Lorin Hitt

I am currently the Zhang Jindong Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School.  My central research area is on the relationship between information technology and productivity and the factors that affect the value of IT investments. Most of my recent work has been the study of complementary factors, such as organizational design and human capital, on the value of IT. Most of this work is directed at firms in all industries, although I have become increasingly interested in IT deployment in healthcare. In recent years, we have been more extensively working on the role of the IT workforce and issues that affect the demand and wages of IT workers (such as offshoring and the H1B visa program). I have also been extensively involved in electronic business research investigating the the nature of competition in electronic markets (such as online travel agents), the value proposition for alternative delivery systems (such as online retail banking), the role of switching costs in determining pricing and product strategy (as in online discount brokerage), and the effect of recommender systems on consumer behavior.

I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in information systems management and economics and data analysis.  I also teach the undergraduate core class in OPIM in the Fall (offseason).

In my spare time, I also consult and conduct research into the design of IT outsourcing agreements, methods for evaluating IT investments, and other questions at the intersection of information systems, economics and econometrics. I also occasionally serve as an expert witness for information technology and consumerrelated litigation (intellectual property, consumer behavior in computers and consumer electronics industries, enterprise software, and software project problems).

My current research focuses on the economics of IT labor mobility, contracting in enteprise software, the influence of recommender systems on consumer behavior, measuring intangible assets, and  pricing information goods.  See my personal site for more information.

Lynn Wu, Lorin M. Hitt, Bowen Lou (Under Review), Data Analytics Skills, Innovation and Firm Productivity.

Abstract: We examine the relationship between data analytics capabilities and innovation using detailed firmlevel data. To measure innovative activity, we utilize a survey on process and innovation oriented business practices, and we use patent data to analyze the innovative output and characteristics of firms. We find that data analytics capabilities are more likely to be present and are more valuable in firms that are oriented around process improvement and that innovate by recombining existing technologies; data analytics skills have no effect on or are possibly negatively related to value in firms that focus on generating creative and truly novel innovations. We interpret these findings as consistent with data analytics skills being complementary to the exploitation rather than exploration strategies as described in the technology strategy literature.

Lynn Wu, Lorin M. Hitt, Fujie Jin (2016), Are All Spillovers Created Equal? A Network Perspective on IT Labor Movements, Management Science, Forthcoming.

Lorin M. Hitt, Ruben Lobel, Ozge Yapar (Work In Progress), Technology sharing in twosided markets.

Abstract: This paper investigates the drivers behind Tesla's decision to make its patents freely available to other electric car manufacturers. The two sides of this market, car owners and potential charging stations, rely on each other to increase the value of their investment. We show under what conditions subsidizing the competitors can be profitable. By sharing technology, Tesla may be able improve the charging station network and increase it's own profit from car sales.

Lorin M. Hitt, Fujie Jin, Lynn Wu (Under Revision), Data Skills and Corporate Value of Social Media.

Prasanna Tambe (OPIM) and Lorin M. Hitt (2011), Now IT’s Personal: Offshoring and the Shifting Skill Composition of the US Information Technology Workforce , Management Science, (forthcoming).

Prasanna Tambe (OPIM), Lorin M. Hitt, Erik Brynjolfsson (2011), The Extroverted Firm: How External Information Practices Affect Productivity , Management Science, (forthcoming).

XinXin Li (OPIM), Lorin M. Hitt, Z. John Zhang (MKTG) (2011), Product Reviews and Competition in Markets for Repeat Purchase Products , Journal of Management Information Systems, (forthcoming).

Lorin M. Hitt, Mei Xue, PeiYu Chen (2011), The Determinants and Outcomes of Internet Banking Adoption , Management Science, 57(2): 291307.

XinXin Li and Lorin M. Hitt (2010), Price Effects in Online Product Reviews: An Analystical Model and Empirical Analysis , MIS Quarterly, 34(4): 809831.

Prasanna Tambe and Lorin M. Hitt (2010), How Does Offshoring Affect IT Workers? , Communications of the ACM, 53(10): 7282.

I teach four courses:

OPIM101 Introduction to OPIM (Fall only)

OPIM105 Data Analysis in VBA and SQL (next offering Fall, 2015)

OPIM469 Information Strategy and Economics (next offering unknown maybe Fall, 2016)

OPIM955 Doctoral Seminar in IS Economics (offered Spring, 2015)

Past Courses

OIDD105 DEV TOOLS FOR DATA ANLYS

This course provides an introduction to the construction of data analysis tools that are commonly used for business applications, especially in consulting and finance. The course builds on the spreadsheet and analytical skills developed in OPIM101, providing a much more extensive treatment of spreadsheet application development and database management. The first portion of the course will focus on programming in VBA, the embedded programming language in the Microsoft Office suite of applications. This will be supplemented with discussion of industry best practice in software development, such as specification development, interface design, documentation, and testing. The second portion of the class will emphasize data access and analysis utilizing SQL, the industry standard language for interacting with database software.

OIDD955 RESEARCH SEM IN INFO SYS

This course provides an overview of some of the key Information Systems literature from the perspective of Insormation Strategy and Economics (ISE) and Information Decision Technologies (IDT). This course is intended to provide an introduction for first year OIDD doctoral students, as well as other Wharton doctoral students, to important core research topics and methods in ISE and IDT in order for students to do research in the field of Information Systems. While it is intended as a "first course" for OPIM doctoral students in ISE and IDT, it may also be useful for students who are engaged in research or plan to perform information technology related research in other disciplines.

• Best Paper Runnerup – Management Science, 2014
• Best Paper – Information Systems Research, 2013
• Wharton Excellence in Teaching Award, Undergraduate Division, 2011
• Wharton Excellence in Teaching Award, Undergraduate Division, 2007
• Runnerup for Best Paper, International Conference on Information Systems, 2004
• Wharton Excellence in Teaching Award, Undergraduate Division, 2003
• Wharton Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching, 1999
• David Hauck Award for Distinguished Teaching, 1999
• Runnerup for Best Paper, International Conference on Information Systems, 1999
• National Science Foundation Career Grant Recipient, 1998
• Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, 1998
• Wharton Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching, 1998
• Wharton Excellence in Teaching Award, Undergraduate Division, 1998

Knowledge @ Wharton

• Building a Better American Voting System, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/02/2017
• How Data Skills Help Firms Create Social Media That Matters, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/25/2016
• SAP, Microsoft and the Coming Consolidation in Software, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/14/2004
• The Buzz on Google’s IPO, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/19/2004
• Will Commission Cuts Kill the Small Travel Agent?, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/08/2002
• Poachers Are Out to Plunder Your Intellectual Property – Can You Do Anything?, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/01/2001
• Opportunities for B2B eBusiness in Real Estate, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/22/2000
• Is Online Consumer Spending Slowing Down?, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/01/2000
• Have Web Access, Will Travel, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/01/1999
• The Real Benefit of PC Banking, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/23/1999
• Can NumberCrunchers Become Geeks?, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/27/1999