Ph.D.: Harvard Business School
Current Position: Assistant Professor, USC Marshall School of Business
Welcome! I am Grace Gu, and I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. My research interests lie in the intersection of technological innovation and strategic management, with a focus on platform strategies in the IT industry. I received my doctorate in Technology and Operations Management from Harvard Business School.
One theme of my research examines disintermediation in online marketplaces, where customers and service providers circumvent the intermediary to transact directly. This stream of my research identifies various key factors that affect disintermediation, such as user trust and technological change. My other work also studies firm strategic decisions and technological competition, particularly in online digital marketplaces such as the mobile App platforms, Wikipedia, and the video game industry.
Technology Strategies, Digitization and Innovation, Platform Markets
Grace Gu. 2024. “Technology and Disintermediation in Online Marketplaces.” Management Science, 70(11): 7868–7891. [read] [ssrn]
Grace Gu and Feng Zhu, 2021. “Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace,” Management Science, 67(2): 794–807. [read] [ssrn]
“Ideology and Composition among an Online Crowd: Evidence from Wikipedians,” with Shane Greenstein and Feng Zhu. 2021. Management Science, 67(5): 3067-3086. [read] [ssrn] [nber]
“Technology Fragmentation, Platform Investment, and Complementary Innovation,” with Zhuoxin Allen Li. Under review. [ssrn]
“Data, Privacy Regulations, and Strategic Implications for Firm Competitive Advantages,” with Meitong Li and Andy Wu. Under review.
“Disintermediation Governance and Complementor Innovation: An Empirical Look at Amazon.com,” with Xia Han and Gaoyang Cai. Under revision.
“Unraveling the Role of Public Crowds in Driving Innovation for Technology Product Development,” with Jingyuan Deng and Dandan Qiao. Under review.
Management Science IS Best Paper Award. Winner. 2023.
Best Paper Award, INFORMS Annual Meeting E-Business Cluster. Winner. 2023.
SMS Competitive Strategy IG Best Proposal Award for Rigor, Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual Conference. Finalist. 2023.
Distinguished Reviewer Award, Management Science. Recipient. 2022-2023, 2021-2022, 2020-2021.
Strategic Management Society (SMS) Strategy Research Foundation Dissertation Scholar Award. Recipient. 2017-2019.
Best Conference PhD Paper Award, Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual Conference. Winner. 2017.
TIM Best Student Paper Award, Academy of Management (AoM) Annual Meeting. Runner-up. 2018.
Best Paper Award, International Conference on Information System (ICIS), Workshop on E-Business. Runner-up. 2017.
Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching Award from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University. 2017.
Grace Gu
USC Marshall School of Business
3670 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA 90089
gracegu at marshall dot usc dot edu