Kevin Zhu

Associate Professor, Innovation, Technology & Operations

Professor Kevin Zhu received his Ph.D. from Stanford University. His research focuses on innovation diffusion in global environments, economic impacts of IT on firms/industries, information technology in supply chains, software, real options, and technology-enabled innovations.

His research has been published in the top academic journals such as Management Science, Information Systems Research (ISR), and MIS Quarterly (MISQ). He serves on NSF research proposal review panels and holds editorial positions at the top academic journals.

In his career, he has been invited to give research seminars by more than 30 top universities. He also received several Best Paper Awards in the field. Dr. Kevin Zhu was awarded the prestigious CAREER Award by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) for his research on digital transformation of enterprises. He also received a similar award from the NSF of China in 2008. Prior to that, he was the recipient of an MBA Teaching Award of the University of California and the Academic Achievement Award of Stanford University.

Major Research Publications

“Information Technology in Supply Chains: The Value of IT-enabled Resources under Competition,” S. Dong, S. Xu and K. Zhu, Information Systems Research, 2009. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“How Does Information Technology Shape Supply Chain Structure? Evidence on the Number of Suppliers,” J. Dedrick, S. Xu, and K. Zhu, Journal of Management Information Systems, 2008, Vol. 25, No. 2, p. 41-72. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“The Process of Innovation Assimilation by Firms in Different Countries: A Technology Diffusion Perspective,” K. Zhu, K. Kraemer, and S. Xu, Management Science, 2006, Vol. 52, No. 10, p. 1557-1576. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“Information Transparency of Business-to-Business Electronic Markets: A Game-Theoretic Analysis,” K. Zhu, Management Science, 2004, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 670-685. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“Migration to Open-Standard Interorganizational Systems: Network Effects, Switching Costs, and Path Dependency,” K.Zhu, K. Kraemer, V. Gurbaxani, and S. Xu, MIS Quarterly, 2006, August, Vol. 30, special issue on standards, p. 515-539. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“Innovation diffusion in global contexts: determinants of post-adoption digital transformation of European companies.” K. Zhu, S. Dong, S. Xu, and K. Kraemer, European Journal of Information Systems, 2006, Vol. 15, No. 6, p.601-616. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“Post-Adoption Variations in Usage and Value of E-Business by Organizations: Cross-Country Evidence from the Retail Industry,” K. Zhu and K. Kraemer, Information Systems Research, 2005, Vol. 16, No. 1, p. 61-84. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“Strategic Decisions of New Technology Adoption under Asymmetric Information,” K. Zhu and J. Weyant, Decision Sciences, 2003, Vol. 34, No. 4, p. 643-675. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“E-Commerce Metrics for Net-Enhanced Organizations: Assessing the Value of E-Commerce to Firm Performance in the Manufacturing Sector,” K. Zhu and K. Kraemer, Information Systems Research, 2002, Vol. 13, No. 3, p. 275-295. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

Other Published Articles

“The Complementarity of IT Infrastructure and Ecommerce Capability: A Resource-based Assessment of Business Value.” K. Zhu, Journal of Management Information Systems, 2004, Vol. 21, No.1, p.167-202. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“Strategic Exercise of Real Options: Investment Decisions in Technological Systems,” K. Zhu and J. Weyant, Journal of Systems Science and Systems Engineering, 2003, Vol. 12, No. 3, p.257-278. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“Using Real Options Analysis for Evaluating Uncertain Investments in Information Technology,” P. Tallon, R. Kauffman, H. Lucas, A. Whinston, and K. Zhu, Communications of the AIS, 2002, Vol. 8, p. 136-167. [ PDF ]

“Economics of Digital Bundling: The Impacts of Digitization and Bundling on the Music Industry,” K. Zhu and B. MacQuarrie, Communications of the ACM, 2003, Vol. 46, No. 9, p.264-270. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

“Internet-based Distribution of Digital Videos: The Economic Impacts of Digitization on the Motion Picture Industry,” K. Zhu, Electronic Markets, 2001, Vol. 11, No. 4, p. 273-280. [ Abstract ] [ PDF ]

Books & Book Chapters

Zhu, K., “Information Transparency Hypothesis: Economic Implications of Information Transparency in Electronic Markets,” in Advances in the Economics of Information Systems, K. Tomak (ed.), Idea Group Publishing, Hershey, PA, 2005, p. 15-42. [ Abstract ]

Kraemer, K., J. Dedrick, N. Melville, and K. Zhu (eds.), Global E-Commerce: Impacts of National Environments and Policy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2006. [view the book on Amazon]. [ PDF ]

Zhu, K., et al, “Global Convergence and Local Divergence in E-Commerce: Cross-Country Analyses,” in Global E-Commerce: Impacts of National Environment and Policy, K. Kraemer, J. Dedrick, N. Melville, and K. Zhu (eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Zhu, K., et al., “What Drives E-Business Diffusion among Firms? Evidence from European Companies.” in The European eBusiness Report, European Commission, p. 195-203, 2004.

Awards & Grants

CAREER Award (Faculty Early Career Development Award), U.S. National Science Foundation, 2005-2010.

Overseas Outstanding Scholar Award (中国国家科学基金会海外杰出青年学者), National Science Foundation of China, 2008-2011.

U.S. National Science Foundation Grant on Information Technology, through the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center-CRITO, 2000-06.

Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong, 2007-09 (Co-PI, with Sean Xu).

The World’s 17th Most Productive Scholar (out of 3,000 academics worldwide) in Information Systems, Communications of the Association for Information Systems (CAIS), Vol. 18, p. 296-328, 2006.

Best Paper Award, Intl. Conf. on Information Systems (ICIS), 2003, Seattle, WA. (out of 600 papers).

Best Paper Award, Intl. Conf. on Information Systems (ICIS), 2002, Barcelona, Spain (out of 526 papers).

Best Paper Award, Americas Conf. on Information Systems, 2004, New York, NY.

Single Investigator Innovation Grant, University of California Academic Senate Council on Research, Computing and Library Resources (CORCLR), 2004-05.

Academic Achievement Award, Stanford University, 1996.