Italy and Finland. My 1999 book on KM (2nd edition) has been widely translated and used in MBA programs worldwide.
Collaborators
Professors Konsynski, Keil, Bush, Ramesh, Rai, McLean (my dissertation chair), Bharadwaj, Sambamurthy, and Fichman. My pre-MIS work from 1989-1996 in semiconductor applications design also influenced my research philosophy (more) towards nomothetic positivist empiricism. More on influences>>
And...
Rand's Fountainhead and Bach's Illusions top my perennially-favorite books. Miles Davis, Metallica, Dire Straits, 50¢, AC/DC, and Chris Rea top my music list. I’m a Mac user, Unix dabbler, and a reluctant Windows user. Links to my research are to the left.
