CURRICULUM VITAE | RESEARCH STATEMENT
Google Scholar | SSRN | Linkedin | Twitter | Research Statement (2022)
This century, the classical firm will be transformed, as organizations: (i) embrace evolving digital infrastructure, (ii) implement massively-scaleable platforming practices, (iii) Re-balance the work of humans and machines, and (iv) embrace more scientific and data-driven management methodologies. My research seeks optimal approaches to innovating, designing and scaling these 21st Century organizations. I use a combination of large-scale field experiments and quantitative analysis to test and advance theory.
SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Boudreau, K., N. Kaushik. (2023) Gender Differences in Response to Competitive Organization? Differences across Fields from a Product Development Platform Field Experiment Organization Science.
Boudreau, K, L. Jeppesen, M.Miric (2022) "Competing on Freemium: Digital Competition with Network Effects" Strategic Management Journal. (preprint)
Boudreau, K. (2021) "Promoting Platform Takeoff and Self-Fulfilling Expectations: Field Experimental Evidence."Management Science.
OVERVIEW
Kevin Boudreau. PhD, MIT; MA Econ, UToronto; B. Engineering, UWaterloo
Research interests: Digital Organizational Forms; Platform Strategy, Growth, and Innovation; Economics of Science, Knowledge, Universities; Universities-as-Platforms
Affiliations: Northeastern University, D'Amore McKim School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research, Harvard IQSS
Primary Editorial Responsibilities: Associate Editor Management Science; editorial board for Strategic Management Journal
Teaching: Designing Platform Businesses; Digital Business and Designing Data into Business Models; Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship; Empirical Research Methods; I have also taught core courses in Business Strategy, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Entrepreneurship
Formerly: Chief Economist, NASA Tournament Lab; Head of European Telecoms & Internet Team, Economist Intelligence Unit; President, Babbage Data Analytics & Innovation; Senior Manager Latin America M&A, Qualcomm; Strategy Consultant, Deloitte Consulting; Engineer, Canadian Space Agency.
- RESEARCH SUBMITTED & MANUSCRIPTS
1. Interdisciplinary innovation teams field experiment (submitted), w/ N. Kaushik
2. AI and digital labor markets field experiment, w/ Sarah Bana
3. The use and adoption of AI across scientific research, w/ Z. Rasouli, F. Dell'Acqua, M. Awada, K. Lakhani
4. Development of engineers and STEM workers field experiment, w/ M. Marx
5. Long tail innovation
- RESEARCH IN PREPARATION
6. Interdisciplinary science field experiment, w/ I. Ganguli
7. Scarce attention in crowdsourcing field experiment, w/ E. Lyons
8. Non-monetary motivations of online workers, w/ A. Ma & L. Dudley
9. Early experience & entrepreneurial founding, w/ M. Marx
FIELD EXPERIMENTS
Boudreau, K. (2021) "Promoting Platform Takeoff and Self-Fulfilling Expectations: Field Experimental Evidence."Management Science.
Heterogeneous Developers: Field Experimental Evidence on Sorting and Worker Effort. J. Lerner and S. Stern (eds.), The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity, 50th Anniversary Volume. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Boudreau, K. J., & M. Marx (2019). From Theory to Practice: Field Experimental Evidence on Early Exposure of Engineering Majors to Professional Work NBER Working Paper No. w26013.
Lakhani, K., K. Boudreau, E. Guinan (2018) "Randomized Insights: Field Experiments in Understanding Knowledge Production in the Sciences." Science.
Boudreau, K., T. Brady, I. Ganguli, P. Gaule, E. Guinan, T. Hollenberg, K. Lakhani (2017) "A Field Experiment on Search Costs and the Formation of Scientific Collaborations." Review of Economics and Statistics.
Boudreau, K., E. Guinan, K. Lakhani, et al. (2016) "Looking Across and Looking Beyond the Knowledge Frontier: Intellectual Distance, Novelty and Resource Allocation in Science". Management Science.
Guinan, E., K. Boudreau, K. Lakhani (2013) "Experiments in Open Innovation at the Harvard Medical School." MIT Sloan Management Review. 54(3): 45-52.
Boudreau, K., and K. Lakhani (2015) Innovation Experiments: Researching Technical Advance, Knowledge Production and the Design of Supporting Institutions. In Innovation Policy and the Economy. National Bureau of Economic Research, volume 16, edited by Josh Lerner and Scott Stern. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Boudreau, K., K. Lakhani (2014) "'Open' Disclosure of Innovations, Incentives and Follow-on Reuse: Theory on Processes of Cumulative Innovation and a Field Experiment in Computational Biology." Research Policy.
Lakhani, K., K. Boudreau, L. Backstrom, C. Baldwin, P. Loh, E. Lonstein, M. Lydon, A. MacCormack, R. Arnaout and E. Guinan (2013) Prize-based contests can provide solutions to computational biology problems. Nature Biotechnology. 31(2):108
DIGITAL PLATFORM & ECOSYSTEM GOVERNANCE
Boudreau, K. (2017), "Platform Boundary Choices & Governance: Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Growth in Mobile Computing." Advances in Strategic Management on “Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Platforms. eds. Furman, Gawer, Stern, Silverman.
Boudreau, K. (2010) "Open Platform Strategies and Innovation: Granting Access vs. Devolving Control. Management Science. 56(10): 1849-1872
Boudreau, K., A. Hagiu (2009) "Platforms Rules: Multi-sided Platforms as Regulators." A. Gawer, ed. Platforms, Markets and Innovation. Edward Elgar, London.
