Peng Huang

University of Maryland, College Park | UMD, UMCP, University of Maryland College Park · Department of Decision, Operations and Information Technologies

We examine whether ownership of intellectual property rights (IPR) or downstream capabilities is effective in encouraging entry into markets complementary to a proprietary platform by preventing the platform owner from expropriating rents from start-ups. We study this question in the context of the software industry, an environment where evidence o...

By lowering the costs of gathering and sharing information and offering new ways to learn about products before purchase, the Internet reduces traditional distinctions between search and experience goods. At the same time, differences in the type of information sought for search and experience goods can precipitate differences in the process throug...

It has been argued that platform technology owners cocreate business value with other firms in their platform ecosystems by encouraging complementary invention and exploiting indirect network effects. In this study, we examine whether participation in an ecosystem partnership improves the business performance of small independent software vendors (...

We examine the productivity implications of external knowledge flows obtained through an internet-mediated discussion forum in which IT professionals help one another solve problems related to the implementation and use of enterprise software. We extend elements of the absorptive capacity (ACAP) framework that have not previously been studied in th...

Advanced information technologies have enabled Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) , which have the potential to transform higher education around the world. Why are some institutions eager to embrace this technology-enabled model of teaching, while others remain reluctant to jump aboard? Applying the theory of absorptive capacity, we study the rol...

Despite the consensus that information security should become an important consideration in information technology (IT) governance rather than the sole responsibility of the IT department, important IT governance decisions are often made on the basis of fulfilling business needs with a minimal amount of attention paid to their implications for info...

The threats of new entry by startups in the fast-moving information technology (IT) industry have important implications for firm decision making. Although analytical work on the strategic responses to new entry threats (NETs) through preemptive research and development (R&D) has produced contradictory predictions, empirical analysis of this relati...

Due to the heterogeneities in the nature of complex networks, it is possible that the relationship between tie strength and network topology does not follow a universal rule. Since networks are shaped by different mechanisms, the correlation of the network topology and tie strengths can either constrain or facilitate the information flow in the net...

Organizations from nearly every industry face critical challenges of organizing for successful digital innovation. While the notion of digital innovation management has received increasing interest, prior IS research has offered limited insights into the effectiveness of specific organizing structures and mechanisms, such as the allocation of decis...

Prior research on corporate governance has offered contradictory empirical evidence on the relationship between the independence of the board of directors (the degree to which the board consists of outside directors who are not affiliated with the company) and firm performance. Building on the contingency view of corporate governance, we argue that...

How should digital platforms engage with and invest in their online communities to shape innovation and knowledge contributions from members in their platform ecosystems? This is an important question because user contributions are important drivers of technological progress and business value. We examine the effect of platform sponsors' investment...

Using longitudinal data of IT professionals' activities in the SAP Community Network, and the career histories of these professionals obtained from LinkedIn, we investigate the relationship between an individual's participation in Internet-enabled open knowledge communities and a major event of his/her career development: jobhopping. We measure ind...

The Information Technology (IT) industry is characterized by rapid technological change and fast-moving dynamics, a significant part of which may be attributed to entrepreneurial ventures that pioneer new innovations. Correspondingly, the rate of new entry in the form of entrepreneurial ventures poses a critical risk factor for incumbent IT firms....

In this work we examine how a firm’s innovation output is shaped by two factors that have been under-studied in the literature: 1) the potential threats the firm faces in its product market, and 2) the firm’s governance structure. We argue that: 1) product market threats, i.e., turbulence in the product markets caused by an incumbent firm’s competi...

We examine how firms in the IT industry adjust their innovation strategy as a response to the potential entry threats they face in their product markets. While turbulence in the product markets caused by startups affects an incumbent firm’s investment decisions, prior research has provided contrasting theoretical predictions on the relationship bet...

Advanced information technologies have enabled the development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which have the potential to transform higher education. Why are some schools able to more easily embrace this technology-based model of teaching, while others are reluctant to jump aboard? Applying the theory of absorptive capacity, we examine the...

Assessing the benefits and challenges of knowledge spillovers.

We evaluate the value to firms of participating in an Internet-enabled network of practice in which IT professionals exchange ideas and help each other resolve problems related to the implementation and use of enterprise software. We show that IT spillovers that take place in these online community networks contribute positively and significantly t...

Using longitudinal data of IT professionals’ activities in the SAP Community Network, and the career histories of these professionals, obtained from LinkedIn, we investigate the relationship between an individual’s participation in Internet-enabled open knowledge communities and a major event of her career development: job-hopping. We measure indiv...

We use fine-grained longitudinal data of user activities in a leading enterprise software vendor's Internet-enabled community network to explore knowledge contribution and exchange patterns among countries. We measure knowledge contribution using data on 1.8 million forum discussion threads involving more than 276,000 active users from 224 countrie...

Innovation ecosystem strategy is often adopted by platform technology owners to seek complementary innovation from resources located outside the firm to exploit indirect network effect. In this dissertation I aim to address the issues that are related to the formation and business value of platform innovation ecosystems in the enterprise software i...

In the enterprise software industry leading firms usually adopt an open platform strategy and nurture their innovation ecosystem to achieve the shared success of the community. In this study we examine the antecedents of small independent software vendors' (ISVs') decision to join a platform ecosystem. Using data of 1208 ISVs' history of partnering...

In this study we examine the antecedents of small independent software vendor (ISV) decisions to join a platform ecosystem. Using data on the history of partnering activities from 1201 ISVs from 1996 to 2004, we find that appropriability strategies based on intellectual property rights and the possession of downstream complementary capabilities by...

Using the online transaction data of 88,814 U.S. households in 2006, we analyze how local tax rates affect online purchasing behavior. Although earlier survey-based research has found that consumers who live in high-tax localities are more likely to shop online, our transaction-based data show the opposite. We find that higher local tax rates are a...