Elizabeth Altman

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Strategy, Innovation, Platforms, Business Ecosystems, Future of Work, Organizational Change, Organizational Identity, Strategic Leadership, Institutional Logics, Knowledge-based View of the Firm

• Product-to-Platform Transitions, Challenges of Joining Business Ecosystems, Complementor Strategies, Organizational Identity Transitions, Multi-sided Platforms, Networks of Ecosystems, Workforce Ecosystems

EDUCATION

• DBA: Management, (2015), Harvard Business School - Boston, MA
• MS: Management, (1992), Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, MA
• MS: Mechanical Engineering, (1992), Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, MA
• BS: Mechanical Engineering, (1988), Cornell University - Ithaca, NY

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Elizabeth J. Altman is an assistant professor of management at the Manning School of Business, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and guest editor of the MIT Sloan Management Review Future of the Workforce project. Altman served as a visiting assistant professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point in Fall 2018 and has served as a visiting scholar at the Harvard Business School. Altman teaches strategy, organizational theory, and human resources management in undergraduate, MBA, and doctoral programs. Her research focuses on strategy, innovation, platform businesses and ecosystems, leadership in the digital economy, organizational identity, and organizational change.

Altman spent 19 years in industry. She was a vice president at Motorola in executive and leadership roles in industrial design, product development engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and strategy. Awarded a U.S. Dept. of Commerce and Japanese government fellowship, Altman worked as an engineer for Sony in Japan. She lectures and consults worldwide for multi-national clients on strategy and platform businesses and has served on corporate and non-profit boards.

Altman’s work has been published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR), MIT Sloan Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Marketing Letters, and other internationally recognized management journals and books. Her HBR article with Prof. Andrei Hagiu was selected for inclusion in an edition of the “HBR 10 Must Reads 2019” book and included in “HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Business Model Innovation.” Altman co-authored the book, “The Innovator’s Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work,” (Harvard Business Press).

Altman holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School, a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s of Science in Management both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University where she served on the Board of Trustees and is on the Cornell University Library Advisory Council. Altman is a life member of the Cornell University Council and an emeritus member of the Cornell College of Engineering Advisory Council and the President’s Council of Cornell Women. Altman was named one of Boston Magazine's “Top 100 Most Influential Women in Boston,” and one of Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” top business and community leaders. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS

• Guest Editor (2021), Scholarship/Research - MIT Sloan Management Review - Future of the Workforce Research Project
• Guest Editor (2020), Scholarship/Research - MIT Sloan Management Review - Future of the Workforce Research Project
• Harvard Business Review 10 Must Reads on Platforms and Ecosystems (2020), Scholarship/Research - Harvard Business Review
• UMass Lowell Women's Leadership Faculty Fellow (2020), Service, University - UMass Lowell
• UMass Lowell Women's Leadership Faculty Fellow (2019), Service, University - UMass Lowell
• Harvard Business Review 10 Must Reads on Business Model Innovation (2019), Scholarship/Research - Harvard Business Review
• UMass Lowell Women's Leadership Faculty Fellow (2018), Service, University - UMass Lowell
• Harvard Business Review 10 Must Reads 2019 (2018), Scholarship/Research - Harvard Business Publishing
• UMass Lowell Women's Leadership Faculty Fellow (2017), Service, University - University of Massachusetts Lowell
• UMass Lowell Pillars of Excellence Award Nominee (2017), Leadership - University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Council on Foreign Relations Lifetime Member (2016), Scholarship/Research - Council on Foreign Relations
• 100 Most Influential Women in Boston (2003), Service, Professional - Boston Magazine
• 40 under 40 Top Business and Community Leaders (2002), Service, Professional - Boston Business Journal