Marco Iansiti
Encyclopedia
Marco Iansiti is a professor at the Harvard Business School
, whose primary research interest is technology and operations strategy and the management of innovation. He is the Director of Research and the David Sarnoff Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School
. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Keystone Strategy, a consultancy, and a member of the board of CHiL Semiconductor, a venture-backed firm focusing on low-power semiconductor technologies.
in 1983, with an A.B. in Physics. He subsequently went on to perform his Ph.D. in Physics at Harvard University
Iansiti’s Ph.D. thesis focused on experimental low temperature electronics and semiconductor microfabrication techniques. He won the Robbins Physics Prize in 1986, and was awarded his Ph.D. in September 1988. He was awarded an IBM post-doctoral fellowship for 1988–1989, and performed research on research on the design and fabrication of next-generation microelectronic devices at Harvard University
.
has focused on technological innovation, product development, entrepreneurship, and operations-specifically the drivers of productivity, flexibility, and adaptation in organizations. He is the author or coauthor of more than 50 articles, papers, book chapters, cases, and notes. Iansiti has also taught a variety of Executive Education and MBA courses on innovation, entrepreneurship, and operations, and is the creator of two Harvard Business School
courses: "Managing Product Development" and "Starting New Ventures" (with Harvard Business School
Professor Myra Hart
).
Iansiti has performed consultant and advisory roles focusing on strategy and innovation for a variety of Fortune 500
companies. He has also testified as an expert witness before the European Commission
and United States Department of Justice
regarding antitrust and intellectual property issues in the high-tech industry.
. Iansiti built upon the previous work of James F. Moore
, the founder of the field of Ecosystem Strategy, and is considered the current thought leader in the field. Iansiti examined firms such as Microsoft Corporation and Walmart, and found that the success of these firms depended heavily on the sustained health of complex networks of customers, suppliers, and competitors:
Iansiti went on to define the roles required for a business ecosystem
to be considered healthy, including Keystones that provide a foundation for connecting and supporting other organizations within the ecosystem. This field of strategy provides insights for industries in which interdependencies and engagement with customers and suppliers are critical.
(IT) strategy, developing a framework for the assessment of capabilities created through firm-level investment in IT. Iansiti's work in this area built upon research by others that had explored the link between IT investment and enterprise growth, breaking enterprise growth into the capabilities IT enables and examining the impact of these individual capabilities on enterprise performance. This more nuanced approach led to a framework for assessing an organizations' level of IT maturity, referred to as the IT Scorecard. This scorecard allowed the return on an organization's IT investment to be measured more accurately than had been possible previously, and provided a more action-oriented assessment that could be used, for example, to focus improvement efforts on under-developed IT capabilities.
• One Strategy: Organization, Planning, and Decision Making (Wiley, 2009).
Iansiti writes with Steven Sinofsky
of Microsoft Corporation on the gap that often develops between top-down, directed strategy and bottom-up, emergent behavior within an organization. Iansiti and Sinofsky discuss the approach Sinofsky took within the Windows and Windows Live Group at Microsoft
to bridge this gap during the development of the Windows 7 operating system.
• The Keystone Advantage: What the New Dynamics of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability (Harvard Business School Press, 2004)
Iansiti writes with Roy Levien
about the concept of the business ecosystem
, whereby complex business networks can be thought of as interdependent ecosystems. Within this context, Iansiti discusses the role of Keystones, firms that create a platform that sustains and enhances the health and performance of the business ecosystem.
• Technology Integration: Making Critical Choices in a Turbulent World (Harvard Business School Press, 1997)
Iansiti writes about the choices faced by high-tech firms regarding the adoption and integration of new technologies into the firm’s offerings. Iansiti assesses the performance of technology integration projects and makes suggestions for organizational best practices.
• Board Member, CHiL Semiconductor
• Former Board Member, Eurizon Financial Group
• Former Board Member, Supplier Market, Inc.
• Former Board Member, Model N Corporation
• Former Board Member, Indesit Company
• Former Board Member, IDe Corporation
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
, whose primary research interest is technology and operations strategy and the management of innovation. He is the Director of Research and the David Sarnoff Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Keystone Strategy, a consultancy, and a member of the board of CHiL Semiconductor, a venture-backed firm focusing on low-power semiconductor technologies.
Education
Iansiti graduated summa cum laude from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1983, with an A.B. in Physics. He subsequently went on to perform his Ph.D. in Physics at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
Iansiti’s Ph.D. thesis focused on experimental low temperature electronics and semiconductor microfabrication techniques. He won the Robbins Physics Prize in 1986, and was awarded his Ph.D. in September 1988. He was awarded an IBM post-doctoral fellowship for 1988–1989, and performed research on research on the design and fabrication of next-generation microelectronic devices at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Career
Iansiti’s academic research at the Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
has focused on technological innovation, product development, entrepreneurship, and operations-specifically the drivers of productivity, flexibility, and adaptation in organizations. He is the author or coauthor of more than 50 articles, papers, book chapters, cases, and notes. Iansiti has also taught a variety of Executive Education and MBA courses on innovation, entrepreneurship, and operations, and is the creator of two Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
courses: "Managing Product Development" and "Starting New Ventures" (with Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
Professor Myra Hart
Myra Hart
Myra M. Hart is a founder of Staples, Inc. She graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in 1962 and a Harvard M.B.A. 1981. She obtained a DBA from Harvard University in 1995. She was a founding member of Staples, the office superstore. She served as a Professor of Management Practice at...
