On September 27th,  doctoral student Vasili Mankevich successfully defended his doctoral thesis on the topic of Digital Innovation Management. Jan Recker (Chaired Professor for Information Systems and Systems Development, University of Cologne) served as faculty opponent. The grading committee consisted of Professor Marleen Huysman from Vrie University, Amsterdam, Professor Jonas Hedman from Copenhagen Business School, and Professor Simon Lindgren from Umeå University.

The dissertation explores how digital innovation can be leveraged in the context of online communities. It is based on four empirical investigations in the context of firms interacting with online communities that are rich with digital trace data. Collectively, these studies illustrate the potential utility of digital trace data generated by online communities for digital innovation, and suggest possible strategies for effective management of digital innovation for value creation. The dissertation contributes to both theoretically and empirically oriented discourses on the use of digital trace data. Specifically, it does so by providing propositions for dealing with digital trace data through platform design, digital storytelling, and analytics.

Download the dissertation here and contact Vasili Mankevich for further questions.