Research

JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

  • Adner, Ron, Chen, Jianqing, and Zhu, Feng. “Frenemies in Platform Markets: Heterogeneous profit focus as a driver of asymmetric compatibility choices.” Management Science. Forthcoming
  • Adner, Ron and Feiler, Daniel. 2019. “Interdependence, Perception, and Investment Choices: An Experimental Approach to Decision Making in Ecosystems.” Organization Science. 30(1): 1-17.
  • Adner, Ron. 2017. “Ecosystem as Structure: An Actionable Construct for Strategy.” Journal of Management. 43(1): 39-58.
  • Van de Ven, Andrew & Adner, Ron & Barley, Stephen & Dougherty, Deborah & Fountain, Jane & Hargadon, Andrew & Kamlet, Mark & Karlin, Beth & Schilling, Melissa. "Increasing benefits & reducing social costs of technological innovations." Behavioral Science & Policy, vol. 3 no. 1, 2017, pp. 92-103.
  • Adner, Ron, Ruiz- Aliseda, Francisco, and Zemsky, Peter. 2016. “Specialist vs. Generalist Positioning: Demand heterogeneity, technology scalability, and endogenous market segmentation,” Strategy Science. 1(3): 184-206.
  • Adner, Ron and Kapoor, Rahul. 2016. “Right Tech, Wrong Time.” Harvard Business Review. 94(11): 60-67. Reprinted in HBR's 10 Must Reads 2018: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year; Reprinted in IEEE Engineering Management Review. 2017 45(4): 81-85.
  • Adner, Ron and Kapoor, Rahul. 2016. “Innovation ecosystems and the pace of substitution: Reexamining technology S-curves” Strategic Management Journal. 37(4):625-648.
  • Adner, Ron. 2016. Navigating the Leadership Challenges of Innovation Ecosystems. Sloan Management Review. 58(1):141-146.
  • Adner, Ron and Peter Zemsky (2016) “Diversification and Performance: Linking Relatedness, Market Structure, and the Decision to Diversify.” Strategy Science 1(1):32-55.
  • Klingebiel, Ronald and Adner, Ron. 2015. “Real Options Logic Revisited: Disentangling Sequential Investment, Low-Commitment Strategies, and Resource Re-Allocation Reality.” Academy of Management Journal. 58(1): 221-241.
  • Adner, Ron, Felipe Csaszar and Peter Zemsky. 2014. “Positioning on a Multi-Attribute Landscape” Management Science. 60(11): 2794-2815.
  • Adner, Ron, Oxley, Joanne, and Silverman, Brian. 2013. “Collaboration and Competition in Business Ecosystems.” Advances in Strategic Management 31: 9-18.
  • Kapoor, Rahul and Ron Adner. 2012. “What firms make vs. what they know: How firms’ production and knowledge boundaries affect competitive advantage in the face of technological change.” Organization Science, Special issue on Organizational Economics and Organizational Capabilities. 23(5): 1227–1248.Selected for Best Paper Proceedings of the Academy of Management, 2008; Runner-up, INFORMS-ISA Best Inudstry Studies Paper Award (best paper across all 843 papers published in 2012 across all 12 INFORMS journals)
  • Adner, Ron and Snow, Daniel. 2010. “Old Technology Responses to New Technology Threats: Demand heterogeneity and technology retreats.” Industrial and Corporate Change. 19(5):1655-1675.
  • Adner, Ron and Kapoor, Rahul. 2010. “Value creation in innovation ecosystems: How the structure of technological interdependence affects firm performance in new technology generations.” Strategic Management Journal.31(3): 306-333.
  • Adner, Ron and Snow, Daniel. 2010. “Bold retreat: A new strategy for old technologies.” Harvard Business Review. 88(3): 76-81. Reprinted in Harvard Business Review on Aligning Technology with Strategy, Harvard Business Press, 2011.
  • Adner, Ron Adner, Laszlo Polos, Michael D. Ryall, and Olav Sorenson. 2009. "The case for formal theory " Academy of Management Review. 34(2):201-208.
  • Adner, Ron and Levinthal, Daniel. 2008. “Doing versus seeing: Acts of exploitation and perceptions of exploration.” Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. 1(2):43-52.
  • Adner, Ron. 2007. “Real options and resource re-allocation processes.” Advances in Strategic Management. 24: 363-272.
  • Adner, Ron and Zemsky, Peter. 2006 “A demand-based perspective on sustainable competitive advantage.” Strategic Management Journal. 27(3): 215-239.
  • Adner, Ron. 2006. “Match your innovation strategy to your innovation ecosystem”, Harvard Business Review, 84(4): 98-107.
  • Adner, Ron and Zemsky, Peter. 2005. “Disruptive technologies and the emergence of competition.” Rand Journal of Economics,36(2): 229-254.
  • Adner, Ron. 2004. “A demand-based perspective on technology life cycles” Advances in Strategic Management.. 21: 25-43.
  • Adner, Ron and Levinthal, Daniel. 2004. “What is not a real option: Identifying boundaries for the application of real option to business strategy.” Academy of Management Review. 29(1):74-85. Reprinted in Real Options and International Investment, Alan M. Rugman and Jing Li (eds.), Edward Elgar Publishing. 2005; Reprinted in Technology Strategy and Innovation Management, Michael Leiblein and Arvids Zeidonis (eds.) Edward Elgar Publishing. 2011.
  • Adner, Ron and Levinthal, Daniel. 2004. “Real options and real tradeoffs.” Academy of Management Review, 29(1):120-126.
  • Adner, Ron and Helfat, Constance. 2003. "Corporate effects and dynamic managerial capabilities.” Strategic Management Journal. 24(10): 1011-1027.
  • Adner, Ron. 2002. “When are technologies disruptive: A demand-based view of the emergence of competition” Strategic Management Journal. 23: 667-688.
  • Adner, Ron and Levinthal, Daniel. 2002. “The emergence of emerging technology.” California Management Review. 45(1): 50-66.
  • Adner, Ron and Levinthal, Daniel. 2001. Demand heterogeneity and technology evolution: Implications for product and process innovation.” Management Science. 47(5): 611-628.
  • Rangan, Subramanian and Adner, Ron. 2001. “Profits and the internet: Seven misconceptions.” Sloan Management Review. 42(4): 44-53. Reprinted in Strategies for E-Business Success, Erik Brynjolfsson and Glen Urban (eds.)Wiley. 2001.

