Doctoral Program
New doctoral degree in Information Technology emphasizes organizational approach
This fall the Broad School will welcome its first four doctoral candidates into a new degree program in Information Technology Management (ITM), led by Vallabh Sambamurthy, Eli Broad Professor of Information Technology Management.
Sambamurthy, who joined the Broad School just last year, has taught at the University of Maryland and Florida State University. He will be coordinating an interdisciplinary team (see sidebar on ITMP faculty) that leverages the expertise of faculty from every area of the college to launch the new major.
According to Sambamurthy, there are three common approaches to teaching information technology: The technical approach, which is centered around the engineering and design of information systems; the analytical approach, which is concerned with modeling and game theory; and the organizational approach, which focuses on organization theory, strategy, economics and sociology. This last approach, which is the most prominent and mainstream within the discipline of information systems, is the one that the Broad School has embraced.
“You know you are working on something important in this field,” explains Sambamurthy, “when consulting firms and think tanks start calling you. Corporations are paying attention to what is happening in this research area because it is so integral to the success of their businesses. There is a lot of executive interest in research that examines how and why firms leverage value from their IT investments. Our doctoral program will foster cutting-edge research on IT management through collaborative partnerships with senior IT and business executives in firms, high caliber doctoral students, and focused research programs.”
The four new doctoral students have the kind of credentials that will make them successful researchers in this discipline: GMATs in the 760 range, work experience and field studies that demonstrate an understanding of technology and its impacts, and a commitment to the Broad School vision of an organizational approach to information technology.
“Our new students,” explains Sambamurthy, “see the value of studying information technology in modern, global organizations, rather than focusing on analytic modeling or technical research. This focus is critical as the Broad School leverages its world-renowned supply chain management expertise and leadership positions in management research and accounting with a holistic approach to information technology research. The doctoral program in information technology management will particularly foster crossdisciplinary research with the research streams of supply chain management, strategy, organization behavior, organization design and accounting.”
Broad School Doctoral Graduates, 2002-03
| Doctoral Graduate | Emphasis | University/Placement |
| Lawrence Bajor | Accounting | Bowling Green State University |
| Orkunt Dalgic | Finance State University | New York, New Paltz |
| Cynthia Devers | Strategic Management | Texas A&M University |
| Annie Farrell | Accounting | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Rosanna Garcia | Marketing | Northeastern University, Massachusetts |
| Soo Wook Kim | Operations & Sourcing Management | National University, Seoul, Korea |
| Rebecca Luce | Strategic Management | Texas Christian University |
| Ola Smith | Accounting | Western Michigan University |
Information Technology Management Faculty
Roger Calantone
Director, Information Technology Program
The Eli Broad University Professor of Business
Marketing and Supply Chain Management
David Closs
John H. McConnell Chair in Business
Administration
Marketing and Supply Chain Management
Severin Grabski
Associate Professor
Accounting and Information Systems
Nancy Gustafson
Assistant Professor
Accounting and Information Systems
Bill McCarthy
Arthur Andersen Alumni Professor
Accounting and Information Systems
D. Harrison McKnight
Assistant Professor
Accounting and Information Systems
Brian T. Pentland
Associate Professor
Accounting and Information Systems
Vallabh Sambamurthy
Eli Broad Professor of Information
Technology
Accounting and Information Systems
Cheri Speier
Associate Professor
Accounting and Information Systems
(Adjunct Associate Professor,
Management)
For more information on the doctoral program in Information Technology Management, go to www.bus.msu.edu/acc/phd/itm/