Robert D. Austin Harvard Business School Website

Robert D. Austin joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1997. He teaches the first year MBA course in Technology and Operations Management, the information technology (IT) module of an executive program for owner/managers, and chairs the school's executive program for Chief Information Officers (CIOs).

Professor Austin has also spent time in industry. He served as a senior executive in a new business created by a major technology company, and as a technology manager at the Ford Motor Company. In his time with Ford, he developed, installed, and supported IT applications and infrastructure in a variety of businesses, including aftersales service, parts operations, consumer credit, vehicle assembly, and technical support.

Dr. Austin earned his Ph.D. in Management and Decision Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University, where his dissertation received the Herbert A. Simon Award. He holds an M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science (Operations Research concentration) from Northwestern University and bachelors degrees in Engineering and English Literature from Swarthmore College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi.

Professor Austin's research focuses on information technology management, and more generally on management of knowledge intensive activities. He has written on these subjects in five books, The Broadband Explosion: Leading Thinkers on the Promise of a Truly Interactive World (co-edited with Steve Bradley), Artful Making: What Managers Need to Know About How Artists Work (co-authored with Lee Devin), Corporate Information Strategy and Management, Creating Business Advantage in the Information Age (both co-authored with Lynda Applegate and Warren McFarlan), and Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations, as well as in academic and trade journals.

Bibliography: Robert D. Austin

Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations ISBN: 978-0-932633-36-1 ©1996    240 pages    softcover $24.95 (plus shipping)