BOOKS

  • Adner, Ron. 2012. The Wide Lens: A new strategy for innovation. Penguin/Portfolio: New York.
  • Paperback, 2013, The Wide Lens: What successful innovators see that others miss.
    Awarded Strategy and Business Best Business Books of 2012
    Awarded Risk Management Top 5 Business Books of 2012
    Finalist Academy of Management Terry Book Award, 2013
    Translated into Chinese (simple and complex), Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Latvian
  • Adner, Ron, Oxley, Joanne, and Silverman, Brian (Co-editors).2013. Collaboration and Competition in Business Ecosystems. Advances in Strategic Management Vol 31.

WORKING PAPERS AND WORK IN PROGRESS

  • “Strategizing in the Face of Interdependence: An experimental approach” (with Daniel Feiler)
  • Strategy Science special issue on “Strategy in the Digital Age” (with co-editors Phanish Puranam and Feng Zhu)
  • “Fostering Socially-Desirable Government Venture Funding Activity: A real options lens” (with Anna Scedrova, Robert Morgan, and Luigi de Luca)
  • “Wide Lens for the Social Sector” (with Margaret Hanson)

OTHER PUBLICATIONS (SELECTED)

  • Adner, Ron, “Many companies still don’t know how to compete in the digital age. Harvard Business Review. March 28, 2016.
  • Adner, Ron “Solving the Electric Car Puzzle.” May 29, 2012. The Wall Street Journal.
  • Adner, Ron, “Apple’s New Fraud Problem: Cracked walls and broken promises.” March 21, 2012, Wired (online)
  • Adner, Ron, “From Walkman to iPod: What Music Tech Teaches Us About Innovation.” March 5, 2012, The Atlantic (online)
  • Adner, Ron, “The Innovator’s Blindspot: Even your best ideas will fail if your partners don’t innovate too.” Feb 27, 2012. Fast Company (online)
  • Adner, Ron and Vincent, William, “Get Ready for Ads in Books”, August 19, 2010, The Wall Street Journal.
  • Adner, Ron and Vincent, William, “iPad: A dubious bet for publishers.” Nov 29, 2010, Forbes
  • Adner, Ron and Vincent, William, “Blackberry’s Next Killer App.” June 18, 2010, Forbes
  • Adner, Ron and Vincent, William, “Kindle is Dead – Long Live Kindle.” August 12, 2010. Huffington Post.
  • Adner, Ron and Kapoor, Rahul. 2007. “Managing transitions in the semiconductor lithography ecosystem.” Solid State Technology, 50th Anniversary Issue. 50(11):s20.
  • Kapoor, Rahul and Adner, Ron. 2007. “Technology interdependence and the evolution of semiconductor lithography.” Solid State Technology, 50th Anniversary Issue. 50(11): 51-54.
  • Adner, Ron and Levinthal, Daniel. 2000. “Technological speciation and the emergence of emerging technologies” in Day and Schoemaker, Wharton on Emerging Technologies, John Wiley Press.
  • Adner, Ron. 1999. “Innovation beyond ideas: Setting expectations for innovation” Mastering Strategy Series. The Financial Times October 18. Reprinted as “Innovation beyond ideas: expectations in managing technology,” in Mastering Strategy: The compelte MBA companion in Strategy. Tim Dickson (Ed.) Financial Times/ Prentice Hall. 2000:London; Translated and reprinted in: Chinese, Dutch, German, Polish, and Russian.