).
Iansiti has performed consultant and advisory roles focusing on strategy and innovation for a variety of Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies. He has also testified as an expert witness before the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
regarding antitrust and intellectual property issues in the high-tech industry.
Development of the field of Ecosystem Strategy
Iansiti helped develop the field of Ecosystem Strategy, which focuses on the creation of firm-level strategies that are intimately connected to the surrounding business ecosystemBusiness ecosystem
Starting in the early 1990s James F. Moore originated the strategic planning concept of a business ecosystem, now widely adopted in the high tech community...
. Iansiti built upon the previous work of James F. Moore
James F. Moore
James F. Moore studies co-evolution in social and economic systems. His recent work has focused on understanding the "economics of peace."Moore was a Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society from 2000 to 2004...
, the founder of the field of Ecosystem Strategy, and is considered the current thought leader in the field. Iansiti examined firms such as Microsoft Corporation and Walmart, and found that the success of these firms depended heavily on the sustained health of complex networks of customers, suppliers, and competitors:
"Many industries today behave like a massively interconnected network of organizations, technologies, consumers and products. Perhaps the most dramatic and widely known example is the computing industry. In contrast with the vertically integrated environment of the 1960s and 1970s, today’s industry is divided into a large number of segments producing specialized products, technologies and services. The degree of interaction between firms in the industry is truly astounding, with hundreds of organizations frequently involved in the design, production, distribution, or implementation of even a single product. And because of this increasingly distributed industry structure, the focus of competition is shifting away from the management of internal resources, to the management and influence of assets that are outside the direct ownership and control of the firm."
Iansiti went on to define the roles required for a business ecosystem
Business ecosystem
Starting in the early 1990s James F. Moore originated the strategic planning concept of a business ecosystem, now widely adopted in the high tech community...
to be considered healthy, including Keystones that provide a foundation for connecting and supporting other organizations within the ecosystem. This field of strategy provides insights for industries in which interdependencies and engagement with customers and suppliers are critical.
Contribution to understanding the role of information technology in modern businesses
Iansiti has made a significant contribution to the field of Information TechnologyInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
(IT) strategy, developing a framework for the assessment of capabilities created through firm-level investment in IT. Iansiti's work in this area built upon research by others that had explored the link between IT investment and enterprise growth, breaking enterprise growth into the capabilities IT enables and examining the impact of these individual capabilities on enterprise performance. This more nuanced approach led to a framework for assessing an organizations' level of IT maturity, referred to as the IT Scorecard. This scorecard allowed the return on an organization's IT investment to be measured more accurately than had been possible previously, and provided a more action-oriented assessment that could be used, for example, to focus improvement efforts on under-developed IT capabilities.
Key publications
Books• One Strategy: Organization, Planning, and Decision Making (Wiley, 2009).
Iansiti writes with Steven Sinofsky
Steven Sinofsky
Steven Sinofsky has been the President of the Windows Division at Microsoft since September 2008, responsible for the development and marketing of Windows, Windows Live, and Internet Explorer.-Education:...
of Microsoft Corporation on the gap that often develops between top-down, directed strategy and bottom-up, emergent behavior within an organization. Iansiti and Sinofsky discuss the approach Sinofsky took within the Windows and Windows Live Group at Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
to bridge this gap during the development of the Windows 7 operating system.
• The Keystone Advantage: What the New Dynamics of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability (Harvard Business School Press, 2004)
Iansiti writes with Roy Levien
Roy Levien
Roy Levien is an author, consultant and inventor, with six issued US patents and numerous US patent applications. He is currently a Managing Inventor at Ambient Architecture, an invention company and inventor at Intellectual Ventures where he participates in frequent "invention sessions" covering a...
about the concept of the business ecosystem
Business ecosystem
Starting in the early 1990s James F. Moore originated the strategic planning concept of a business ecosystem, now widely adopted in the high tech community...
, whereby complex business networks can be thought of as interdependent ecosystems. Within this context, Iansiti discusses the role of Keystones, firms that create a platform that sustains and enhances the health and performance of the business ecosystem.
• Technology Integration: Making Critical Choices in a Turbulent World (Harvard Business School Press, 1997)
Iansiti writes about the choices faced by high-tech firms regarding the adoption and integration of new technologies into the firm’s offerings. Iansiti assesses the performance of technology integration projects and makes suggestions for organizational best practices.
Board memberships
• Chairman of the Board, Keystone Strategy, Inc.• Board Member, CHiL Semiconductor
• Former Board Member, Eurizon Financial Group
• Former Board Member, Supplier Market, Inc.
• Former Board Member, Model N Corporation
• Former Board Member, Indesit Company
• Former Board Member, IDe Corporation