Overview
Ian MacInnes joined the faculty of Syracuse University in 1999 after spending 2 years teaching at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. He received a doctorate from the University of Southern California in Political Economy and Public Policy, an interdisciplinary degree offered by the Economics department. The emphasis of his program was information technology policy.
His interest in digital commerce arises, in part, from his three years of work at USC's Center for Telecommunications Management, where he was involved in research projects that addressed issues facing the telecom industry including the emergence of electronic commerce on the Internet. His current areas of research include pure digital transactions for content, software, and services such as through peer-to-peer marketplaces.
Research Interests
Ian MacInness research can be classified as information industry strategy with sub-areas including electronic commerce, compatibility standards, competitive strategy, and international business. He is interested in the converging information industry that includes hardware, software, information services, telecommunications, and content. For example, he has worked on consumer oriented electronic commerce, particularly for goods that can be distributed digitally such as books, periodicals, software, video, and music. He has also examined the impact of network effects and standardization on market power.
Teaching Interests
Ian MacInnes currently teaches in the same areas that he does his research: information industry strategy and electronic commerce. Prior to joining the School of Information Studies he taught courses on business strategy, international business, international communication management, economics of institutions, and microeconomics.
Professional Interests
Ian MacInnes regularly presents at conferences and writes in journals in the fields of communication and information systems. Many of these are focused on the topic of digital commerce. For example, he is on the conference committee for the Bled Electronic Commerce Conference. He reviews articles for journals such as Telecommunications Policy, Electronic Markets, and the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. He has been invited to speak at universities in five countries. He is also a Syracuse University senator.
Personal Interests
I am a technology nut and enjoy gadgets. I enjoy learning about history.