MIT Sloan Management Review

MIT Sloan School of Management economist and digital business expert Erik Brynjolfsson tells how the rising data flood and the emerging tools for analyzing it are changing the ways innovation gets done.

“To heck with what the technology can do,” says Michael Schrage of the MIT Center for Digital Business. Great managers, he says, first think about what kind of value they want to create and then consider how IT can help them create it.

MIT Sloan economist and digital-business expert Erik Brynjolfsson tells how the rising data flood and emerging tools for analyzing it are changing the ways innovation gets done.

What kind of IT strategy does it take to prosper in today's increasingly digital economy? Peter Weill, chairman of the MIT Sloan School of Management's Center for Information Systems Research, explored this question in a recent interview.�

On average, investments in information technology are associated with greater productivity for companies -- but why do some companies get greater productivity benefits from IT than others? That was one of the questions MIT Sloan Professor Erik Brynjolfsson addressed at a presentation at the MIT Center for Digital Business today.�

A tech research firm CEO recently tweeted: "After six months with my Kindle I can now report that the damn thing is indispensible. This Amazon toast was perfectly
cooked." I wish I had the version he seems to have.

Conventional wisdom has it that companies whose markets are being transformed by disruptive new technologies need to figure out how to switch to the new dominant technology. But two researchers argue that an alternative strategy –one that involves rethinking opportunities for the old technology — can sometimes make sense.

Who owns data available on the Internet? An article in MIT Sloan Management Review examines that question.

An increasing number of Internet applications take advantage of the large amount of data accessible via the Web. These applications — now often called “mashups” — make relevant information from multiple Web sites easily accessible at a single Web site.

A conversation with MySQL chief Marten Mickos about the day-to-day realities of making open source work, the new outcomes of enlightened self-interest, and why there’s no risk that you could rip off MySQL no matter how much they let you see.

The Internet does a great job of facilitating knowledge sharing through tools such as wikis and forums. But these tools have their limitations.

The benefits of engaging customers in product development, product support and related activities are increasingly visible. Having the right technology-based system can enhance the customer experience and help companies improve both their innovation and customer relationship management capabilities.

Technology use, diverse networks and access to new information all enhance productivity. Multitasking also can offer productivity benefits — but only in moderation.

The Genre Model can help in evaluating how a new communication technology may fit into your specific corporate environment.

In most large organizations, CEOs and senior management get the best technology and the best technology support, but this practice may actually put revenue at risk, according to two Unisys Corp. studies conducted over the last year.

Information technology remains a terrible bottleneck to growth in most companies, mainly because executives focus on the wrong remedy for their IT problems

Technology has always been about hope. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, businesses have embraced new technologies enthusiastically, and their optimism has been rewarded with improved processes, lower costs and reduced workforces.

You can bank on a tenfold improvement in the cost and capability of collaboration technologies over the next five years. What will your organization do with that?

Clashes between bottom line-oriented managers (stewards) and creative technical employees (creators) may be inevitable. But when those conflicts aren’t managed well, a company’s ability to innovate may be at risk.

Stepped up regulation and liability are in store for the IT industry as software failures increasingly have the potential to disrupt lives.