Arun Sundararajan
Encyclopedia
Arun Sundararajan (born in the United Kingdom
) is the NEC Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor of Information, Operations and Management Sciences and a Doctoral Coordinator at the Stern School of Business, New York University
. For 2010-12, he is the Distinguished Academic Fellow at the Center for IT and the Networked Economy, Indian School of Business
. Dr. Sundararajan is an expert on the economics of digital goods and network effects. He also conducts research about network science
and the socioeconomic transformation of India.
in 1993 with a B.Tech in electrical engineering
. He subsequently attended the University of Rochester
where he received an M. Phil in operations research
and a Ph.D. in business administration. After he earned his doctorate, he joined the faculty at New York University
, where his teaching and research are about the transformation of business and society by information technologies, with a focus on the economics of information technology (IT) and the Indian economy.
Sundararajan's scholarly research analyzes what makes the economics of IT products and industries unique. He asserts that there are three technological invariants—digitization, exponential growth, and modularity—that have characterized and distinguished information technologies since the 1960s, and that these invariants lead to the ubiquity of information goods, digital piracy and network effects in IT industries. His research papers illustrate how these distinctive economics of information technologies warrant new pricing strategies, careful digital rights management, and a deeper understanding of network structure and dynamics.
Sundararajan periodically publishes opinion articles about transformation through information technologies and business with a frequent focus on India.
He has been elected to the editorial boards of the prestigious journals Management Science and Information Systems Research
(where he is currently a Senior Editor). He co-founded the NYU Summer Workshop on the Economics of Information Technology and the Workshop on Information in Networks. He received a 2010 Google-WPP Marketing Research Award, the Best Paper award at the 2008 INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology, and the Best Overall Paper award at the 2004 International Conference on Information Systems
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) is the NEC Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor of Information, Operations and Management Sciences and a Doctoral Coordinator at the Stern School of Business, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. For 2010-12, he is the Distinguished Academic Fellow at the Center for IT and the Networked Economy, Indian School of Business
Indian School of Business
The Indian School of Business is a business school in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. It offers a Post Graduate Programme in Management , a Fellow Program in Management, and a Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior...
. Dr. Sundararajan is an expert on the economics of digital goods and network effects. He also conducts research about network science
Network science
Network science is a new and emerging scientific discipline that examines the interconnections among diverse physical or engineered networks, information networks, biological networks, cognitive and semantic networks, and social networks. This field of science seeks to discover common principles,...
and the socioeconomic transformation of India.
Life and work
Arun Sundararajan graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology MadrasIndian Institute of Technology Madras
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras is an engineering and technology school in Chennai in southern India. It is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India...
in 1993 with a B.Tech in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
. He subsequently attended the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
where he received an M. Phil in operations research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
and a Ph.D. in business administration. After he earned his doctorate, he joined the faculty at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, where his teaching and research are about the transformation of business and society by information technologies, with a focus on the economics of information technology (IT) and the Indian economy.
Sundararajan's scholarly research analyzes what makes the economics of IT products and industries unique. He asserts that there are three technological invariants—digitization, exponential growth, and modularity—that have characterized and distinguished information technologies since the 1960s, and that these invariants lead to the ubiquity of information goods, digital piracy and network effects in IT industries. His research papers illustrate how these distinctive economics of information technologies warrant new pricing strategies, careful digital rights management, and a deeper understanding of network structure and dynamics.
Sundararajan periodically publishes opinion articles about transformation through information technologies and business with a frequent focus on India.
He has been elected to the editorial boards of the prestigious journals Management Science and Information Systems Research
Information Systems Research
Information Systems Research is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers research in the areas of information systems and information technology. It is published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, and was recently selected as one of the top 20...
(where he is currently a Senior Editor). He co-founded the NYU Summer Workshop on the Economics of Information Technology and the Workshop on Information in Networks. He received a 2010 Google-WPP Marketing Research Award, the Best Paper award at the 2008 INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology, and the Best Overall Paper award at the 2004 International Conference on Information Systems
International Conference on Information Systems
International Conference on Information Systems is an annual international conference for academics and research-oriented practitioners in the area of Information Systems...
.