Event Details

Speaker: Bowen Lou

Abstract:

This talk examines how organizations leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to develop and govern innovation amid leadership transitions and platform-based digital ecosystems. Using patent data and AI-related job postings, we first show that firms with greater AI investment are more successful in pursuing explorative innovation after CEO turnover. Importantly, AI facilitates strategic change by mitigating the managerial myopia and information overload commonly experienced by CEOs. In a separate context, we examine how platform governance enabled by AI-related tools influences innovation among complementors. Exploiting a policy change on a leading e-commerce platform that expanded sellers’ access to market intelligence tools, we find that enhanced information access leads to more new product launches and shorter product life cycles. Sellers tend to introduce products with novel attributes outside their existing portfolio, often integrating features observed from peer sellers through the tools. This expands their search space for innovation while driving convergence in customer bases. Together, these findings highlight the critical role of AI in shaping innovation governance, particularly during periods of organizational transformation.

January 15, 2026

Virtual Link

Passcode:  734375

Speaker Bio

Bowen Lou is an Assistant Professor of Data Sciences and Operations at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. His research examines the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), innovation, and digital platforms, focusing on how new waves of digitization and technological change influence firms, markets, and innovation processes across different industry sectors. Linking macro patterns to micro activities, his studies leverage a variety of interdisciplinary methodologies (including but not limited to econometrics, machine learning, natural language processing, network analytics, game-theoretic modeling, randomized field experiments, and bio/chem-informatics). His research has been published in leading journals such as Management Science, Information Systems Research, and MIS Quarterly, and has received multiple best paper recognitions at major academic conferences. Bowen received his Ph.D. in Managerial Science and Applied Economics and M.A. in Statistics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, as well as an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Chicago. This presentation will not be recorded.