June IAB Recap

The Spring CRITO Consortium Industry Advisory Board meeting was held June 1 - 2, 2006 at the Beckman Center on the UC Irvine campus. This session continued with the focus on IT-enabled innovation.

Dr. Ramesh Jain was the keynote speaker, and presented a stimulating talk on the “Business Impact of Search Technology.” Dr. Jain is the Donald Bren Professor in Information & Computer Sciences (ICS) at UC Irvine, and a pioneer in multimedia information systems, image databases, machine vision, and intelligent systems.

He insightfully discussed how search is an essential part of our life. He elaborated on the stages in search, noting that search technology is still in early infancy. He argued that we are moving toward an event-oriented paradigm, wherein search technologies and applications will focus on events in our life. His presentation was followed by a panel discussion featuring Susan Feldman, Research Vice President, Content Technologies at IDC, and Dr. Sharad Mehrotra, a professor in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at UCI.

Next, Professor Christine Beckman, from the Paul Merage School of Business, spoke on the relationship between “Organizational Structure and IT.” She discussed her recent research paper titled “Email as an Escape to Reality in the Navy.” This research examines how an organization and its members often use IT in ways that reinforce key elements of organizational structure, in contrast to structures being shaped by IT. Her panel included Colonel Bob Ballew from the Office of Force Transformation, and CRITO Faculty Associate Robert Plice, discussing “Technology and Adhocracy: Reality or Fiction?”

Professor David Obstfeld, also from the Paul Merage School of Business, gave the final talk on “Mobilizing Action for Innovation,” focusing on his studies and research around knowledge creation and strategy, and how managers can cultivate innovation.

On Friday, CRITO Research Associates presented project updates and proposals. These included:

• The Characteristics & Evolution of IT Governance
• A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Communications Technology
• Why Do Firms Vary on the Effect of IT Expenditures on Firm Performance
• Achieving Value-Network Leadership in the 21st Century
• The Science & Art of Global Collaboration
• Licensing & Pricing Strategy for Software

To access the presentations, papers and managerial summaries from the June meeting, visit the CRITO Consortium link at http://www.crito.uci.edu/consortium/iab2006-06resources.asp.

Two new projects that will be funded for the upcoming year are Gloria Mark’s “A Cost Benefit Analysis of Communications Technology,” and Imran Currim’s and Sanjeev Dewan’s “Why Do Firms Vary on the Effect of IT Expenditures on Firm Performance?” The IAB representatives also voted to continue Cristina Gibson’s “The Science & Art of Global Collaboration.”

Mark your calendars for the next CRITO Consortium IAB meeting which will be held as a one day event on Thursday, February 1, 2007 at the Beckman Center.