DATA

Data Project 1: Narratives of Managers in Nascent Industries

With Violina Rindova and Milan Miric (in progress)

Technology development strategies are dependent upon managers’ narratives – which include the temporality of past, present, and future-oriented ideas. Given that currently used data sources have numerous inherent limitations in capturing temporal aspects – involvement of impression management, absence of various manager roles (CEO, CTO, Chief Director of AV), availability of only large public firms, Violina Rindova, Milan Miric, and I are building a large-scale database of narrative information from various managers in diverse firms in the mobility industry. We garner an extensive range of data – including letters to shareholders, earnings calls, interviews, conference talks, presentations, social media. Existing temporal focus research relies solely on the “dictionary” of temporal words (e.g., past tense or future tense verbs), and we recognize that temporal focus has more nuances that are encapsulated in the context of the whole narrative. To address this, we have developed a machine learning based method of determining the temporal focus of texts by taking context into account. This database will allow us to understand the close relationship between managers’ visionary and history-focused narratives and the firms’ technology development strategies.

Data Project 2: Assessing Technology Strategy Using Flow of Knowledge

With Hyo Kang (in progress)

Technology development strategies are realized based on these three steps of knowledge development: firms’ initial intent of search for skills and expertise – actual hiring of professionals – output from the hiring, and this important flow of technological knowledge development process can be captured through job hiring data, and patent data. Hyo Kang and I are developing a large-scale database that connects these three stages that focus specifically on technology development in the AI and mobility industry. Through this process, we aim to capture firms’ comprehensive and nuanced strategies associated with technology development.