Boudreau (2007) "Does Opening a Platform Stimulate Innovation? The Effect on Systemic and Modular Innovations" MIT Sloan Working Paper.
COMPETITION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITHIN DIGITAL MARKETPLACES
Boudreau, Kevin J., Lars Bo Jeppesen, and Milan Miric. "Free(mium) strategies for digital goods." In Research Handbook on Digital Strategy, pp. 126-141. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023.
Boudreau, K, L. Jeppesen, M.Miric (2022) "Profiting from Digital Innovation: Patents, Copyright and Performance." Research Policy
Boudreau, K, L. Jeppesen, M.Miric (2022) "Competing on Freemium: Digital Competition with Network Effects" Strategic Management Journal. (preprint)
Boudreau, K. (2021) "Promoting Platform Takeoff and Self-Fulfilling Expectations: Field Experimental Evidence."Management Science.
Miric, M., K. Boudreau, L. Jeppesen (2019). "Protecting their digital assets: The use of formal & informal appropriability strategies by App developers". Research Policy
Boudreau, K. (2018) "“Crowds” of Amateurs & Professional Entrepreneurs in Marketplaces". NBER Working Paper No. 24512.
Boudreau, K. (2012) "Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom? An Early Look at Large Numbers of Software Apps Developers and Patterns of Innovation." `. 23: 1409-1427.
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO ORGANIZING & INNOVATING WITH DIGITAL PLATFORMS
Boudreau, K., N. Kaushik. (2023) Gender Differences in Response to Competitive Organization? Differences across Fields from a Product Development Platform Field Experiment Organization Science.
Boudreau, K., L. Jeppesen, T. Reichstein, F. Rullani, (2021) "Crowdfunding as Donations to Entrepreneurial Firms." Research Policy
Boudreau, K., K. Lakhani, M. Menietti. (2016) "Performance Responses To Competition Across Skill-Levels In Rank Order Tournaments: Field Evidence and Implications For Tournament Design." RAND Journal of Economics.
Boudreau, K., L. Jeppesen (2014) "Unpaid Platform Complementors and the Network Effect Mirage". Strategic Management Journal.
Boudreau, K., K. Lakhani (2013) "Using the Crowd as an Innovation Partner." Harvard Business Review. 91(4): 60-69.
Harvard Business Review McKinsey Award Best Paper Award
Boudreau, K., N. Lacetera and K. Lakhani (2011) "Incentives and Problem Uncertainty in Innovation Contests: An Empirical Analysis." Management Science. 57(5): 843-863.
Boudreau, K., K. Lakhani (2011) The Confederacy of Heterogeneous Software Organizations and Heterogeneous Developers: Field Experimental Evidence on Sorting and Worker Effort. J. Lerner and S. Stern (eds.), The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity, 50th Anniversary Volume. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Boudreau, K., K. Lakhani (2009) "How to Manage Outside Innovation: Competitive Markets or Collaborative Communities?" MIT Sloan Management Review. 50(4): 69-75.
PLATFORMING & ORGANIZING SCIENCE & UNIVERSITIES
Boudreau, K. J., & M. Marx (2019). From Theory to Practice: Field Experimental Evidence on Early Exposure of Engineering Majors to Professional Work NBER Working Paper No. w26013.
Lakhani, K., K. Boudreau, E. Guinan (2018) "Randomized Insights: Field Experiments in Understanding Knowledge Production in the Sciences." Science.
Boudreau, K., T. Brady, I. Ganguli, P. Gaule, E. Guinan, T. Hollenberg, K. Lakhani (2017) "A Field Experiment on Search Costs and the Formation of Scientific Collaborations." Review of Economics and Statistics.
Boudreau, K., E. Guinan, K. Lakhani, et al. (2016) "Looking Across and Looking Beyond the Knowledge Frontier: Intellectual Distance, Novelty and Resource Allocation in Science". Management Science.
Copeland Best Paper Award, INFORMS Best Paper Award
Boudreau, K., and K. Lakhani (2015) Innovation Experiments: Researching Technical Advance, Knowledge Production and the Design of Supporting Institutions. In Innovation Policy and the Economy. National Bureau of Economic Research, volume 16, edited by Josh Lerner and Scott Stern. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Boudreau, K., K. Lakhani (2014) "'Open' Disclosure of Innovations, Incentives and Follow-on Reuse: Theory on Processes of Cumulative Innovation and a Field Experiment in Computational Biology." Research Policy.
Lakhani, K., K. Boudreau, L. Backstrom, C. Baldwin, P. Loh, E. Lonstein, M. Lydon, A. MacCormack, R. Arnaout and E. Guinan (2013) Prize-based contests can provide solutions to computational biology problems. Nature Biotechnology. 31(2):108
Guinan, E., K. Boudreau, K. Lakhani (2013) "Experiments in Open Innovation at the Harvard Medical School." MIT Sloan Management Review. 54(3): 45-52.
BUSINESS STRATEGY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, & INNOVATION
Boudreau, K. (2017). “A Short Guide to Strategy for Entrepreneurs.” Harvard Business Review
Boudreau, K. (2016). "Designing Your Company: Creating, Delivering, and Capturing Value" Vol 1" Harvard Business School Strategy Unit Working Paper No. 16-131
Top-20 all time downloaded SSRN Strategy
Scaling and Optimizing Innovation on Platforms & Digital Infrastructure
Organizing Science & Universities as Knowledge Platforms
Field Experiments & Large-Scale Data Analysis of "Live" Digital Organizations at Scale