Researching massively-scaled platforms to harness and organize knowledge, ideas, innovations, science, tech, economic value.


CV | Google Scholar | SSRN | @kevinjboudreau

BIO

Dr. Boudreau is an associate professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship DMSB, and also affiliated with the College of Computer & Information Sciences, the College of Social Sciences & Humanities at Northeastern University, and the Wireless Internet of Things Research Center at the Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Complex. He is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research in Productivity, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and of Harvard's Institute for Quantitative Social Science.

In his research, Dr. Boudreau uses a combination of field experiments in "live" platforms and large-scale econometric analysis to better understand how best to design and manage large-scale digital platforms for growth and innovation. His research has appeared in academic journals such as Management Science, Science, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Research Policy, Nature Biotechnology, the RAND Journal of Economics, the Harvard Business Review, Review of Economics and Statistics, and others. His research have been recognized and awarded by INFORMS Technology, Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship, Management Science, HBR McKinsey, and Copeland Awards. His research has been generously funded by Google, Microsoft, the Paris Chamber of Commerce, the Kauffman Foundation, G.E., National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Management Lab. He contributes to Management Science and Strategic Management Journal on editorial boards.

He has taught courses in advanced business strategy and dynamics, business model design, and optimally designing and scaling platform & data-driven business models, tech and science-led entrepreneurship, microeconomics, empirical & experimental methods. He has taught undergraduate, MBA, executive, and Ph.D. levels in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, ranging from students of Business, Economics, engineering, Sciences, Data Science, Computer Science, and Design and Media .

Before pursuing academic research, Professor Boudreau held several technology and management leadership positions, including leading multi-disciplinary M&A teams for Qualcomm in Latin America; building and directing The Economist Group's Western European Telecoms & Internet advisory practice; and strategy consulting at Braxton Associates and Deloitte Consulting. He also designed and ran engineering experiments on heat transfer properties of microelectronics, built statistical production tools at a silicon fab at Bell Northern Research and Nortel Networks, and worked on the robot arm on the International Space Station, as part of the Canadian Space Agency. He has founded and advised startups related to data science and machine learning, wireless communications, and crowdsourcing and innovation platforms. He holds degrees in Engineering and Economics, and a Ph.D. in Behavioral and Policy Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

[DOWNLOAD Papers]

Digital Platforms, Innovation & Strategy

UPCOMING: Field Experiments in Platform Take-off, Diversity of Platform Participants, Competing on Platforms, etc.

Science & Universities as Knowledge Platforms

UPCOMING: Field Experiments in Multi-Disciplinary Scientific Research

Translation to Practitioners

UPCOMING: Designing your Data-Driven Platform Company

  • Boudreau, K. (2020). "Designing Your Company: Creating, Delivering, and Capturing Value Vol 1" Harvard Business School Strategy Unit Working Paper No. 16-131
  • Boudreau, K. (2017). “A Short Guide to Strategy for Entrepreneurs”. HBR.org.
  • 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 Finalist, 2013
  • 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., K. Lakhani (2009) How to Manage Outside Innovation: Competitive Markets or Collaborative Communities? MIT Sloan Management Review. 50(4): 69-75.


Industry & Technology Experience

  • Crowdsourcing
  • Data Science
  • Digital Platforms
  • Engineering & Applied Science
  • Fintech
  • Games
  • Genomics
  • Internet of Things
  • Media/Data/Publishing
  • Medical Research & Life Sciences
  • ML & AI
  • Mobile Computing & Smartphones
  • Natural Sciences & Medical Research
  • Open Innovation
  • Software
  • Space Industry
  • Strategy Consulting
  • Telecommunications
  • University Science, Knowledge, and Education