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Current Research

Our Approach

MIT CISR investigates contemporary concerns to help executives meet the challenge of leading dynamic, global, information-intensive organizations. MIT CISR research scientists and collaborators from around the world produce rigorous academic research using a variety of methods. The relevance of the research is ensured by the active participation of corporate sponsors and patrons from a range of industries. Insights are disseminated through research publications and events.

MIT CISR Current Research Projects

Competing on Knowledge: The Next Challenge for Scaling AI

Since 2019, MIT CISR’s data research team has investigated how organizations scale AI in the pursuit of becoming AI-fueled. This year we will explore model management to better understand its role in scaling AI—and the implications for how organizations need to think about and manage organizational knowledge.

This project is a continuation of MIT CISR’s 2022 research project on Managing AI Scale: Identifying Approaches that Work.

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Essential Practices to Realize More Value Faster from Digital Innovations

In earlier research, we found that to realize more value faster from digital innovations, established organizations are redesigning themselves around three learning imperatives: innovation teams, top-level management, and functional experts. This year we will identify practices that distinguish top-performing companies as they test and learn at both the digital innovation initiative and portfolio levels and when developing shared resources.

This project is a continuation of MIT CISR’s 2022 research project on Learning to Create More Strategic Value Faster with Digital Innovations.

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Growing with xTechs

Large established organizations often work with application-specific technology startups, which we call xTechs, to innovate in digital customer experience and operations. This project will explore how leading organizations succeed when innovating with xTechs.

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Leveraging Digital Ecosystems for Sustainability

Companies increasingly use digital technologies and data to develop products, services, and business practices that contribute to sustainability objectives. Based on past MIT CISR research, we hypothesize that companies with ambitious sustainability objectives must leverage the power of digital ecosystems, and in doing so will create ongoing value for all participants.

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Making Talent a Competitive Advantage

One of the perennial challenges to organizations globally has been how to develop and sustain a skilled workforce. Turning the talent challenge into a competitive advantage requires a strategy that meets the needs of both employees and employers.

This project is a continuation of MIT CISR’s 2022 research project on Developing a Digital-First Workforce.

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Monetizing Data with Dynamism

In the digital economy, organizations must generate financial returns from their data assets while sensing and responding to emergent opportunities and threats. This requires that they selectively liquify data assets, purposefully invest in data monetization capabilities, and deeply develop data-driven cultures.

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Simplifying Decision Rights for Growth

One of the four big “explosions” that company leaders have to deal with in a digital business transformation is changing decision rights—specifically, getting the right people to lead key decisions. If companies don’t change decision rights on a few key decisions, then they won’t see different results from their decisions.

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What it Takes to Build a Successful External Developer Platform

In previous MIT CISR research on Designed for Digital, we identified five building blocks of digital transformation that "big, old" companies are working on if they want to deliver digital customer offerings successfully. One of these building blocks is the external developer platform that a company provides to third-party developers to develop their own digital offerings for customers.

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MIT CISR research is funded by the more than seventy-five firms that sponsor our work and participate in our consortium. 

MIT CISR Patrons
AlixPartners
Avanade
Axway, Inc.
Collibra
Pegasystems Inc.
The Ogilvy Group
MIT CISR Sponsors
Allstate Insurance Company
Amcor
ANZ Banking Group (Australia)
Ascend SC
AustralianSuper
Banco Bradesco S.A. (Brazil)
Banco do Brasil S.A.
Bank of Queensland (Australia)
Barclays
BlueScope Steel (Australia)
BNP Paribas (France)
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bupa (Australia)
Cabot Corporation
CarMax
Caterpillar, Inc.
Cemex (Mexico)
Cencora
CIBC (Canada)
Cochlear Limited (Australia)
Commonwealth Superannuation Corp. (Australia)
Cuscal Limited (Australia)
CVS Health
Dawn Foods
DBS Bank Ltd. (Singapore)
Doosan Corporation (Korea)
Fidelity Investments
Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B., de C.V.
Fortum (Finland)
General Mills, Inc.
Gilbane Building Co.
Henkel AG & Co. (Germany)
Johnson & Johnson (J&J)
Kaiser Permanente
King & Wood Mallesons (Australia)
Koç Holding (Turkey)
Mercer
Nasdaq, Inc.
National Australia Bank Ltd.
Nomura Holdings, Inc. (Japan)
Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. Systems Consulting Division (Japan)
OCP Group
Pacific Life Insurance Company
Posten Bring AS (Norway)
Principal Financial Group
QBE
Ramsay Health Care (Australia)
Raytheon Technologies
Scentre Group Limited (Australia)
Schneider Electric Industries SAS (France)
Stockland (Australia)
Suncorp Group (Australia)
TabCorp Holdings (Australia)
Telstra Limited
Tetra Pak (Sweden)
Truist Financial Corporation
UniSuper Management Pty Ltd (Australia)
Uniting (Australia)
USAA
Webster Bank, N.A.
Westpac Banking Corporation (Australia)
WestRock Company
Wolters Kluwer
Xenco Medical
Zoetis Services LLC
Find Us
Center for Information Systems Research
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sloan School of Management
245 First Street, E94-15th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02142
617-253-2348