Technology and Innovation Management (TIM)

Let us introduce Ram Ranganathan of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, which is, not surprisingly, in Austin, Texas. Ram, you recently joined the TIM Executive Committee as an At-Large member, congratulations! Thanks for your service. So…

What are your research interests right now?

I’m working on a couple of super interesting projects that look at how different types of ecosystems achieve “alignment” across the myriad of firms that constitute them. In general, I’ve been quite involved in trying to understand how interdependent firms align innovation choices within ecosystems, with technology standards and standards-setting organizations being one type of institutional structure that facilitates such coordination. More recently, I’ve also been interested in digital forms of governance in ecosystems with clear platform leaders, that can substitute for more explicit institutional coordination structures.

What do you think is your most exciting contribution to academia?

Throughout my work I try to show that external institutional factors can influence firms’ strategies and their subsequent effectiveness in managing technological change – I think this is in sharp contrast with the dominant approach to study how firms deal with technological change, which focuses on factors internal to firms.

Tell us something personal about yourself.

I really enjoy cooking with my two daughters - they are major foodies! We also have a stray cat who adopted us during the pandemic – she now completely rules the household!

Thanks Ram!

If you (the reader) would like to be profiled for a TIM-troduction, or would like to nominate someone else, please contact us at: tim@aom.org.