Questrom Professor Marshall Van Alstyne Named One of the Most Influential Management Thinkers by Thinkers50
Every two years, Thinkers50 asks the question: who are the world’s most influential living management thinkers? Questrom’s Marshall Van Alstyne and co-author Geoff Parker make the 2023 list.
Together, they developed the concept of two-sided markets, which is used extensively in platform business models, and delivered the first comprehensive analysis of platform technology. Marshall Van Alstyne was also one of the first to measure the dollar value of social networks.
Originators of the concept of the inverted firm, which argues that value is increasingly created outside the organization rather than internally, Van Alstyne and Parker are the authors of the book Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work For You, a comprehensive analysis of how platforms use technology to match producers and consumers in a multi-sided marketplace. Platform Revolution includes guidance on how businesses can thrive in the era of platform technology.
Marshall Van Alstyne is Allen and Kelli Questrom Professor in Information Systems at Boston University and a Digital Fellow at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. Parker is a Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College and serves as Director of the Master of Engineering Management Program. In addition, he is a visiting scholar at the MIT Sloan School and a researcher at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, where he leads platform industry research studies.
About the Thinkers50 Ranking:
Published every two years, the Thinkers50 Ranking is the definitive list of the most influential management thinkers in the world and answers one simple question: who is the world’s most influential living management thinker?
Nominations for the Thinkers50 Ranking are open from May to July in the years the ranking takes place (odd-numbered years). The public is invited to participate in the online nomination process by submitting the names and qualifications of thinkers they wish to put forward for consideration. Nominations are accepted and encouraged from individuals and organizations across the globe.
The Thinkers50 Panel of Advisors considers all nominations for the Thinkers50 Ranking. Each new ranking is announced at the Thinkers50 Awards Gala held in November every other year, culminating in a countdown of the top 10.
The Thinkers50 Ranking uses a proprietary methodology for evaluating management thinking. Thinkers50 founders Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove lead the process, with input and review from the Thinkers50 advisors. The criteria are evaluated on a weighted basis, taking account of the thinker’s performance over the long term and the two years since the previous ranking.