I study strategy in companies, nonprofit organizations and government using economic theory and methods. While the analysis of ownership and vertical integration might sound dry, my studies have revealed surprising differences in strategy and performance among organizations that seem homogeneous. For example, among venture capital firms, there are two very different approaches to investing (sometimes called East Coast and West Coast); in the stock market, there are two stock exchange types, each driven by polar opposite incentives; and there are several flavors of nonprofit hospitals.
This variation-under-one-umbrella has implications not just for strategy, but also for entrepreneurship and innovation, including how firms might differentiate themselves from competitors and where they are likely to find early stage venture funding. My approach to research has also uncovered insights for questions of broader concern, including entrepreneurship in developing countries, stock market upheaval in the US, and managing refugees in Europe.
A. B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University
Goldring/Woldenberg Hall
7 McAlister Drive Ph: 504-314-2498
New Orleans, LA 70118 jkuan1@tulane.edu
Ph.D. Business Administration, UC Berkeley
M.S. Industrial Engineering, Stanford University
B.A. International Relations, Stanford University
For economists, a typical toolkit for studying strategy includes the make-or-buy question, contracting, and incentives. I study several settings including autos, venture capital, hospitals, software, foreign aid, and stock exchanges. In each case, I take a magnifying glass to an "umbrella" to discern heterogeneity with implications for how firms differentiate and compete.
Vertical integration and contracting are useful tools for understanding entrepreneurship, too. For example, contracting problems explain why venture capital is organized the way it is. Also, my study in the Sahara Desert highlights the central role of hierarchy and the employment relation for entrepreneurship in developing as well as developed economies.
What gets in the way of innovation? I look at this question from several angles in diverse settings. In the auto industry, big customers create obstacles for small suppliers; in the Sahara, a lack of hierarchy prevents technology adoption; and in open source software, charities perform less well than non-charitable projects.
The nonprofit "umbrella" has caused the most confusion of any I study, but nonprofits are important, operating in socially and economically significant industries. I begin by describing a narrow set, nonprofits that form when consumers vertically integrate into production. From this vantage point, I analyze the behavior and performance of other types of nonprofits.